We booked a personal tour out to Mt. Fuji for the day (10 hours).  The driver/guide was scheduled to pick us up at 6am.  The drive out to the mountain takes two hours.  He said that if you were to go on the weekend it would take four hours.  

We stopped briefly at a service station to grab a drink and something for breakfast.  The drive was mostly highway, but we were in the mountain area fairly quickly and the leaves are changing, so it was beautiful.  Our guide said that you are only allowed to climb Mt. Fuji. They do not have trails on the other mountains.  You have to pay and can only climb from July 1-September 1.  Apparently there is a hotel you can stay at on the mountain because it takes two days if you start at the bottom and six hours if you start at 5th station. 

Our first stop was a samurai shrine and it was built in the 1500s. There were only a few people there so it was a lovely experience.  The walk through the beautiful Japanese hemlock trees was quiet and peaceful.  

This Japanese cedar is over 1,000 years old.  Part of the tree was damaged by lava. 

The shrine itself had these amazing masks.  

When I walked back around to the entrance, I noticed there are two statues of samurai flanking the entrance.  

There were a lot of smaller shrines all around the area. This one was built somewhere else and relocated here. 

The foliage of the trees really added extra beauty to the experience. 

Our next stop was the Eight Springs of Oshino.  There is a beautiful view of Mt. Fuji in back of one of the springs.  However, it was covered by clouds today.  You wouldn’t even know there was a mountain there.  

We wandered around and took some pictures of the different springs. 

I liked how you could see how the water wheel worked. 

We stopped in the shop and were surprised to find some items that were a good price, even if it was a tourist stop.  They also had different foods for sale and some sampling areas.  I didn’t dare to try anything (my stomach is so sensitive). You could also buy a bottle and fill it with the spring water. 

We saw a shrine across the street, so we wandered over to check it out.  I love the dragon water fountains.  You are not supposed to touch the water in the basin because it is sacred, but you can rinse your hands and mouth where it runs over. 

The shrine itself was constructed with this sloping roof that was different from the other shrines we have seen. 

My husband was not interested in stopping at the lake, which was next on our agenda, because we would not have any view of Mt. Fuji, so we headed to 5th station. 

Our guide stopped to grab us some snacks and water and we were on our way.  When you enter, they created a song using the road, so when your tires go over it, you can hear the song in the car.  It was so cool!  It’s a welcoming to Mt. Fuji. 

As we drove it got foggier and starting raining.  I spotted a large deer on the side of the road with some impressive antlers.  I was happy he did not try to cross in front of us.  Apparently that happens quite often.  We saw a few glimpses of the top of the mountain as we drove up. 

However, when we got to the 5th station (the end of the road up the mountain) everything was in cloud cover.  We could not see anything.  

We wandered around and checked out the shrine.  

We bought some coffee and waited to see if the clouds would lift. They did not.  

Here are is our view of Mt. Fuji. 

And the surrounding areas. 

It was disappointing, but we were not mad.  You can’t control the weather.  Our next stop was lunch.  My husband found this cute restaurant for me to try.  I had the wild vegetables and udon noodles.  He had some French fries.  My soup was excellent. 

The pagoda was next on our itinerary. I was skeptical since I read there were over 400 steps to get there.  I don’t believe tour buses can get to the pagoda because the streets are so narrow and parking is scarce.  There were still a lot of people there.  

The first stop was, of course, a shrine.  I loved the fountain here with the cups.   

We looked out over the city with Mt. Fuji in the background, covered with clouds.  We could just see the top right corner.  I don’t know if you can tell in my picture. 

We started hiking up the stairs (my husband thought it would be easier than the ramp).  It was brutal.  I am very much not in shape to do something like that.  We took a bunch of breaks, but were determined to get to the pagoda because we could see Mt. Fuji emerging from the clouds.  

When we got to the pagoda area, Mt. Fuji was visible.  Then we had to climb up ANOTHER section to get the view you see on postcards, Mt. Fuji with the top of the pagoda. 

One of the more interesting things about this climb were the signs.  There were signs warning you about a bear in the area, which was great since our guide told us that bears kill 3-4 people every year.  There were also warnings not to feed the monkeys.  My husband was dying to see a monkey.  There was also a warning about an electric fence to keep out wild boars!  Of course we did not see any animals. 

The pictures from the top came out pretty for me, but my husband’s were dark.  I don’t know how the postcard photographer’s do it!  I was still pretty happy.  If we had climbed all those stairs and Mt. Fuji was still behind a cloud, I would have been annoyed. 

We went down the ramp fairly quickly. This was the end of our tour day.  We headed back to Tokyo and I fell asleep.  That climb took a lot out of me! 

After we rested for a bit at the hotel, we went out to see the Shibuya Scramble Square. It was like going to Times Square, but with everyone crossing the street.  We wandered around for a bit, checking out some stores and arcades.  

This day was the third day that we walked more than seven miles.  I think my watch said we climbed 37 flights of stairs.  My knees and calves were super sore. We are lucky that we have a tub in our room and I made sure to soak in each night.  I’m feeling a little old on this trip, but 7 miles a day when you are only used to walking about 3-4 is a lot.