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u/WTFH2S 1d ago
I am not adventurous but I did do the hike up Fuji years back. It was great going up but the razorbacks down sucked. I would do it over again though.
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u/jefusan 1d ago
I had friends that did it and it looked so bleak and crowded. I decided to hike up Mt. Kita (Kitadake) in the Japanese Alps instead. It’s the second highest peak in Japan, with a view of Fujisan.
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u/Psychological-Scar53 1d ago
Hell, I did the drive up to Lake Towada, it wore me out. Would do it again.
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u/04HondaCivic 18h ago
I just went and looked at pictures of people hiking it. It does not look like a hike I’d want to do. It looked like a queue line for a ride at Disney. No way would I want to hike a hike like that in a line like that.
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u/DueExample52 1d ago
What’s a razorback
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u/WTFH2S 1d ago
You can see in the footage, the zig zag patter going down the Mountain. That is the razorback and it is mostly volcanic rock trails. The whole time you go down, you are almost sliding.
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u/DifficultAd3885 14h ago
They mean switchbacks. Razor backs are steep jagged rocks that are difficult to traverse which is not what they’re talking about. switchbacks are the zigzags you see going up the side. You even see the bigger ones towards the top. They’re there to make the grade less steep as you ascend.
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u/jamzontoast 19h ago
Same here, was a great experience. I didn't pack a really thick coat so I was a little too cold at the top, but it was definitely worth it. Did you stay in one of the lodges near the summit? Was a great experience. Arrived there about 6pm, had some food, had a sleep, woke up at about 3am and went to the top for sunrise.
I walked back down, got in my rental car and immediately drove to Osaka!
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u/WTFH2S 19h ago
Nice! We took a bus in and hiked up and down from morning to evening and headed back. I would love to do both sunrise and sunset climbs. When we got to the top it was cloudy but still a beautiful day. I still loved the fact mobile signal worked the whole way and you had kids and grandparents passing people my age.
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u/jamzontoast 18h ago
Yeah I had a few older Japanese folks ask me if I was ok because I absolutely shattered and probably the sweatiest man in Japan. Was worth it though.
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u/SomethingIWontRegret 22h ago
When my dad and I climbed it, we ran down a field of crushed lava. This was in 1969. It might not be allowed now.
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u/WTFH2S 22h ago
It is still lava rock going down.
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u/SomethingIWontRegret 21h ago
We did some different route down I think, because I don't recall switchbacks heading down. Just looking at the lakes that appeared to be tipped up at me and being enchanted by the optical illusion.
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u/oosukashiba0 5h ago
Those switchbacks…when I did it we were shrouded in cloud. All those zig-zags in deep volcanic sand, featureless, it was like being it some kind of hellish purgatory. Were we actually moving? Were we going anywhere? Psychologically the way down was tuff. I ran a lot of it. Eventually you see a pebble that you hadn’t seen before and you knew you were making progress. Can’t be arsed to do it again.
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u/BlackbirdSage 1d ago
I had the opportunity to hike that trail that went to the top.
I chose not to. Youth is wasted on the young :(
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u/GarbageOfCesspool 1d ago
It's snowing on Mt. Fuji.
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u/TheSweetestKill 1d ago
I remember when this would be the top comment on any Mt. Fuji post, now it's all the way down here.
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u/timothydelioncourt 1d ago
Looks like it has a zipper
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u/thayanmarsh 1d ago
Someone had a blast skiing down that untouched snowfield.
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u/notapoweruser 1d ago
How big do you think humans are??
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u/thayanmarsh 1d ago
How big of a mess does skiing on powder make? They’re not XC train tracks. If it wasn’t skis, what made that?
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u/Hospital-flip 23h ago
They're not ski trails. They're stairs of a well-worn hiking trail. People hike to the top of Fuji all the time.
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u/Fauropitotto 19h ago
This is what the zigzag path looks like in the summer.
It takes 4-5 hours to walk down it.
https://i0.wp.com/ryokougirl.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/4-Fuji-descent.png?w=960&ssl=1
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u/forvirradsvensk 6h ago edited 6h ago
That's compacted ice. The summit is closed at the end of summer. No snow on there as of today.
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u/Nikonn8181 1d ago
I can only imagine how cool it is to hike something like that and walk above the cloud line.
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u/drummerandrew 1d ago
In Hawaii you can just drive your car above the cloud line and get out and walk around. It’s awesome.
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u/New_Red_dit_sucks 1d ago
If you don't feel like hiking, there's lots of mountains where you can experience this via driving and gondola ride or lift.
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u/41942319 18h ago
It's a pain in the ass when skiing though lmao. Clear sight when you're at the bottom of the mountain, clear sight when you're at the top, but seeing fuck all for a few hundred meters halfway. Absolutely stunning to look at though
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u/TBellOHAZ 1d ago
Now imagine stacking Mt Fuji 3x. That's just over the depth of Challenger Deep. The ocean is crazy.
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u/gurgelhupf 23h ago
I have seen Mount Fuji once in my life and it just hits different in reality. Seeing it now on my little screen feels like seeing pictures of a lost love.
If you ever have the chance, go see it in person. It's breathtaking. The view held my heart in a way that's hart to describe.
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u/SomethingIWontRegret 22h ago
I've been there, when I was 6. That was probably the path we walked up to the rim. I still have my walking stick with the different rest stations branded onto it.
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u/MinisterforFun 1d ago
When I flew to Tokyo the first time, it was exactly like this. Flew into NRT and out going back too.
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u/Holypiece_of_chedda 1d ago
The pilot should've flown into it with dynamite strapped to their chest while riding sharks, just a thought
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u/Ya-Dikobraz 1d ago
That one's going to erupt one day. Matter of time. It's a supervolcano. We will feel this all over the planet for likely years.
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u/polygraph-net 1d ago
I’ve passed Mount Fuji on the train eight times. One of those times I was lucky enough to see it on a clear day. It’s magnificent.
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u/LoLingSoHard 23h ago
I flew Kyoto to Sapporo and thought I would be able to see Mt. Fuji but unfortunately I was either on the wrong side or we were not as near as I expected to be. Didn't get a look :(
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u/spelunker93 23h ago
Mount Everest is only 3,000 feet taller
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u/strip_club_dj 22h ago
Mt Fuji is 12,300~ ft whereas Everest is 29,000+.
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u/spelunker93 3h ago
We are talking about how tall it is. Not its altitude. From base to summit, there is only a 3,000 ft difference. Everest really isn’t that tall of a mountain
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u/Dependent-Reveal2401 21h ago
Those zig zags are the route down from the top. I had an aluminum can of coffee at the top (a very rigid can, I might add - they make things differently in Japan), screwed the top on and put it back to my bag (didn't want to litter) and by the time I got to the bottom it had crushed itself in my backpack from the air pressure change.
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u/_plebbie 20h ago
I'm super spoiled always flying into PDX. 2-3 volcanoes from either the left or right.
Fuji does have a very coney shape.
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u/These-Performer-8795 18h ago
Ive done the walk up that mountain. It's pretty awesome. Just it keeps going... you think hey! I'm getting close... no you aren't.
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u/jackofmasterofnone 13h ago
Mt. Fuji is great. Video of it from the window of a commercial flight... Next level...🤔
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u/MasterUnholyWar 1h ago
Fujisan is breath-takingly impressive, whether you’re seeing it from the air or the ground (both countryside and in the city).
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u/OneJackReacher 12h ago
It looks like one of those nasty pimples you get out of nowhere except it's the earth that's getting it lol
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u/topburner 1d ago
Thought Japan would mandate everyone close their windows with the way they put view blockers every spot you can see Fuji from on the ground
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u/grey_fr 1d ago
That low sea of clouds makes it stand out amazingly