I have finally come to the last installment of my Mt Fuji climb. If you had managed to read through parts 1 to 6, you would have some inkling of how I struggled through day 1 all the way to the descend of the climb.
After I posted the many photos of my climb, many friends complimented on how beautiful the sunrise was. It was beautiful no doubt, but the blood and sweat taken to get to the peak was no joke.
On the day of departure, my flight from SG to Manila was delayed for 4 hrs from 12mn to 4am. The second leg from Manila to Tokyo was delayed for 7 hrs from 8am to 3pm. What was originally a 6 hours flight turned into a 21 hours nightmare! I arrived Tokyo at about 9pm and it was way too late to get to the accommodation that I had booked at the foot of Mt Fuji.
Thankfully, I spent the entire next day getting to the accommodation although I had to miss my original plans of going to the Suicide Forest.
11.45am: Arrives Shinjuku station. Use the exit that heads to Shijuku Bus Station, which is directly opposite the Shinjuku Train station. 
Proceed to Counter 5, which sells Chuo Expressway Bus tickets that goes Kawaguchiko, Mt Fuji etc. Unfortunately, as tickets for the next bus had already been sold out, the next available bus was 2 hours later and hence, the staff suggested I took the train instead. 
I decided to heed the staff’s advice to take the train. Ahhh…. Wrong move… Wahahaha… Headed to platforms 11 & 12 to take the Chuo line train from Shinjuku to Takao. 
I reached Takao at 1.20pm and missed the 1.25pm train at the opposite platform and had to wait almost one hour for the next train to Otsuki at 2.17pm…. :”X 
Lots of these nice little houses on hills beside the train rails. 
Outside of Otsuki train station 
Outside of Otsuki train station 
Fujiyuko line from Otsuki to Kawaguchiko. Y1,140. 
Too bad the peak was half-covered by the clouds. 
4:15pm: Arrives Kawaguchiko train station
I started my climb at about 11am. It was raining the entire time of my hike. I was wet, cold and shivering. The route was steep and slippery. My favourite respite was to hide in the toilet cubicle, sitting on the heated seats (for some of the toilets).
Such a nice momento cos it indicates the date of climb. 
The first step on the path… 
Lots of foliage at the beginning part. 
If you want to go fast, go alone… If you want to go far, go together… 
Omg… Just passed 6th station. Still got a long long way to go…. 
suddenly, everyone is gone…. !! 
Lots of difficult to scale rocks 
So happy to see the Torii gate… means I’m reaching 8th station soon… 
Above the clouds and the setting sun….
Halfway through the climb, my left shoe gave way and the sole came apart. As I struggled up, I found a belt lying on the path! What are the chances of finding a belt right in the middle of nowhere?! Someone had probably used it for his shoe too. I picked it up and used it to bind my shoe. Though it wasn’t ideal, it was the best option I could find up at the mountain with no other resources.
I took 5hr 30 mins to finally arrive at the 8th station Fujisan Mountain Hut. Spent the night at the mountain hut with very bare necessities. The dinner was bleh and the beddings were nay. Couldn’t sleep much through the night.
The moment you get into the accommodation, they’ll sit you down and ask for payment. 
Curry with rice = Y1,200 Why in the world do I still pay Y1,250 for pre-booking the dinner? Should have chosen the cup noodle at Y600 or Hot Choco / Coffee at Y400 instead…. Arrghhhh…. Total rip off. 
A very expensive Y1250 dinner for pre-ordering….!! 
The room is pretty dark without much lights. 
Ok…. Comeon…. I just need to survive one night…!!
Woke up at 2am, got ready and started my hike to the peak at 2.50am. 10 mins into the journey and my right shoe gave way… Oh my god…. You have got to be kidding me! This cannot be happening, right?! Found some rubber bands on the path and bundled my right shoe together. With two broken shoes, I made my way up and saw the first ray of sunrise at 5.05am.
The view atop was breathtaking and spectacular. I loved it with the Torri gates framing. It was a phenomenal experience being above the clouds and finally getting here despite all the many obstacles that I had encountered in the last couple of days. Albeit that the sun was glaring down on me furiously, the winds came on strong and hard and it got so cold that I decided to postpone having my breakfast up at the peak and hurriedly make my way down.
5:11am 
I had done quite a number of summits, but this torii gate made such a brilliant foreground above the amazing sea of clouds and wondrous sunrise. 
I would have to say, it was quite a magnificent sight although I was numbed from the cold and my brain was frozen… 
Really need to immerse myself in here despite my frozen brain, eyelids and nose… 
5:22am. The sun was totally out already. 
It was really a sight to behold above the clouds. Doesn’t it gives you the urge to want to jump onto the fluffy clouds?! Haahaaa… : D
Dragging my weary legs on the two broken shoes, I made my way down the sandy paths with gravel and rocks. Slipped and fell a couple of times, I reached the bottom of Mt Fuji at 12.15pm. It took me 5hrs 45mins, whilst an average person takes 3hrs to 6hrs.
Some of the paths were rocky with pebbles and gravel. This path was equally as bad. The rocks and small pebbles kept creeping into the mouths. 1, 2, 3, stop, shake, shake, shake. 1, 2, 3, stop, shake, shake, shake. 1, 2, 3, stop, shake, shake, shake. This was how I made my way down. Hence, I didn’t have time to get much pics on my descend journey. 
Paths were mainly sandy… almost like walking on a beach. It was really tough for me with my “open-mouth” shoes. The sand kept gushing into the mouthS (Yes, with an S, because both sides of my shoes were ripped apart!). With every 3 steps I took, I had to stop and shake off the sand before I could proceed again. 
Lots of stones, pebbles and gravel on the way down.
Many friends asked if I’ll do it again, I’ll probably say no…. There is a Chinese saying, “爬一次是好汉, 爬两次是笨蛋’. Directly translating to, “Climbing once is so cool, Climbing twice is a fool”. Haahaaa… ok… I made that up.
After having experienced the challenging climb, below are some tips which might help you in your planning for a trip up Mt Fuji. It is not exhaustive though.
SOME TIPS WHICH MIGHT BE USEFUL FOR YOUR CLIMB
1. Waterproof jacket and pants
2. Waterproof hiking shoes / boots
3. Waterproof casing for bag
4. Warm clothes by layering
5. Quick dry undergarments / A set of clean undergarments
6. Headlight
7. Hiking Stick
8. (Waterproof) Cap / hat / beanie
9. Sunglasses & Sunscreen
10. (Lots of!) Coins for the toilets
11. Face Masks / Eye Goggles to keep out the dusty plains
12. Wet wipes to clean your face and body as there is scarce water supply up on the mountain
13. 1L of plain water + 1L of isotonic drink (My personal preference). Alternatively, you can bring 2L of plain water and few packets of isotonic salts for salt replenishment if need be.
14. Duct Tape / Raffia String for any emergencies of torn equipment / hanging of equipments etc.
15. Mouth rinse in replacement of mouth washing
16. Plastic bag to keep your trash
霞女之旅 
Hi Xia,
I really don’t envy your trip at all. I myself took 10 hours to get from home to over JB immigration last weekend. I can’t imagine what 21 hours would be like (at least you weren’t shoulder to shoulder with 500 other people though!)
I’m glad you took the time to continue your updates. I still do enjoy them- your writing style, photos, Also like the details about the prices, operators, routes, pros, cons, suggestions. All very useful.
Last weekend I cycled from Kota Tinggi to past Desaru near the closer ferry, before cycling back to desaru. Really admire you fo doing it on your foldie man.Think I drank 7 litres that day!.
Rest your fingers and take care,
Adrian
Hi Adrian,
Thank you so much for your constant support. I greatly appreciate so!
Sorry to hear of your 10hrs jam across the causeway. Bet it was such a nightmare. Gosh…
How was your ride from kota tinggi to desaru and back? Hope it was good. I missed cycling to and fro Pengerang. But it is quite difficult to cycle that route now. Such a shame… 😔
There was queuing at every stage of crossing over to JB, but the worst was when people got to JB immigration. I was tehre from 12.23 til 4.38pm. I even got slight cramps- twinges, because it was hot, sweaty, and we rarely use our muscles to just stand for 4 straight hours.
As for the ride from Kota Tinggi, that wasn’t too bad. There’s plenty of shade from trees on the side, though sometimes I had to ride on the dirt/grass shoulder instead of the road, to enjoy the shade. And there were 2-3 petrol stations along the way I could replenish supplies.
But you are right about the number 92 expressway once you reach Desaru- they widened it a lot- it’s 4 lane now, but easily wide enough to later expand to 8 if they want. It’s completely open and exposed with no shops or petrol stations. Ok for cars, but a good way to cause heatstroke for cyclists during the day! The roads from Pengerang to the 92 are also wide and exposed, so yes, more difficult to ride.
I noticed a shopping mall ( I think) being built at the corner of the 92 and that road from Pengerang. Be interesting to see if it is, though don’t know why they’d build one 20 km from the Pengerang ferry terminal.
Have a good one Xia!
Adrian
Hi Adrian,
Thank you for sharing.
Must have been such a nightmare getting across the causeway. Next time, try to get the KTM train tickets if possible. Its definitely a much easier and smoother route. But it’s not easy to get cos you need to be “Fastest fingers first” to be able to grab the tickets online.
Really do miss the Pengerang route. Quite a shame that they messed it up so much. Hope i get to do it again someday…
In the meantime, have a great day and catch ya around soon… 🤗