Mt. Fuji I went to Mt. Fuji with some friends.. Japan's famous, and still ACTIVE volcano.. about 3770 m tall. This is the "base camp" at 2300 meters above the sea. I expected it to be an easy climb, but i was wrong.... The weather was nice... Right here it was about 25 degrees, nice breeze blowing.. quite perfect.. there were many groups .. this was our coordinator telling people what to do, what to bring, how long it will take etc. The summit can be seen in the background... doesn't look terribly steep, does it?










At the base camp they sold all kinds of stupid souvenirs.. Mt Fuji "Rock Candy", Fuji keyrings, Fuji Mobile straps, Fuji postcards, Fuji chocolate, Fuji hats, Fuji anything... They also sold overpriced water and these oxygen cans. One can for 1100 yen is crazy.. about SEK 70!








My lunch.. fried chicken and rice.. very nice. Bought it in a convenience store before we left Tokyo, about 500 yen = ca 30 kr.











There were horses on the mountain.. carrying stuff.. The lady in yellow was our guide.. yelling a lot. The way up was mostly gravel and medium-sized boulders rather than solid rock, making the climb very tiresome. Almost everyone bought special walking sticks, decorated with bells and stamps.. damn bells kept ringing the whole way!!






Nice Engrish!













You can't enter this gravel.. I know you want to, but it's not allowed. Accept our rules or go back to your country!































Zig-zagging path up past the other five stations. We started climbing around 13.00, reached the 8th station around 18, tried to sleep, failed because each one of us got about 15 cm to sleep on, started walking up to the summit around 23..









Our beloved guide, showing us how to handle a stick..


















Half shark half mountaneer/monkey


















Had to wear a headlamp at night to see where you were walking. This was at station 8, at 3200 m. A soon-to-be freezing man.

























The sunrise seen from the summit, around 4.30! It was a couple degrees below zero... I froze my ass off.







The crater! I was wearing a raincoat.. had to put on everything i had cause it was so damn cold.. besides, the lack of oxygen probably had a laxative effect on my brain.










The way down was a dusty one. A real knee-killer too.. got sand everywhere.. and looked stupid overall. We overheard an afro-american lady complaining to her friend that "you break your ass!!" We saw a man get carried down on one of those sticks by two others, and countless kids crying to their parents.. but it was worth it! I've been on top of a volcano!






After the trip, on our way back to Tokyo, we got to spend 2 hours at an onsen, a hot spring bath house.. these fellas were welcoming us at the entrance... I've never seen anything more unsettling in my life. Apparently they are some kind of mythological creatures.. why they have sharp teeth, tits and huge balls is a mystery better left unsolved. ¶ 14:24