Information about in Mount Fuji!

Mount Fuji is the highest mountain in Japan with the height of 3,775.63 metres (12,388 feet). You are able to hike the Mt. Fuji currently from the 1st of July till the end of August which would approximately be until the 26th of August every year.There are several routes to get to the peak of the Mt. Fuji. By car or bus you can get to the 5th station of Mt. Fuji, which are Kawaguchiko 5th Station (about 2,300 metres), Subashiri 5th Station (about 2,000 metres), Gotemba 5th Station (about 1,400 metres), and Fujinomiya 5th Station (about 2,400 metres). If you decide to go by train to Mt. Fuji, it is recommended for you to go via the Fujinomiya route. There are direct buses from Shin-Fuji and Mishima Stations which is on the JR Tokaido Shinkansen. If you decide to take a bus directly to Mount Fuji from Tokyo, there is one available by taking the Keio or Fujikyu Bus which departs from Shinjuku Station.

For more information about each bus route:http://www.japan-guide.com/bus/fuji_season.html

Getting to the 5th Station would almost be like a piece of cake for most of you once you get into your car or bus.

About the routes to get to the peak:

Kawaguchiko Route

As written above about the routes to Mt. Fuji, this is the most recommended way in terms of convenience to the Kawaguchiko 5th Station. However, because it is the most convenient route from Tokyo, it is the most crowded route to get to the peak from here. Some people claim that it is more crowded than in concerts, amusement parks, and even Tokyo Disney Resort. This route often gets extremely crowded when the sunrises and at around the 8th Station where you might not be able to get to the peak during the sunrise. However there are also benefits other than convenience from Tokyo. Since it is the most popular route, there are lots of places where you can take a rest which a lot of them are open until September, and easily escapable when the weather is bad.

Fujinomiya Route:

The Fujinomiya 5th Station is located at the highest point within all of the 5th Stations. To get to the peak it is the fastest and the waking distance would be the shortest. In addition, because the route to the peak from the 5th Station is more of a rocky route than a sandy route, the road is less slippery. However, since the path to both peak and to the 5th Station has only one path, it easily gets crowded, and also there are not many parking spaces compared to the Kawaguchiko Route and not as many buses to train stations compared to Kawaguchiko route.

Subashiri and Gotemba Route:

These two routes are less crowded compared to the two routes above. For Subashiri route, until you get to the 8th Station it is not crowded at all often and for Gotemba route all the way to the peak it is often not very crowded at all. However, both routes have a problem in terms of convenience. Getting to the stations of Subashiri and Gotemba, you would definitely need a car since there are hardly any bus routes and the number of resting areas each for Subashiri and Gotemba are 13 and 7 in total where as the Kawaguchiko Route has a total of 24.

Each route has both merits and demerits which is mostly whether if you would take convenience or number of people and distance. However each route shares something by taking a look at opinions of other people who have hiked the Mt. Fuji before. In a lot of opinions, it seems to be that getting to the 8th Station is not too bad in terms of amount of oxygen, visibility, and weather. However, starting from about 3,100 metres, the wind starts to get stronger and the fog gets worse and worse which you can hardly see the front and your clothing and the inside of your bags become completely wet. However, once when you get to the peak and see the sunrise, this is when you feel that you have accomplished something and filled with satisfaction. You would need patience to get to the peak of Mt. Fuji because of amount of people going through the same route as you and the resting areas to be very crowded, but if you think you can handle this, getting to the peak of Mt. Fuji might be something what you could consider.

To hike the Mt. Fuji, there are also some tours which depart from Tokyo and not just explore Mt. Fuji but also which go to Hakone, Kyoto, and Nara depending on your choice. For more information please take a look at: http://www.viator.com/Tokyo/d334/mt-fuji-tours

For blogs and information about Mt Fuji please take a look at:

http://mountfujiguide.com/

And official information about Mt. Fuji and mainly about Kawaguchiko 5th Station:

http://www.japantravelinfo.com/adventure/a_fuji.php