Seaside to summit

Tokyo -> Mt Fuji 5th Station

Its been a while since Travis first suggested this ride back in April, allowing time for everyone to prepare to join the latest of his 24 hour endurance events. Tokyo to Niigata, Tokyo to Nagoya, and now Tokyo to the summit of Mount Fuji and back in 24hours! Originally, the idea was to ride from the seaside closer to Mt Fuji than Tokyo, say Odawara, but in the end it makes more sense(?) to start from home than taking the first train out to a distant point which would end up with a much steeper climb, and possibly a double climb depending on the route. I would never have thought this possible if I hadn't been on the 180km+ rides earlier this year, its something to build up to.

As they say in Japan, "A wise man climbs Mount Fuji once, a fool climbs twice." This was to be my second ascent to the summit and so the only one foolish enough to join in, after Philip and Todor found they had less traumatic events in their diaries on this day. Shame not to have company, but the weather was looking perfect and this would be the final weekend of the official Mt Fuji hill hiking season when the mountain huts are still open.

The ride started only 4.5km for me at the junction of 246 and Konpachi dorii, ten to one in the morning at the 7-11 on the junction of 246 and Konpachi dorii. So hot at this hour! Probably 27-28 degrees as we head south-west along route 246 to route 16 and up to Hashimoto. Not a route I would normally take, and one I will not take again as the 246 is heavy traffic and almost feels like highway in places. I'd rather be on the Onekai, but at this hour of the morning its relatively quiet and we make rapid progress to arrive at the first combini break just beyond Hashimoto before continuing on to the 413, Doshi michi.

The Doshi michi is the classic route to Yamanakako, the largest of the 5 lakes of Mount Fuji. Virtually a 35km climb, which starts off incredibly gently but winds itself up to be a significant climb before dropping down to the lake. Cycling through the night the roads are lit by an almost full moon, but much more adequately by Travis' high powered head(!) lights. The combini at Doshi village is closed, but we refuel with drinks from the vending machines and I realise that we are now soaked not so much in sweat as by dew in the cooler air as we approach 1000m altitude.

On descending 413 after the tunnel, we get the first awesome view of Mt Fuji, glowing red like Ayers Rock in the morning light.  At this point, we're both thinking and Travis says later, "Its a bloody long way to the top."

After many photos and one of the most scenic lake rides possible, we reach the end of lake Yamanaka and descend towards Fujiyoshida and have a well earned breakfast or two. We've completed stage 1 of the mission! It would be very tempting to sleep a few hours here, and Travis is caught "resting his eyes" when I return from the loo, but we're both ready and focused on stage 2, which will be uphill as far as the road goes, to the 5th station on the Subaru line at 2400m.

Its 2000 yen for cars and 200 yen for bikes, and the road is 23km up from the toll booth. We're already 5km up the climb at this point, so a brief rest is appreciated. The Subaru line is a gentle 5% average incline, but thoughts of breaking my 1hr 12min time from the hill climb race earlier this year never cross my mind as theres going to be another massive effort after we reach the 5th station today. 2 hours is the anticipated time for the climb today and from restaurant to the top we are right on schedule.
I love this climb, the gentle slope which flattens in sections to allow the speed to build means you never need to raise the heart rate too much (unless racing), theres plenty of shade from the trees and higher up we are rewarded with views across to the southern alps. The final 2km are super fast, its hard to believe you are still going uphill until the final sting in the tail as the road rises before the coach park at the top.

So stage 2 complete, we arrive at the 5th station, 2300m above sea level and amongst the thousands of tired hikers who have climbed the mountain over night and are now waiting for their lifts back home. We get changed, I put on leggings and under layer, and change into running shoes. For this climb, boots are unnecessary unless in bad weather, and we both make great progress up the mountain stopping at each station on the way up for brief respite. The rockiest section is 8-9th station, pulling yourself up on the chains takes the strain off the legs. We ascend faster than most, the only guy climbing faster than us is trying to run up and we even catch up with him towards the 9th station.

I reckon climbing by day is much more pleasant, the temperature is not so hot as I feared in the sun (around 15 degrees, even at the top!) and we get to see what we're climbing up. On average, you would climb over night to be guaranteed a clear view at sunrise, after which the mountain generates enough cloud so you can't see anything on the way down, but today the cloud remains thin and at times welcome as it shades us from the sun.

It takes us 4 hours to reach the top of the climb. This was the time suggested by Philip, and its not a bad time for the ascent. With the climb out of the way, we decide to walk around the crater, which takes another 1hr 10 min. Its a rewarding walk, and Travis was keen to post a letter from the post office at the top so I had no complaints about doing the extra walk. Except the post office was closed ! Imagine walking all that way to find out the PO was shut. Only now I find out that the PO is open 42 days a year, until mid August so we can only send a text message from the summit instead - not quite the same. Oh well, I sent a letter to my dad last time I was here, but it would have been nice for Travis to have done the same.

Its on the crater loop that we really feel the altitude, and discover how sensitive our heads are to oxygen deprivation at this height. Every small step upwards is painful, not so much the legs as in a gasping for breath and growing headache. Then every small step downwards is a relief, your brain is saying well done, this is the way to go.  The photo to the right is meters from the highest point at 3776m, Travis is feeling the pain at this point!

I'm out of water after the extra loop, so I have to buy a 500¥ bottle of coke before the descent, down the volcanic ash trails where everyone slips, slides and stumbles at some point. This could be a very quick descent, but its also a time to be cautious and when knees and ankles turn to jelly. Travis was soon feeling the pain, and our estimated 2hr descent took around 3hours. But then 2hours was the estimate of Philip, who last year ran up and down Mt Fuji 7 times in 7 weeks in preparation for the hill climb race so its not surprising we took a while longer. I reckon my recent run training and half-ironman in Aberfeldy was of clear advantage here, and I was surprised how good I felt, all the way to the bottom of the trail, back to the 5th station.

Unsurprisingly our bikes were still where we had left them, someone could have made off with some expensive souvenirs this day. As the sun was setting, we quickly put cycling shoes on, wind breakers and gloves and enjoyed the 28km descent back to Fuji yoshida. The descent was so long that we were dazzled by the sun at the top, and at the bottom it was total darkness. Descending faster than the cars, then passing the buses causing the traffic hold up, we had clear roads down past the toll booths where I think the toll guards were trying to shout something to us, probably slow down, but I didnt want to break  at this point. In fact, the whole descent I barely touched the brakes, just sitting upright and using my body as an airbrake was enough to comfortably get down the mountain.

Back to the main road and time for more food, reflection on a great achievement and thoughts of how to get home. Travis had already said he would not have the legs to cycle back, and I was glad to hear this as cycling back in the dark down the Doshi michi for another 130km would just destroy the good thoughts about this ride/hike to the summit. So we eat quickly, buy some bin liners from the convenience store to use as bike bags and head for the next train to Otsuki and then Tokyo bound.

A wonderful day, and a great achievement, thanks Travis for suggesting the ride and for great company all day from Tokyo to Fuji and back again!