Mt Fuji haiku:
A cool morning breeze
On our way up the mountain
Is helping me climb.
At 3776 meters (or 12,388 feet), Mt. Fuji is the tallest mountain in Japan. We started the climb at Kawaguchi station (5th station), which is at 7,562 feet.
A must-have souvenir (and especially handy during your descent) is a walking stick, or kongozue. You can buy plain wooden sticks in varying lengths. The reason they are plain is because, as you go up the mountain, there are stations along the way where you can obtain decorative brands to mark your journey. Each brand costs about 200 yen. After you get about 30 of them, they start to add up! However, your walking stick will be a unique souvenir that is well worth bringing a few extra bucks.
One thing that your guide or travel book may fail to mention - there is a mailbox at the summit of Mount Fuji! You may want to bring some postcards and addresses with you to the summit. Once there, you can get them stamped with a postmark available only at the summit of Mount Fuji. Kind of neat, don't you think?
