Japan – Fuji 3,776m and Kumano Kodo trek

Arrival at Narita Airport (NRT). Transfer to the hotel in Shinjuku, which takes about an hour and a half. The afternoon and evening are free for a first look around the city – Shibuya, Shinjuku or Akihabara. Overnight stay.

Breakfast. Free time in Tokyo for buying hiking equipment and shopping, resting or sightseeing. Tokyo is a paradise for hiking gear – Mont-bell in Shinjuku (a Japanese brand of excellent quality), L-Breath (10 floors of equipment, 2 minutes from Shinjuku Station), Kojitsu Sanso in the Kanda district, Ishii Sports, as well as The North Face, Arc’teryx and Patagonia stores on Meiji-dori between Harajuku and Shibuya. Sightseeing – the Senso-ji temple in Asakusa, the gardens of the Imperial Palace, Takeshita-dori street in Harajuku or the Tokyo Skytree tower. In the afternoon, a highway bus from the Shinjuku Expressway Bus Terminal to Kawaguchiko (about 2 hours). Accommodation in a hotel on Lake Kawaguchiko with a view of Fuji-san. Overnight stay.

Route

Fujinomiya 5th Station → the summit of Fuji-san

Altitudes

2,400 m → 3,776 m

Elevation gain / loss

▲ approx. 1,376 m

Activity duration

approx. 9 hours (ascent approx. 5 hours)

Grade (PSS)

T2 K3 V4

Both days are reserved with the agency Kanto Adventures – one for the ascent of Fuji-san, the other for the tour of Lake Kawaguchiko. The order is not fixed in advance: the agency makes the final decision on the day of the ascent 48 hours earlier, based on a professional Japanese mountain forecast. This arrangement greatly increases the chances of a successful summit, because the day with better weather conditions is chosen.

FUJI-SAN ASCENT DAY (optional).

Departure at 05:30 from Kawaguchiko station. A stop at a shop (7-Eleven, Lawson or another) for breakfast and food for the ascent. Arrival at the Fujinomiya 5th Station (2,400 m) at about 06:30 and preparation of equipment. Fujinomiya is the highest of the four 5th Stations on Fuji and offers the shortest approach to the summit. The trail leads through volcanic terrain covered in snow, with a view of the sea of clouds below us. The ascent takes about 5 hours. Arrival at the summit of Fuji-san (3,776 m) at about 11:30 – photographs and a walk around the crater. The descent begins after a short break at the top. Return to the vehicle at about 15:30, arrival in Kawaguchiko at about 17:00. Overnight stay.

The guide of the agency teaches the group the techniques of using crampons and an ice axe, including self-arrest, and practises them with the group during the ascent itself.

LAKE KAWAGUCHIKO TOUR DAY (for all participants).
Bicycle hire and a ride around Lake Kawaguchiko – a route of about 20 km with a constant view of Fuji-san. You can choose between regular or electric city bikes. Along the way there are stops at museums, cafés and viewpoints. An option to visit the Chureito Pagoda – one of the most famous viewpoints of Fuji-san. A free afternoon in Kawaguchiko – visiting local onsen, shops and restaurants serving the speciality hoto (thick udon noodles in pumpkin soup). Overnight stay.

ALTERNATIVE PROGRAMME ON THE ASCENT DAY (for participants who are not climbing Fuji).
While one group climbs Fuji-san, the others choose one of the following options in the Fuji Five Lakes region – a detailed description of each is given in the “Optional programme” section further down: Mt. Mitsutoge (1,785 m) for those who want a proper hiking tour with the best panoramic view of Fuji, Mt. Tenjo (1,104 m) with the Kachi Kachi ropeway as an easier variant, the Narusawa and Fugaku lava caves for a visit without physical effort, or the Benifuji no Yu onsen for a day of complete rest with a view of Fuji.

On Tuesday evening, after both days, a highway bus back to Tokyo. Overnight stay in a hotel in Tokyo.

Note This is the most demanding day of the programme. No climbing rope or fixed protection is used, but crampons and an ice axe are mandatory on the snow slopes, which is why the day is graded with the technical grade T2. The activity lasts about nine hours (K3), and covers nearly 1,400 m of ascent (V4) – more than any other day of the programme.

Flight

JL219 Tokyo (Haneda) – Nanki-Shirahama, 16.30 – 17.40

Breakfast. A free morning in Tokyo for last sightseeing or shopping. An afternoon flight to Nanki-Shirahama from Haneda Airport (Japan Airlines). Bus transfer from Shirahama to the town of Tanabe – the starting point for the Kumano Kodo. Accommodation in a hotel. Overnight stay.

Route

Kobiro-oji → Hosshinmon-oji → the Hongu valley

Distance

approx. 19 km

Walking time

7–8 hours

Breakfast. By bus from Tanabe to Kobiro-oji – one of the many sacred sub-shrines along the Kumano Kodo trail. The trek begins at Kobiro-oji and leads through forests of Japanese cedar, trees 500 to 800 years old, crossing mountain ridges with a view of the Kumano valley. Passing through villages on the ridges and many oji shrines, the trail leads to the Hosshinmon-oji gate – the symbolic gate through which pilgrims enter the sacred area of Kumano. A descent through the forest to the Hongu valley, from where we continue by local bus to Yunomine Onsen – one of the oldest hot springs in Japan, discovered about 1,800 years ago. Accommodation in a traditional ryokan: tatami mats, futon beds, yukata robes and bathing in thermal water (rotenburo – open-air bathing). Overnight stay.

Note We visit the Kumano Hongu Taisha shrine the next day, along the Dainichi-goe trail.

Route

Yunomine Onsen → Dainichi-goe → Kumano Hongu Taisha → Yunomine Onsen

Distance

approx. 2 km one way

Walking time

1–2 hours one way

Grade (PSS)

T1 K1 V1

Breakfast in the ryokan. A day of rest and relaxation in the hot springs. A walk along the Dainichi-goe trail (about 2 km, 1–2 h one way) – a short but wonderful trail through the forest with stone steps and Jizo statues – to the great shrine of Kumano Hongu Taisha, one of the three great Kumano shrines. A visit to the huge Oyunohara torii gate – the largest torii gate in the world (34 m high, 42 m wide), which stands amid rice fields on the bank of the Kumano-gawa river, on the spot where the shrine originally stood before a flood destroyed it in 1889. Return to the onsen. Enjoy a traditional Japanese dinner (kaiseki ryori) in the ryokan. Overnight stay.

Route

Koguchi → Ogumotori-goe → Kumano Nachi Taisha

Distance

approx. 16 km

Walking time

6–7 hours

Elevation gain / loss

▲ approx. 1,200 m

Highest point

870 m

Grade (PSS)

T1 K2 V3

An early breakfast. A bus transfer to the village of Koguchi. The start of the hardest part of the trek – the Ogumotori-goe pass, the most demanding section of the entire Nakahechi route. A trek of about 16 km that takes 6–7 hours. The trail climbs steeply through dense forests of centuries-old cedars to the highest point at 870 m, and then crosses three mountain passes. From the Funami-toge pass, a view opens onto the Pacific Ocean and the coast of the Kii Peninsula. A descent through the forest to the Kumano Nachi Taisha shrine – one of the three great Kumano shrines, with a view of Nachi-no-Taki (133 m) – the highest waterfall in Japan, which flows down beside the red-orange pagoda of the Seiganto-ji temple. By bus to Nachi Katsuura (Kii-Katsuura). Accommodation in a hotel. Overnight stay.

Flight

JL214 Nanki-Shirahama – Tokyo (Haneda), 13.45 – 14.55

An early start. A visit to the famous tuna auction at the fish market in Katsuura – one of the largest fresh tuna markets in Japan, right after the Toyosu market in Tokyo. The auction starts at 07:00 and can be watched from a platform on the second floor (Katsuura Nigiwai Market). After the auction, breakfast with the freshest premium tuna sashimi in one of the local restaurants – honmaguro (bluefin tuna) in all three varieties: otoro (the fatty part), chutoro (medium fatty) and akami (the red part). Free time for a stroll around the harbour and shopping. Transfer to Nanki-Shirahama Airport. An afternoon flight to Tokyo (Haneda). Transfer to the hotel. A free afternoon in Tokyo. Overnight stay.

Breakfast. A free day in Tokyo – the Tsukiji Outer Market, the Meiji-jingu shrine, Ginza or Akihabara. Souvenir shopping. Overnight stay.

Breakfast and check-out from the hotel, with the option of leaving luggage at reception. We have the whole day at our disposal, as the transfer to the airport is only in the afternoon. The day can be used for some last shopping and souvenirs (Ginza, Shibuya, Harajuku), for sightseeing that we did not manage to fit in – the Senso-ji temple in Asakusa, the gardens of the Imperial Palace or the Tokyo Skytree tower – or for a half-day excursion to the seaside town of Kamakura, with its great bronze statue of the Buddha and numerous temples, which is about an hour from Tokyo by train. In the afternoon we return to collect our luggage and leave for Narita Airport by organised transport, for the participants’ own flights. This ends the programme.