Mt. Fuji in September

August 9, 2007 9:54 PM

I will be in Tokyo from Sept 16 to Sept 23. Will I be able to climb Mt. Fuji or will it be closed off?

If so, what should I expect? Will camping facilities be open?

posted by gaelenh to sports, hobbies, & recreation (7 comments total)

According to this website, climbing season is restricted to July 1 - August 26.
posted by Xere at 10:00 PM on August 9, 2007

ha, never mind. The same website says off-season climbing is possible.
posted by Xere at 10:01 PM on August 9, 2007

no-sword is a MeFite, so why not shoot him an e-mail and ask how it was like?
posted by misozaki at 10:11 PM on August 9, 2007

It can be a bit of a rough climb. I got caught on Mt Fuji (luckily in a ryokan on the 4th level) during a typhoon and it was very full on.

That was in official climbing season.
posted by gomichild at 11:33 PM on August 9, 2007

It can get cold up top. Way colder than you think would be possible. Also, I recommend bringing your own food and drink. Everything at the top costs a goddamn fortune.
Otherwise, it's just a somewhat steep hike. The path is fairly clear due to the tons of people who go up all the time.
posted by nightchrome at 11:45 PM on August 9, 2007

Yeah, that post pretty much sums up my feelings about Mt Fuji. But then, I'm not very outdoorsy in the first place.

Not sure what you mean by "camping facilities", but camping in the sense of pitching a tent is illegal there all year round. They make a point of not facilitating it. There are buildings where you can rent a place to sleep -- but most if not all of them are closed in the off-season. This also applies to places selling food, drink, etc., and just people who might be able to help you (if something goes wrong) in general. That's a big part of why it's dangerous.

If I were you, I would give it a miss, and try to time my next visit for climbing season.
posted by No-sword at 5:56 AM on August 10, 2007

Thanks for the advice. My gut feeling was 'not gonna happen'. Oh well, maybe next time.
posted by gaelenh at 6:04 AM on August 10, 2007