So I'm about to embark on my first climb of Mt. Fuji. I'm going with MWR as I'll be too exhausted to even want to drive anywhere after the climb. I have a few questions:

1. Is there anything you didn't bring you wished you had or visa versa?

2. Did you get altitude sickness? How did you deal with it? I was at the summit of a 15,000ft mountain in the States (Pike's Peak in Colorado) and I passed out and felt like I couldn't breathe. I'm scared this might happen at the top of Fuji.

3. Any advice? I'm pretty nervous....everything I hear is how challenging it is and how sick you're going to be...and it's really scaring me...

it's smart to go with MWR as you will be exhausted at the end. Dress in layers; you will be freezing and/or burning up at various times. Bring plenty of yen in small denominations (for food, drink & souvenirs). Pace yourself; you will be continually out of breath near the top but you'll make it if you go slow.

The only cure I know of for altitude sickness is oxygen. It can be purchased there but expensive. If you experience it, don't continue the climb. Rest, and start to descend. Stay with someone; you should not descend alone if you are sick.

1. rain coat and rain pants (i wish i brought the pants) the one that is light.

2. some of my co-hikers took a pill (they are japanese so i am not sure what it is). I don't recall having the altitude sickness but i know i learned to fear the lightning at that altitude. They also are sniffing on some "cans" of something, they said its oxygen but i was afraid to try it coz i am AD.

3. Buy the stick. its helpful specially on your way down. lots of gravel. shoes with good bottom (don't know what it is called) a friend of mine used his combat boots and he slipped and fall a couple of times (doesn't hurt that much on the gravel).

When you're at the rocky ## degrees or something stay close to where they have uhm i call them rails or fence or something, its on the side of the trail but you can grab on them to help you go up.

Take your time going down.

***some people passed me going UP and going DOWN and all they had is a camelback, they seem to treat mt Fuji like its part of their backyard
****

I was scared to death of the altitude sickness as well. I just took it really easy with my climbing buddy. Go ahead and stop at each of the huts. Not only can you get all the stamps on the way up, but it also gives you the opportunity to rest and catch your breath. At the end, we were stopping at just about every corner on the trail. We did make it all the way up and we had no sickness at all. Next year I am going on the overnight trip. I dont like feeling like I am racing the clock like I did for the day trip.

I climbed Mt. Fuji twice.

Clothes: Dress in layers is a key as ThaiGuy pointed. In Mt. Fuji climb season (July and Aug) it is very hot even at 5th station (about 2,300m - about 7,000 feet). The air temperature then will be decreased little by little as you go high and can be as low as degree of frost. So thick coat doesn't work well. It's better to have some different sizes of T shirts (one fit for your actual size, and bit larger one for layer on it, more larger one to layer again.) and a sweat shirt. Also some kind of windbreaker is a must. A rain coat may work for this purpose.

For altitude sickness, I used normal pain reliever like Bufferin, Tylenol or like that. It worked for me at least. Oxygen bottle worked too, but the effect of oxygen lasted only few seconds for me.

I recommend sticks too as ybigale. You can buy a wood stick at 5th station and you can collect hot iron seal at every stations (6th, 7th, 8th and 9th) and the top (10th). That can be a good memory item after you came back. That is nice, but I recommend to buy more practical sticks in advance. I used Montbell Alpine Polls (2 sticks)

Prepare good shoes which must cover your ankle. That make it ease to walk in mountain especially you go down.

Sun glasses. If you climb in day time, the sun light is very strong. I felt that and I thought that was because the altitude. Protect your eyes.

Lip sticks.

Sun block.

Camera (You should have spare battery. Batteries go very quickly in low temperature environment.)

Head light if you climb at night. Most Japanese climber start climbing around 5:00pm and walk to 8th station around midnight. Stay at a lodge for few hours and restart at 4:00am to the summit to see sunrise from the top. If you do this, you must need head light so that you can use both of your hands to have sticks, etc. I recommend to book a lodge if you do this. Even booked, you have to sleep in extremely tight bed (30cm width - 11 inch wide or like that!), but even though, staying for hours at that altitude will let your body to fit to the less oxygen environment.

Chocolates and candies. You should eat frequently and little at a time. I also had some rice balls (bought in advance in LAWSON). Walk 30 minutes, rest 5 minutes, eat a bit, drink a bit and then restart to walk. Keep the same pace which help you to walk easier.

Mt. Fuji is the highest mountain in Japan, but super popular tourist place so there are incredibly many shops en route to the summit (compare to other mountains in Japan). You can buy foods, drinks, equipments, oxgen bottles, sticks, hats. But they are very expensive. You can't expect they accept any credit card or like that. Need Cash. I bringed only 2 bottles of tea (1 litter), and buy many bottles at these shops. You will drink a lot too, but if you are a beginner climber, bring more than 1 litter of water is too heavy. Water/tea are very expensive at these shops, but for me, it was worth paying money.

At the top of Mt. Fuji, there is a post office. You can buy post cards and post from the highest place in Japan. They stamps special date stamps which indicate the card was posted at the top of Mt. Fuji. They open daily from 6:00am to 2:00pm.

There are some lower mountains which need techniques such as operating some rope work, etc., but even Mt. Fuji is the highest mountain in Japan, you don't need any special technique to climb. What you need is just walking. Don't be nervous.

I climbed earlier this month with MWR.

I thought I was fit! I do Zumba 3x a week and do light weights in between and stay pretty active anyway, but when it came to Mt. Fuji... phew! I had no idea I'd be so sore at the end of it and for 2 days after! Lol! Where did all my previous physical activity go?! Who knows! I used muscles that I normally don't work out I guess. So, it must be telling me it's time to change up my routines! Anyway... it's a good idea that you're going with MWR.

However, like mentioned before, you DO feel a little bit pressed for time going on the day trip but taking it slow does get you to the top. We made it and we got every stamp too.

When we got off the bus at 5th station it was downright cold! We started putting on our layers. Fleece sweater over the t-shirt and the windbreaker on top. Yeah... well... soon that fleece comes off! Once you really get going, even before the next station, you'll already feel hot and want only that t-shirt. However, if you opt out for not taking the fleece sweater for on-top your tee, DO NOT go without that windbreaker/rain coat. Once your body is producing heat, even a cheapie rain coat keeps you warm. It WILL rain on you. We also wore rain pants that are like that windbreaker type material. These were nice too. I wore regular working-out tights underneath for easy removal at the end of the trip and I was nice and dry. Cause I sure didn't feel like walking any further to the bathroom to go change into completely different clothes. I was glad I planned accordingly and my deodorant didn't fail.

That brings me to the next item... DEODORANT!!!! My husband bought some cheap stuff he usually doesn't wear and when it failed him, he had no extra to help the rest of us out having to ride back with him.

He also didn't wear rain pants. So he couldn't just strip and be dry for the ride home. He was miserable until we made the stop on the way back and he could fully change. So take EXTRA CLOTHES that you can leave on the bus while you climb, but have that extra set to change if you aren't wearing it already.

CAMERA! They said in the safety brief that it would be too cumbersome or might be hard to take, but nah! We carried our big digital Canon in our backpack for part of the way and around our neck when we were taking some great shots. Just make sure you don't slam your back pack down when it's in there!

SNACKS! Beef jerky, peanuts (although the really salty ones can increase thirst), something with sugar (we took Banana Nut Muffins), and water bottles. We took about 4 regular size bottles each in our back pack.

Hubby regretted his BACKPACK being too big, but do make sure it's one you can strap around your waist. Some parts you will actually have to use your hands to climb and making sure your backpack is securely on you without toppling over to either side, really helps.

SUNBLOCK! We lathered ourselves up with that and still got burned! And it rained the whole way down although it was sunny all the way up. BTW... We even had a few snow flurries close to the top and at the top.

Lip Balm/Sunblock/Chapstick
Bandana/headband to keep the sweaty water from stinging your eyes
Gloves (protects your hands when you slip and fall--I mean---they keep your hands warm!!!)
Appropriate boots
Plastic Bag large enough for the wet clothes you will take off when you get to the bus (I used the "small" ziplock storage bags. It fit my rain pants, my fleece, my jacket, my socks, my boots, and my husband's jacket, and pants)
Small Plastic bag for trash

Oxygen wasn't necessary for us although we did see plenty of people using the cans.

TIP: Once you get to the 7th station, really concentrate on taking little steps. We kept thinking how will that ever get us to the top in the time allotted but let me assure you, you WILL. There was a large group of elderly folks that were climbing that day when we went and let me tell ya, they were ELDERLY! They all (but one that fell ill at one of the 8th stations) made it to the top WAY before we did. HA! Youth did nothing for us that day. So take it slow and steady... and enjoy it.

LAST TIP: Stick with others especially on the way down. The map is confusing!