Japan in July

This looks like it could be a nice hotel doesn't it?

We had booked into a hotel in Hakone which looked fantastic online and were thrilled at the prospect of a little retreat at one of the most popular weekender spots of Tokyo residents.

When we arrived, they had lost our booking but accommodated us anyway. We were a bit surprised as it was the peak season. That is until we started to explore the hotel.

Imagine if Elstree Studios in Borehamwood, England were not available to film The Shining and instead they decided to set it in Summertime regional Japan with an Australian and Japanese cast.

That's where we were staying.

There were only three other couples staying at the hotel. There were whole corridors that were entirely dark, one of which we traipsed down in an attempt to find the swimming pool. The signs up said the pool closed at 5pm (you'll have your fun at prescribed times, thank you) and when we were unable to locate it, we asked one of the staff where it was. He told us it was closed (it was 4.55pm) and we said, yes we know we can't swim in it but could we see it.

It really was closed. Big time. It was empty and peeling.

The high point was definitely the onsen which was genuinely nice. There were some Americans there complaining that it was too hot though which seemed perverse.

We thought we would go to the bar for a pre-dinner drink but the bar was closed. We managed to persuade the staff member who looked like a perpetually unsmiling Japanese version of Conan O'Brien, to let us have a drink in one of the restaurants (which had one of the three couples in it by 6pm for dinner). We threw down several cocktails to prepare ourselves for our kaiseki dinner, the only food available in the place other than French, for 8,600 Yen.

After eating this somewhat confronting meal which I blurrily photographed, we all agreed that we would not stay an extra night and would go to Tokyo a day early.

When we woke up, it was misty and a little rainy which worked well with the gale force winds.

After receiving a note under our door that informed us the onsen would not be operational as of mid-morning (it may as well have said, "You have made the right decision!"), we checked out and Conan O'Brien-San seemed to smile for the first time.

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

Climb Mount Fuji

July is one of only two months in which it is possible to climb Mount Fuji.

At over 3776m, Fuji is the highest mountain in Japan (although to put this in perspective, it is not even one of the top 100 highest mountains in the world; Mt Everest is more than twice as high).

The top of Fuiji is considered so sacred that until the Meiji Era, women were not allowed to go to the summit. Today, happily, gender prohibitions do not apply and an estimated 200,000 people climb Mount Fuji every year, 30% of whom are foreigners. This site contains LOTS of information on the climb.

The mountain is divided into ten stations with the first at the bottom and the tenth at the summit. Each station has four venues at various points around the mountain. The most popular place to start is Kawaguchiko 5th station.

Most people get a morning bus to the 5th station, start climbing in the afternoon, spend the night near the summit then get up early in the morning to reach the top in order to view the sunset on the second day.

The climb is not supposed to be really difficult but the altitude does mean the air gets a little thin. You need to take proper footwear and warm clothes if you are going to do the climb. This site contains a useful list of what you need to bring. You can hire some of it on the mountain (I assume this includes head torches). It gets very crowded so it's wise to schedule the visit on a week day as early in July as possible.

Each hut offers food, some supplies, and basic accommodation.  Hut prices tend to match the elevation of the mountain. 

The easiest way to reach the Kawaguchiko 5th Station is by bus from Shinjuku Station (Toyko). In July and August there are six buses daily that travel directly from Shinjuku Station to Kawaguchiko Trail's 5th Station, costing ¥2,600 (Au$38) one-way and taking almost 2 1/2 hours. Buses leave Shinjuku at 07:45,  08:45,  10:55,  16:50,  17:50  and 19:50.

If we want to do this, we need to book accommodation as it gets incredibly crowded on the Mountain. This site contains details of the various huts. Frommers recommends the hut called TaishiKan (0555-24-6516 phone number on the mountain or 0555-22-1947 down below).

There is also an English language tour service called Fuji Yama Guides. Their service (operating from the Kawaguchiko 5th Station bus stop) includes a qualified guide and insurance. If we get four people on the tour it will cost 22,000 yen (AU$315) per person plus accommodation which is an extra 8000 yen (AU$114). If we are going to book the tour, the reservation form is here. We would still need to book accommodation separately.

There is a saying in Japan:

"Everyone should climb Mount Fuji once; only a fool would climb it twice."