Mount Fuji by the Yoshida Trail

Climbing Mount Fuji is a rite of passage, and the Yoshida Trail is the way most people do it. Starting high on the volcano’s northern flank at the Fuji Subaru Line 5th Station, it is the busiest and best-served route, lined with mountain huts and reached directly by bus from Tokyo. Split over two days with an overnight hut stay, it lets you climb through the night or rest before a pre-dawn push to watch the sun rise over the sea of clouds — the goraiko, or ‘arrival of light’.

Fuji is a hard climb despite its huts and crowds: the summit air is thin, the weather turns fast, and the endless volcanic gravel is tiring. But the reward is standing on the highest point in Japan at dawn.

Getting there. Direct buses run from Tokyo (Shinjuku) and Kawaguchiko Station to the Fuji Subaru Line 5th Station in the climbing season. Spend an hour at the 5th Station letting your body adjust to the altitude before setting off.

Season & huts. The official climbing season runs from early July to early September, when the huts, buses and summit facilities are open. Book your eighth-station hut well ahead — beds sell out, and sleeping on the mountain outside the huts is discouraged.

Good to know:

• The summit crater rim is a full 3,776 m at its highest point, Kengamine — the true top is a short crater loop beyond the trail’s own summit gate.
• Ascent and descent use separate trails on the Yoshida route; follow the descent signs carefully, as the Yoshida and Subashiri descents split partway down.