Fuji Ascent
Last Saturday finally climbed Mount Fuji, Mount which is not a mountain but a volcano 
After 4 years in Japan and 3 years trying to organize the climb with Oskar in the end I managed to go to Fuji and upload it.
Two years ago, we organized the rise too, but just the day we chose to climb came a typhoon. Last year we also organize weekend but we chose was the first weekend off-season.
This year we got a group of 7 friends Antonio, Jairo Alberto, Cris, May, Oskar and me.
A few weeks ago, we began to send emails to all those who were going to climb to decide where we were going up, as we were, hours etc. Finally we decided that we would go up from the fifth season in Fujinomiya as we thought since most people would not come here, we'd go by car because we were 7 and we went out cheaper to rent a car to all who pay their bill each train and bus and we would begin the ascent at 21.30 because we calculated that we could climb to the top in 5 hours and the dawn was beginning to 4.00am.
We also decided that we would lose to a Fuji and onsen would return the car at 17.00 in Tokyo and we had only rented the car 24 hours.
The plan was genius, the bad was that almost nothing went according to plan.
We started with people coming late to the meeting point where we would pick our friend Jairo in the car, after we made a mess to enter the freeway from Shibuya and we skip the entrance driveway three times, making a lot of kilometers on local roads.
The streak of bad luck continued when we were about to reach the fifth season and we for a guard to tell us that we could not continue, since access to the fifth station by private car was forbidden in this time of year to avoid llenase all cars, so we had to go back a couple of kilometers to an area with buses and taxis going to the fifth season.
In a desperate move managed to catch the last bus of the day that reached the fifth season of Fujinomiya.
We started to rise very rapidly, and looking at the indications of time there throughout the climb, it appeared that despite the rise started at 22.30 we would be left over enough time to see the sunrise. Not at all, when we reached the eighth season all happy at how quickly we climbed all the people to. There was an infernal tail to the top so all our plans were to fret and it took 7 hours to reach the top.
Tail lamps. Photo taken by Oskar.
When we reached the top that it was almost full daylight, and we thought that we had missed the sunrise. Luckily us were a lot higher than the clouds, so all that was visible from the top was a sea of beautiful clouds and watching these clouds at the edge of a precipice suddenly glimpse a ball of jurisdiction over the horizon. It was the sun! Quite a sight to see as the sun slowly peered through the clouds until it stops completely seen.
After this, we took a short nap at the top, we prepare the breakfast food we had bought before boarding and did a mini bottle on top with a bottle of whiskey and a few redbulls.
At 8.00am we started the descent. 2 hours and 20 minutes until the fifth season was what indicated the tick. Absolutely not! 4 hours cost us down. Again, a hellish queue to go down and broken legs so tired go down.
At the top. Photo taken by Oskar
The last hour was the hardest, it seemed that we fall day and legs were broken. Finally we reached the base, the bus took another turn and went in search of our car to go straight to the onsen and relax.
Again we took many turns in the car, as we catch jams and arrive at 15.30 to the onsen, so we decided to call where we had rented the car to tell them not arrive until 20.00.
The onsen was divine, gave us all energy and we remove most of the leg pain.
At 1730 we began our return to Tokyo and of course we catch a jam nose so at 20.00 we were still in the middle of the jam.
We called again to say that we were late and were told that if not returned the car later than 22.00 at any store in Tokyo Toyota would have to pay one more day and return the car the next day. Fine idea to rent the car is what we think much at that time, which we had been paying the bus to the fifth season and now we are going to play one day pay more.
We left the highway to get local roads and leave the car at any Toyota store in Tokyo get nothing else but ... You know that we stand? Jams everywhere!
As there, we made the 22.00 without being in Tokyo. Now our next race was to reach Shinjuku before the last train ran out for some. Fortunately, the jam clearance and arrived in time for all those who had to take the train caught his last train, but literally his last train.
I have to say that although we were quite gafados, the ascent of Fuji was worth it. The climb was great because it was a moonlit night and seemed gods above the clouds and the moon illuminating. At the top we saw how it feels to be higher than the sun and the decline was the worst of it, but there is no other choice but to go down.
Now I fully understand the Japanese proverb: "Raise the Fuji once in your life is wise, upload two is crazy."
