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The Mt. Fuji trip

Since the date I managed to book at Goraikokan was 7/16, I chose 7/16–7/17 of this year (2024) for this Mt. Fuji climb. For climbing Mt. Fuji, the general advice is to book a mountain hut and not do an overnight single push (bullet climbing), so this time I prioritized the hut reservation date and then arranged the climbing schedule around it. Also, Mt. Fuji is an active volcano, so always watch for volcanic-activity alerts; you can check this on Mt. Fuji’s official site.

Climbing routes

Yoshida route

Starting from Mt. Fuji 5th Station at 2300 meters elevation, the route is 5.8 km, taking about 5–7 hours. It has the most huts of any route, with huts from the 7th to 9th stations, making it a popular beginner route. It’s also our route this time.

Source: https://www.fujisan-climb.jp/trails/yoshida/index.html

Besides the Yoshida route, Mt. Fuji has other climbing routes.

Subashiri route

The Yoshida and Subashiri routes merge after the Original 8th Station, so the crowds grow from there. This route’s biggest fun is experiencing the sunabashiri (sand run) on the way down, i.e. sliding through the sand; in fact the Yoshida route’s descent path also starts on the Subashiri route, splitting off again around the 8th station.

Source: https://www.fujisan-climb.jp/trails/subashiri/index.html

If you want to read about the Subashiri route experience, this post is pretty complete: https://manyujp.com/fujisan-1/

Fujinomiya route

The shortest route, but a steep climb all the way; recommended for those with plenty of hiking experience.

Source: https://www.fujisan-climb.jp/trails/fujinomiya/index.html

Gotemba route

The gentlest grade, also with a sand run, but fewer huts and toilets. It also has the fewest climbers.

Source: https://www.fujisan-climb.jp/trails/gotenba/index.html

Entry application

Since July 1, 2024, Yamanashi Prefecture charges climbers on the Yoshida route a 2000-yen-per-person entry fee, and only allows 4000 people per day to climb Mt. Fuji.

Source: https://www.fujisan-climb.jp/info/20240220_2024anzentaisaku.html

Mountain hut reservations

Different routes on Mt. Fuji have different huts. The Yoshida route has the most, with huts from the 7th station to the Original 8th station. Below is a list of huts on the Yoshida route.

Station	Hut name	Website
8th Station	御来光館 (Goraikokan)	https://www.goraikoukan.jp
	八合目トモエ館 (Tomoekan)	https://tomoekan.com
	富士山ホテル (Fujisan Hotel)	https://www.fujisanhotel.com/
	元祖室 (Gansomuro)	https://www.ganso-muro.jp/
	白雲荘 (Hakuunso)	http://fujisan-hakuun.com/en/
	蓬莱館 (Horaikan)	https://www.horaikan.jp/
	太子舘 (Taishikan)	https://www.mfi.or.jp/~taisikan/
7th Station	東洋館 (Toyokan)	https://www.fuji-toyokan.jp/
	鳥居荘 (Toriiso)	http://toriiso.com/
	富士一館 (Fuji-ichikan)	https://www.fuji-ichikan.jp/
	鎌岩館 (Kamaiwakan)	https://kamaiwakan.jpn.org/
	七合目トモエ館 (Tomoekan 7th)	https://kamaiwakan.jpn.org/

From experience, many huts open reservations early!!! For example, if the site says reservations open 5/20 23:00, since that’s Japan time it should be 22:00 Taiwan time. But when the four of us split up to grab huts this time, we found some huts opened reservations as early as 21:00!!! Some huts that should only be reservable a few days later also quietly opened early!!! So be sure to prepare for the hut grab earlier than early.

Reserving Goraikokan

Goraikokan opened reservations at noon on 5/7 this year, and I used my company’s network speed to frantically grab a four-person room with my companions. Truly lucky, and near the opening time the site times out like crazy.

Usually after reservations open, you click ご予約／ご宿泊 on the side of the site and the available dates pop up; a circle means there are spots. But it’s really hard to grab, so keep refreshing to see if spots appear. Once inside, you choose the number of beds and fill in things like a contact address in Japan and some basic personal info, so I recommend preparing all of it before the grab.

We also chose one night with two meals, i.e. dinner and breakfast the next day. You can choose Western or Japanese meals when booking.

Dinner starts being served from 5:00 PM.

Breakfast is prepared as early as 1:30 AM the next day.

Check-in time: after 14:00
Check-out time: 0:00 ~ 6:00
Cancellation policy: if you cancel for personal reasons, a cancellation fee is charged
No-show: 100%
Same day: 100%
Day before: 80%
9 days before: 50%
20 days before: 30%

If the Yoshida route is closed on the day of your stay, or if Yamanashi or Shizuoka Prefecture instructs you that climbing is prohibited, the cancellation fee is waived.

Transportation arrangements

This time we chose to arrive at Lake Kawaguchi to stay overnight first, then depart from Lake Kawaguchi to the 5th Station the next morning.

Narita Airport → Shinjuku

I took the Keisei Skyliner NEX; you can buy it in advance on Klook or KKday, get a QR code, and redeem it at the NEX machine at the airport.

Shinjuku → Lake Kawaguchi

Then take a highway bus to Kawaguchiko Station to stay overnight; I reserved the Shinjuku-to-Kawaguchiko ticket on the highway bus site in advance.

A mobile ticket looks like the one below; just hand it to the attendant to scan and you can board.

Highway bus site: https://highway-buses.jp/chi/

Lake Kawaguchi → 5th Station

You can reserve tickets online for the first bus. When using the ticket, you click to activate it; I recommend activating it only when the bus arrives, since after activation a 2-hour countdown starts and the ticket becomes void after 2 hours.

The boarding spot at Kawaguchiko Station is at platform 7.

Shuttle bus ticket reservation: https://fujikyubus.quicktrip.jp/bought

If you want to go to Mt. Fuji 5th Station, definitely watch the time. We rushed for the first bus at 6:40, but the bus was a bit late and we arrived at the 5th Station around 7:45.

Fuji bus timetable: https://www.fujikyubus.co.jp/mycar/timetablefares/

As an aside, on the first day from the start up to Goraikokan there was heavy fog and a downpour, a very miserable day. Be sure to prepare a rain jacket, rain pants, and cold-weather clothing; on the way up I saw many foreigners in short sleeves and shorts freezing to death… I’ll organize the climbing write-up later lol.

Also, you can buy the round-trip tickets at once, but I recommend buying the return bus to Lake Kawaguchi after you finish climbing, unless you’re very good at controlling your up/down timing. After descending you can also wander the shrine or the nearby souvenir shops.