Like a trail of fire flies they bobbed, glowing in the blackness, saddlebacking up the side of the mighty Fuji. As one of the three holy mountains in Japan, this 3776 metre high stratovolcano that last announced its presence to the world in 1706 welcomes all who attempt to summit. We were one of these fire flies, with our cyclops light eyes swaying from our forehead, who became part of the pilgrimage to the peak. As we journeyed we encountered monks with conch shells bellowing, calling forth the dawn, youtube enthusiasts and selfie devotees waiting for the chance to upload to instagram, romantics celebrating the love of nature and each other, those with sad eyes who have trekked to farewell a loved one and others like us who live for adventure.
We stop at most of the stations to grab nourishment and a branded insignia that shows our height progression. Our light joins with others and with each step we make our sojourn upwards. Finally we stand at Fuji's peak awaiting the sun to break forth and celebrate a new beginning. We watch as the sun crowns like a new born and then rise to its glory painting both of us with its glow. A total silence descends, we stand in awe as we watch the rays caress the Kusushi-jina shrine with its Torii Gates aflame and like most digital natives we grab for our cameras to capture the moment.
Most people watch mother nature give birth to her sun and then happily descend earthward and thus miss the path less trodden by other trekkers. The Ohachi-meguri circuit around the volcanic crater of Fuji is a little gem of a walk. It rewards those die-hard trekkers with amazing views of the snow covered crater within, icicle caves and of an observation tower, that stands Colossus of Rhode like protecting those who tread its path. This walk should take around an hour to complete, but then again with fatigue setting in, you wont get much change from two hours!
There is a famous saying about Fuji: 'He who climbs Mt. Fuji is a wise man, he who climbs it twice is a fool...... We are no fools!
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