Jonbu the baker

Panoramic view on Mt.Fuji, originally uploaded by jonbu.

Yay I made it to the top! It’s cool to see clouds beneath you.

Thanks to Larry for tagging along. He’s already been up there before, so he’s like a pro Mt.Fuji climber now.

We joined a local climbing tour full of Japanese people young and old (mostly young, which was a surprise to me). And it does get cold up there, so clothing was important. I didn’t have to relive the garbage-bag incident that happened 5 years ago with the Gifu gang, so in a way it’s a different type of experience.

Having a walking stick was so important too. If you don’t bring one, you’re either a ninja or you’re crazy.

I brought an iPod with me and put it on the moment we started climbing. It really extract you away from the experience, but I didn’t realize it until the moment I took it off.

One tip I’d offer is, bring a face mask for the downward trip. People in-front of you often knocks up volcanic dust that powders your whole body brown-red.

Also, I brought all my drinks with me on the way up, and it was quite heavy. The drinks they sell up there aren’t that expensive (500yen per 500ml at the top, cheaper along the way), so I might have planned on buying those instead if I had to do it again (but I won’t).

More pictures coming later on my flickr.