JET Programme Series: Oh Fujisan - Petra Harrypersad

At the beginning of this year some fellow Trinis, a Jamaican, a Filipino, an Egyptian and a Kazakhstani decided to make the journey to the summit of Mount Fuji. “The Power Rangers”, we liked to call ourselves, united to climb Fujisan. Climbing season is only during the months of July-August and some mountain huts are opened through mid-September. Planning for this adventure need to begin early because it’s a busy season with over 300,000 from around the world visiting its snow-capped peak each year.
 

Fujisan is actually an active volcano and not just any mountain. Mt Fuji contributes to Japan's physical, cultural and spiritual geography. It's Japan's tallest peak, standing at 3,776 meters or 12,390 feet high. It is considered one of Japan's three (3) sacred mountains and has been a pilgrimage site for centuries.
 

Leading up to this exciting journey, I read dozens of blogs and asked for advice from anyone that completed the trek. This in no way prepared me for what I went through both mentally and physically. I was particularly worried about how I'll cope with ascending to 3,776 meters when I lived at ocean level my whole life.
 

As the journey began, we were all powered up and was ready to begin climbing. The hike starts from the 5th station which is at 2,400 meters and my struggles began at the 6th. I consider myself somewhat fit but altitude Sickness is very real and can be extremely dangerous, it is seriously no joke! If you ever decide to make this journey, my bit of advice would be to buy the oxygen canisters from the 5th station, get appropriate gear cause the higher you go, the colder it becomes and finally listen to your body, take as much rest as you need to recuperate and acclimate to the altitude. I would also recommend staying overnight at one of the mountain huts- you may only get 4-5 hours of sleep but it helped more than I imagined.
 

Climbing Mt Fuji is by far one of THE MOST difficult things I've ever done, mainly because Of the altitude but together with the awesome “Power Rangers” we conquered the highest mountain in Japan. I know people that hiked up and down by themselves and I have no idea how they survived because without this team I surely didn't think I would of made it (Bless you guys')
 

Throughout the journey, I found myself wondering why do people do this? When I got to the summit I understood why… The sunrise from Mt Fuji has a special name, its called Goraiko. Witnessing this was indeed special and breathtakingly beautiful. At the top it literally felt like I was standing on top of the world, I was standing above the clouds, it was such a surreal moment. The descent however, well lets just say that story will be told another time. Mt Fuji was not on my bucket list because I am a sun, sand and sea girl, island life problems. However I am thankful, happy and grateful that I completed the trek up and down without any injuries.
 

On August 11, Japan celebrates Mountain Day or Yama no Hi ( 山の日) in Japanese, this is an official public holiday announced in 2014 and it was created as a day to honour and give thanks to the blessings Of mountains. There are no established customs to honour this day, however, the general recommendation is to spend time connecting with, exploring and appreciating the mountains by hiking, walking or climbing
 

I say thank you to Fujisan for such a unique experience.


JET Series: Oh Fujisan (Japanese Embassy's Facebook)


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