mt. fuji : part three

(part one) (part two)

it was about lunch time when i got back to the hut.  i was in a sleep-deprived state of mt. fuji exhaustion and after lunch, i gave in to a 2 hour nap.  this time around, i was "working" for free.  i wasn't a guest, since i wasn't paying to stay, but i also wasn't obligated to do anything except earn my meals.

i don't think i've ever posted about life on the top of mt. fuji here because every time i get back, i'm overwhelmed by the number of photos i took and the sheer amount of time that i spent there.  of course there are people who have spent longer summers, or more summers, up there than me, but 4 weeks of 16 hour days is, well, a long time no matter how you look at it.  this time, i only have 4 days and 240 pictures to deal with.

in general, the day goes like this:

3:30  wake up
4:00 open for business (busiest time of the day)
5:00 sunrise
7:30 staff breakfast
9:30 cleaning
10:30 tea and snacks
12:00 lunch
3:00 cleaning
        tea and snacks
        check in for overnight guests starts
5:00 guests' dinner
        staff dinner
6:00 clean up after guests' dinner
        hang out and start getting ready for bed
7:00 lights out

between 10:30 and 3:30 there are various waves of climbers looking for warm food, stamps for their hiking sticks, and a place to rest after making it to the summit.  if i were a paid worker, i would be obligated to hang around the hut and be available to take orders, clean or do any other task our boss doles out.  but this year, when business was slow, i'd hop over to neighboring huts to chat and catch up with people i knew from the past two years.  i also got to go with one guy who's been working on mt. fuji for 30some years to the watering hole.

the watering hole is a little known (and roped off) spot on mt. fuji that provides all the summit huts and shrines with water.  even in the summer, there are snow patches in the crater of mt. fuji.  one such snow patch is close to the top and melts down into a "field" making a little pond (more like a big puddle).

there is a gas pump and extensive piping that pumps the water around the crater to the huts.  all the food made on the summit is made from this run off water.  summit workers get to take a bath once a week, which is also run off water.  every day, someone has to fill the gas tank and make sure the water pipes aren't clogged.

for long term workers, meals and tea time are highlights of the long days. the same cook was there this year and i ate some really good meals,

and tried to finish a whole serving of natto gohan, but was unsuccessful (i made it halfway before giving it away).

each morning i helped unload the supply bulldozer with the guys, throwing cases of pocari sweat and hot cocoa like they were empty. i don't have any pictures this year, but the bulldozer comes up every morning around 9:30 to deliver food, supplies, gas tanks for the generators that run everything, and anything else the bosses "order" from down below.

and, one of my favorite things: i saw three more beautiful sunrises from three different places on the summit.

on my last day, i went to the shrine and got an omamori and read the ema. i also got the shrine's red ink stamps on the pouch i use to carry my iphone.

at 11am, i got a ride down part way on the bulldozer heading back down, which probably saved a good 40-50 minutes of descent. i booked it the rest of the way and made it from the lower 8th station edo-ya (roughly 3,300meters) to the 5th station (2,300meters) in just over an hour.

after 4 days, i was physically tired and just a bit boroboro from the cold temperatures, intense sun, lack of oxygen and dry air.   but i also felt great and somehow recharged.

i made it into the last seat on the 1pm bus with about 1 minute to spare and slept as the bus made its way back into tokyo.  i was home before 4pm.  i don't think i've ever made it from top to bottom that quickly.  and, 3 days later, i am still feeling the pain from it.

but it was all totally worth it.