Trekking in Mount Fuji

Almost everyone who climbs Fuji starts at the fifth station, halfway up, having arrived by bus in the afternoon. The sea-to-summit route ignores all of that. It begins on the sand at Tagonoura in Shizuoka and walks the entire mountain from zero — through the coastal towns, up through the forest belt, and out onto the bare volcanic cinder above the treeline to the 3,776-metre summit.

It is forty kilometres and the full height of the mountain in one continuous line, which turns Japan's most crowded peak into a serious two-day undertaking that very few people attempt. The logic is the old pilgrim's one: you earn the summit from the bottom, watching the landscape change beneath you the whole way up.

Fuji's official climbing season is short — July to early September — and the main trails have recently added entry fees, daily climber caps and overnight gate closures that keep changing. Verify the current rules for your chosen trail before you set out.

Two entirely separate booking systems depending on which side you climb, and a mandatory equipment check at the gate that turns people back for wearing trainers. From Tagonoura you walk the full 3,776 m, so the first day is long and unglamorous — towns, then forest, then black cinder above the treeline. It is cold at the top in August. Huts run lights-out around 8pm and everyone leaves in the dark for sunrise.

Register and pay the ¥4,000 entry fee online before you fly — it applies to all four trails and produces a QR-code permit. Yamanashi (Yoshida) and Shizuoka (Fujinomiya, Gotemba, Subashiri) run separate systems, and the Shizuoka one makes you complete a short e-learning module and pass a safety test before you can pay. Yoshida is capped at 4,000 climbers a day and busy dates fill, so book as soon as your plans are firm. Book a mountain hut too: without a reservation you cannot pass the trailhead gate between 2pm and 3am. Bring real boots, warm layers and rain gear — rangers check. The season runs roughly 1 July to 10 September, with the Shizuoka trails opening 10 July.