Is there any way to climb Mt. Fuji in the week before the 7/1 opening of the season?
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Is there any way to climb Mt. Fuji in the week before the 7/1 opening of the season?

by Hannah
(United States)

Hi, I found your website on r/JapanTravel. My group of 4 plus I will be in Japan from June 19-July 1, 2023 (my husband and I will be there for 2 weeks prior to the group). We had planned to climb Mt. Fuji on June 23-24 until I realized today that the climbing season begins in July.

Is there any way to climb in the off season? I saw on one website that if you sign a climbing form with the prefecture police you are free to go, but it’s not advised because of the weather.

And I saw on another website that it’s allowed, but you need a local guide. Do you know if either of those are true? Also if so do you recommend a specific guide?

If not, I know there’s still things to do around Fuji and it seems worth it to view it up close, but I’d love to summit it if I can. Thanks in advance!

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May 04, 2023
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OK, if you submit the climbing form, but not recommended
by: Gary Wolff

Howdy, Hannah! Yes, as you said, you can climb Mount Fuji in the off-season, provided you submit the climbing form to the Yamanashi Prefectural Police, however climbing even 1 week before the beginning of the season is highly discouraged for a million reasons... and not recommended except for experienced mountaineers.

These reasons include limited transport access to the 5th station, extreme weather conditions (as you said) including late lingering snow, hypothermia, & lightning strikes, very limited emergency rescue personnel, and the fact that all mountain huts above the 5th station will still be closed (including toilets & first-aid stations) which requires climbers to carry their own portable toilet in order not to pollute Japan's holiest & most sacred peak.

In case you haven’t already seen them, more details are here:

- When is Mt. Fuji's official climbing season?
- Three Rules for Off-season Climbers of Mt. Fuji

But even though the climbing trail to the summit will still be closed, you should still be able to hike around the 5th station, including the short Ochudo circumferential trail.

Best wishes and thanks for visiting my site…

Cheers,
Gary

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