By JOAN SATHER, Special to the Palisadian-Post Scrambling up the last part of the steep, rocky trail, we sighed in relief as we passed through the last Torii gate into Station 9 on August 25. We had made it 12,399 feet to the summit of the crater of Mt. Fuji just before sunrise. The vast sky was already showing a sliver of red just above the blanket of fluffy clouds. We headed for the highest spot on the summit ridge of the crater to watch the fiery ball rising out of those clouds. It was a spectacular sunrise, and we felt as if we were seeing it from the top of the world. My husband, Kent, had wanted to hike to the summit for his birthday, and I could not have bought him a better present than that moment. We had visited Tokyo before and seen the mountain from our hotel room window and ever since had wanted to climb it. We enjoy hiking and once climbed to the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania (about 19,340 feet). We have also hiked the trails between the High Sierra Camps in Yosemite and to glaciers in Patagonia in Chile. Humans have long regarded Mt. Fuji, respectfully known as Fuji-san, as sacred. Buddhist and Shinto shrines are dotted throughout the nine stations along the trek to the summit. Though the mountain is still classified as an active volcano by some, the last eruption was in February of 1707. In July and August, thousands of people come from all parts of Japan to experience this trek every single day. Many of those we met in Tokyo had hiked to the summit, some more than once. They traveled alone or with their families and friends. Our journey began at 7,500 feet at Station 5, where most trekkers begin. It felt like a Japanese version of Mammoth, with hikers milling around forming their groups, meeting their guides, and purchasing long wooden sticks. At each station of the ascent, hikers can pay to have a brand burned into their stick. This is done with the same Japanese flourish used by sushi chefs all over the world. We purchased the sticks and later received two brands at the summit: one for reaching that altitude and another signifying that our successful climb had increased our sixth sense. We now have the sticks framed and hanging in the hallway at our home in Pacific Palisades. Kent and I were among approximately 3,000 people to hike to the summit on August 24 and 25. We started after lunch with our guide, Shoji, leading the way. There are different trails all around Mt. Fuji, and we took the one most day hikers use. At one point, a tractor passed us loaded with souvenirs and packaged food for all the stations on the way to the summit. Hikers can purchase the packaged food, water or warm meals at some of the huts along the way. However, all of this is expensive. I paid the equivalent of $5 for a cup of hot water for a teabag at the summit. It was well worth it, though, because it was great tea. After five hours of hiking, we stopped to rest and were high enough that the land far below was blanketed in cloud cover. We dozed until midnight on futons in primitive huts, which each house 180 to 300 people, and then began our ascent again, this time wearing headlamps to see in the dark. Although we were among thousands of other hikers, everyone was respectful, even near the top, when the route became narrow and congested. The only ones pushing then were a couple of tourists. There was a sense of camaraderie. After savoring the summit for an hour, we began our descent. Shoji picked a route down the mountain with more switchbacks, so we would not have to climb down the steep rocky paths. It took us eight hours to reach our starting place, following the 10 hours it took to ascend, and we were exhausted, our knees wobbly. But the challenge’and the memories’made every ache worth it. (Joan Sather is a local realtor with Sotheby’s International Realty in Pacific Palisades. She and her husband Kent are longtime Palisadians with two grown children and are active in the community.) CAPTION: CAPTION: Joan and Kent Sather’s journey up Mt. Fuji began at 7,500 feet at Station 5, where most trekkers form their groups and meet their guides. Through rain, sleet and wind, an issue of the Palisadian-Post made it safely to the summit of Mt. Fuji with Joan and Kent Sather. They sit under the Torii gate, which is festooned with various coins. When the Sathers later asked their guide about the coins, he told them by e-mail: ‘Before explaining money offering, you need to know about our original religion called Shinto and its Torii gate. Shinto, literally meaning the way of the gods, is the Japanese religion from the ancient times, centering on the ideas of Japanese intimacy with nature and ancestor worship. All things on earth were brought forth and ruled over by the gods who reside throughout all nature. Mountains and trees often become objects of worship. Torii is a gate usually standing in front of a Shinto shrine (called Jinjya), or at approaches. It is believed as a barrier to protect the shrine from evil spirits. They put many Torii on the climbing route, because there is a religious idea Mt. Fuji itself is a big shrine, and the climbing trail is an approach to it. Saisen are offerings of money made when worshiping at Shinto shrines or Buddhist temples. Usually, there is an offertory box, where worshipers pray, tossing in any amount of money they wish. At Mt. Fuji 9th station, since there is no offertory box, some people stick coins in it.’
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