Courtesy of Flickr
Some of these places I have been, but many of them I haven't. All of these places are places that I would like to visit and I hope they spark enough interest in you to want to go visit them as well. Now they may seem like they are jumping all over the globe, but that might be because I'm randomly spinning a globe and where ever my finger lands is where I look for adventure!
First off, in light of the blogs title, is Mt. Fuji, Japan.
This one I have been lucky enough to visit myself. The experience of 12,388 feet upwards is one not forgotten. The Japanese actually have a proverb for the beloved volcano.
[ あなたは山を登るのが賢明ですフジが、馬鹿は二度それをすることができません。]
"Anata wa yama o noboru no ga kenmeidesu Fuji ga, baka wa nido sore o suru koto ga dekimasen."
It translates roughly to: "He who climbs Mt. Fuji is a wise man; he who climbs twice is a fool." according to Mama Lisa.
By that standard you can call me a fool.
The beautiful dormant volcano has a small climbing window though so get your training and plane tickets in line for either July or August because those two months are it. But don't think you have to train like a marathon runner. The mountain has multiple station hikers pass as they go and you don't even start at the bottom! You actually start at station five out of eight, but there are four different trails all starting at different "fifth stations" and honestly I haven't heard about a fourth station before...
Traveler Advisor Trips gives a couple cool things to note while you're climbing the snow-capped mountain:
The volcano is actually three different volcanoes in one. The first layer is known as the Komitake volcano, then the Kofuji volcano, and then last is Fuji. Fuji is the youngest of the three volcanoes, but there's no reason to worry about falling flaming molten lava because it's remained silent since 1708.
At the beginning of your journey you have the option of taking a walking stick with you. TAKE IT! At each little hut that is open you can get your stick branded with a new mark! Once you reach the top you have the opportunity to sit down on a zabuton after finishing what felt like endless switchbacks, enjoy a cup noodles (very authentic) and check out the crater (given it's still daylight out)!
Once you're ready to leave it's a very fast and fun trip down. Covered in shale and volcanic rock, the trail requires no effort to take. You can quite literally jump, run, and slide down the whole thing, passing through the cloud line and enjoying a wonderful night sky or sunset the whole way down!
If memories serves me right the journey took me eight hours up and then two hours down. I still have all of my families hiking sticks back home. All marked. All treasured.
If you don't want to organize the trip yourself, many tours are available and some are even night based so you can watch the sunrise as you hit the top of the volcano. In any case it's an experience and a multitude of views and friendly interactions you won't forget. Self Approved!
I very much enjoyed this blog, in particular the quote. It made me laugh. I like how you tied in the culture surrounding the volcano with the beauty of the landscape.
ReplyDeleteDespite not being the mountain-climbing sort myself, I really liked reading about your own description of Mt. Fuji. It sounds like a really beautiful and fun place to visit.
ReplyDelete