I climbed Fuji at the start of the season on 7/10/24 on the Fujinomiya trail (following Chris' advice!). Our group got up to the 8th base station to our lodgings and the weather was AWFUL. Bullet rain slashing your face and the wind was insane - white-out conditions at some points. Local repeat climbers told us this is the worst they'd ever seen the mountain. We woke up the next day and I forged ahead to the 9th station because I wanted to make it to the summit no matter what. Thank God I met a mountain police man who told me to turn back at the 9th...He told me two people had died, and I saw a third body on the way back down. Absolutely chilling to the bone. I want to reach the summit one day, but this season the hike was a bust. Still got to see some unbelievable views and hike one of the most famous mountains in the world, I'll be forever grateful for that experience.
I'm sorry you had to see that on the way down. My friend and I also started the Fujinomiya trail the same day, however we stayed the night in the 7th station lodge. When we woke up at sunrise the winds were so strong we could barely climb so we quickly decided to give in and make our way down, which I'm now very glad we did..
My Nephew is in Japan on Holiday right now and British Airways being the reliable airline they are left his luggage back in Manchester, he was very grateful for the Convenience stores in Japan that sell underwear and clothes for his first day in Japan.
Me and my friends did the idiotic and bullet climbed Fuji off season and one of my friends started acting like had drank a bottle of vodka at the top. Turns out it was a symptom of cerebral edema. Luckily we immediately headed straight down and he got better once we were back at the base and he had no permanent effects, but it was pretty scary seeing him in that state.
@@drphilisalwayswatching5993 I was about to google it until I read your comment. I have horrible health anxiety as well, so I'll refrain from googling it.
I just climbed Mt. Fuji a few days ago, did it the safe way and slept at a mountain hut on 8th station, woke up at like 1am and climbed the last 2 hours. Got to see the sunset, all the way from pitch black night skies to blue clear sky on the summit, it was a definitely a once in a lifetime experience for me.
I climbed Ben Lomond here in Scotland for the 4th time the other week. It's 974 metres, and climbing it for the first time in 15 years has firmly removed whatever notion I had that I could ever climb Mount Fuji...I will admire it from afar when I get to Japan
Yeah, we were so fast on the Fujinomiya trail that we got altitude sickness after staying for one hour on the peak. It was just a strong headache for me, but my friend was vomiting every station, had blackouts and needed oxygen. Still one of our best experiences in life so far. I am still kind of proud how fit we were that we managed to climb a 4-7 hours trail in 3 lmao. We went in August and it wasn't even that crowded.
Your friend could have died. That's very serious symptoms. Nobody is following the internationally-standard acclimatization planning. They all think they can just hop up and down from sea level - something considered really dangerous for any mountaineer with even a little bit of experience. Please. for people reading this - Mt Fuji is VERY DANGEROUS. The average is I think 10 deaths per year, but I would guess this goes up to 20-30 deaths this particular year, due to various factors.
I was up mount Fuji last week (16/7 to 17/7). It was pretty rainy and windy on the trip up, and pretty good weather on the way down. I agree that the temperature difference from the bottom to the top was pretty big (more than 20 Celsius difference). With regards to the fees they are 2000 Yen + 1000 Yen optional donation for the Yoshida trail. We didn't really get stuck in any queues on the way up (probably because the weather wasn't good, so not many climbers), and the way down was quite easy with broad roads to walk. All in all it took us 2 hours 30 minutes to the hut, and further 2 hours 30 minutes to the top, and about 3 hours getting down. We weren't in a hurry, so it wasn't very grueling, but the amount (and quality) of sleep you get isn't great, so we got a little bit sleep deprived in order to the the sunrise.
Bullet climbed twice, once in the day and once at night. The day climb was glorious with great weather. The night climb went well, got there in time for sunrise. Unfortunately there was a blizzard at the summit in August. Cold, wet, and couldn't see a thing.
I hiked Fuji off-season several years ago, but treated it as a proper mountaineering venture with three other friends. Was definitely enjoyable and worth undertaking given the lack of people and spectacular views, but definitely not one you would want to underestimate. There were some very strong winds and major snowfall during my ascent, and much of the trail signage was missing or heavily damaged. Definitely do your research in advance.
I climbed Fuji last year with 6 friends in August. We took it seriously because we'd read the stories and I had asked my friends who had tried before about their experience. They always mentioned the cold. I took people seriously but by the 6th station I was too hot and took off my outer jacket and trousers; I had tactically left a pair of normal shorts underneath my trousers for this very scenario. I submitted Fuji in shorts and t-shirt. It was roughly 12C, we were in clouds, and I was still so hot that after 30m of rest on the summit I did not need my outerwear still. My suggestion is do what I did; dress for the cold but with an underlayer of shorts and t-shirt you could strip down to if it was too hot and leave space in your bag for those additional clothes. It's the most adaptable method and I was the only person I saw who thought of it.
@Nate from Ohio-I'm also from Ohio, living in Japan now. I've been here 18 months. The storms here aren't as bad as Ohio storms. No tornados (so far). BTW November is a great time to visit, not as hot, fewer crowds.
The Moscow mule is part of a family of drinks called bucks. A buck is ginger beer or ginger ale, citrus juice plus an alcohol like whisky, brandy, rum, etc. A vodka buck is fine but a rum buck is next level.
we have a similar problem here in norway. lots of tourists take on trips up different mountains for the view and instagram pictures but dont heed the signs or what locals tell them. they come unprepared, bad shoes like slippers to use during the hide in the mountain, not enough clothes, think the trip is easy when it isnt, start a 12h trip at 17 in the afternoon thinking its ment for slow walkers and they will go there and back in 2-3h but ending up needing help to get back down as they get stuck due to being unprepared and it was thougher then they thought. its an issue that happens every summer here. just today i read about 5 tourists from canada that did a trip up a mountain and was not able to get down due to fog. no food, in sweater or t shirts they had to use a small emergancy shelter with termal blankets on the top until the day after to go back down.
I climbed Mount Fuji on the last weekend of the 2022 season at the beginning of September. My fitness level was probably at the lowest point of my life after the covid pandemic. There were eight of us and as we had only arrived in Japan the week before, so the huts were all fully booked. So we had the clever plan to walk up at 7pm and sleep on the benches like you did back then. The aim was to see the sunrise at the summit. I was already fucked after the 6th station. The people who were fitter were already up and away. But I knew that it was mainly a mental thing and I kept going. Sunrise was at 4:30am. I didn't reach the summit until just before 5am. But the view was fantastic. One of the best moments of my life. I still had blisters on my feet 3 weeks later though...
If you are still curious about wine, do give Washington State's and Oregon State's wines. Not really inexpensive but quite the thrilling experience for your mouth. Also, British Columbia's Okanagan Valley has some stellar wines, too. Ask Sharla about that. Maybe have her parents send you some?
i just came back from japan yesterday. i hiked Gotemba trail exactly last week, thinking it was what people said "2 steps up, 1 step down". i prepared myself better. more proper gear (better shoes, layerable clothes) , trained my legs longer, lost more weight (compared to when i did an unplanned bullet hike on a rainy july 3rd -4th night 2019). but hell no... with extra gear, my pack was even heavier compared to 2019. so instead of sliding down every alternate steps, i was sliding down ever 2 out of 3 steps. so i developed cramps by overworking my legs, i slowed to a crawl. the slower pace meant, i would run out of water before i reached my hut. thankfully, some Switzerland guys came to my aid, helped carry my pack to the next station (6th) and gave me enough water to reach the hut(7.4th station). they refused to take any money. i loaned my unused jacket to one of them so they all could view the sunrise at the peak. i chose to view the sunrise at the hut, allowing my legs to rest. the guy returned my jacket and i continued hiking up the trail. taking my time to avoid altitude sickness and not fall off the trail. winds were so wild and it was foggy. i slipped 4 times thanks to the wind. i stopped recording because i used up all my camera's battery and spares. not that it got any useful footage, fog/clouds made it harder to see anything more than 5 meters away. my phone was turned to battery saving mode. i still needed the GPS to pace myself since i couldnt see the peak or trail below me. i hang around the top for 1h before it cleared up and got some pictures. i circled around to the yoshida side peak, mid way giving a moment of silence to the japanese streamer who slid off the path. going down subashiri trail showed how much over-tourism has changed the path. the path down subashiri and yoshida is shared until the 8th station. its super soft soil now. in 2019, it wasnt that soft. and given that this year yoshida trail implemented the number of hikers limit, the excess probably spilled onto the subashiri trail. the lower part of subashiri trail looked and felt just as bad as Gotemba. there was deep gouging into the descent trail. i stumbled twice when i couldnt avoid the deeper gouges. i fully expect Shizuoka prefecture trails to implement the same restriction on the other trails next year. hopefully they add another hut between Oishi-Chaya and Hanzobo. because between those 2 places is Desert-like. looking at a demolished Hinode-kan was kinda depressing. with this, i have covered 3 out of the 4 trails. i will never hike another mountain on the grounds that my health is deteriorating and if i want to be able to walk on my natural knees after 40.
We get some insane rain in Sheffield, probably due to the surrounding Peak District hills. It'll be sunny and glorious then suddenly the wind picks up, the sky clouds over and the heavens open with incredible monsoon-like rain smashing down around you!! I kind of love those summer storms but it can be very alarming if youre caught out in it. Literally drenches you in seconds 😂 even if you got your big coat on!
I climbed Mnt Fuji last year (7/28-7/29) and had to make it even harder. Yoshida Trail ran out of huts instantly so I got one on the Subarashi Trail. So I had to climb to 8th station Fujisan then go back down to 7th station Taiyokan. The Subarshi trail is something else! Like walking on marbles up there! Already fatigued from the 5 hours on Yoshida trail to add another hour on the Subarashi trail... Now the Taiyokan Hut is spectacular so I'm happy I went as not going wasn't an option, but the morning climb in the dark was murder! Glad that after 8th station it was a giant queue so lots of standing around. Would I do it that way again? Yes, if that was my only option again. Mnt Fuji was the best part about that trip and I can't wait to see the top again!
Love the show. And chuckled last episode where you talked about not coming to japan in summer. Well me and the family is sweating in shinjiku now. Then going to Kyoto, Osaka before spending some time in Korea before flying back to Sweden. I guess UA-cam started recommending your channel as we booked hotels. But seen so many episodes by now. Keep up the great content.
Japanese Seek and Hide TV series sounded interesting! Think about that you are hiding as basketball one day in school. No moving or living sensors might recognize you (Why I got typical school zombie movie flashback..?)
My mum is flying soon and I always look at the films to try and recommend something. Most of the films on the list sounded rubbish but there was one by Wim Wenders that piqued my interest. It was about a Japanese man that cleans toilets so when Chris endorsed it I recognised it immediately and patting myself on the back for good instincts.
I just assumed that all airports were mostly terrible, I'll bear your advice in mind for the trip after my next one as I'm already booked to land in Narita for the second time in August.
Just wanted to thank Chris for constantly talking about Pocari Sweat because I tried it again recently, since my tastes have changed since I started my transition, and found I really like it. Was very helpful the other day with the heat.
My condolences to the families of the people who died on Mt, Fuji. There should be an age limit that bans people from climbing Mt. Fuji. I don't understand why the USA converts its money to plastic??? It could save so many trees.
I had that exact problem with the new currency change over in England. My boyfriend had some old pound notes left and I rocked up to Bonnie England last year and tried to pay for a taxi with a paper note and the driver gave me a dirty look and said I can’t accept that. Luckily I could pay with card. It turns out I couldn’t even change the old notes to new and plastic notes unless I had an English bank account. Luckily I had family there who could deposit them into their bank accounts.
My uncle and his family were caught in an unexpected lightning storm on Mt Fuji in the 1980’s. Some Japanese citizens took shelter under a tree and were struck, leaving them unconscious and without a pulse. My uncle and cousin were close enough to the strike that they were knocked down. They knew CPR, got up, and were able to save two of the three people. They were pleading with bystanders to assist, but the other Japanese just stood there and watched. It’s was a sad and tragic day.
My Japanese mom told me that there is a little known old wives tale that it is bad luck to climb Mt. Fuji because it’s a sacred place that should be left alone.
Climbed it twice. Old proverb: _"If you come to Japan and don't climb Fuji, you are a fool. If you climb it more than once, you are an even bigger fool."_
@@yamiangie Yup. But not just that. It's that Fuji is regarded as a sacred mountain. It's beautiful, and it's the one place where I've had the most peace in my life. If you have ever seen the sun rising over the horizon from atop Fuji, you'll know exactly why the "Rising Sun" flag looks exactly as it does. But climbers sometimes want to bring home "souvenirs" from the mountain, like rocks, and such. That's like stealing from a church. I would LOVE to have my own piece of Fuji with me here at home, but I made sure to leave the mountain trail as I found it. No souvenirs except for the walking stick I purchased. People are welcome to enjoy the beauty of the mountain, but "respect" is vital.
I’ve heard the same thing. The legend is that it grew in one day from flatland to its current height. It formed 100,000 years ago. Japan was inhabited only 39,000 years ago, so there was no witness to its rapid growth.
Chris, Joey recently gave an interview on a YT channel and he said: The TikTok brains are ruining it for all long content creators. And oh, is he right with that statement. They can't even watch a 4 min song and click off after 1 min 30 sec. Pityful!
Interestingly Mt.Fuji and Tour Groups both came up, since I had a slightly unpleasant experience with a tourgroup once on Mt.Fuji. The tour guide - I assume - was behaving like he owns everything on the mountain. We were just taking a break on a bench, and that dude just came and had everyone stand up and move, so his group could sit down. Nothing too crazy I guess, but still very annoying. Personally, I never had problems with Narita Airport. Surely it's a bit further away, but it's not that much difference depending on where you're travelling from. I'd say in most cases, HND is more convenient, but I also enjoy the more rural scenery on the train ride from/to NRT.
Climbed the local mountain twice, once in highschool and once when I'm in my uni. Recently, hiked a small hill and lost my breath halfway through. Not really sure how I climbed a 3,142m mountain twice seeing how shit my body is right now
Feel that, thought I was doing alright until on a work trip to Seattle last year I hiked a 7 mile trail that went 1000 ft up...half way though I was not doing well but I pushed thought and felt better by the end..made me do proper exercise after I got back. (Guess being close to 40 is not helping either)
Whilst they are not what they were, they are winning awars at cannes and getting nominated for the oscars - films like drive my car, shoplifters, asako 1 and 2 - Precisely what makes them so interesting is how different they are to other films. In regards to the slow burn and drawn out shots - you feel like you are there in the room witnessing what is happening, they are well dramatised and present interesting dilemmas that as Chris said stay with you
Hey Chris, we just saw a film called Made in England, a documentary about Powell - Pressburger films and their influence on Martin Scorsese. I highly recommend it.
Actual Nate from Ohio here, Surprisingly, what you guys have described here is actually not too far off from what I see here in Ohio. I think the only main difference is I also regularly see hail and the infrequent tornado.
I am from Ohio as well. Ohio is where the weather is made up and the forecast doesn't matter lol. Have an awesome time in Japan! I can't wait to hopefully go one day.
You should never underestimate a mountain, no matter what mountain it is!!! Should be prepared for both hot and cold, sun and rain, and any injuries! Water and nutritious food!
Loved both Perfect Days and Evil Does not Exist. I think for Perfect Days they needed to show Hirayama's routine 3 times to show that he shokunin of his 'Perfect Day'. He crafted his day to what be considered perfection. Then it gets contrasted by how his routine is thrown off when his niece suddenly appears. Evil Does not Exist is a solid film too, but I do prefer Drive My Car, but I also think Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy is Hamaguchi's best film. I waiting for Evil Does not Exist to be available streaming to ponder it more. Personally I feel like Japanese movies were at their best from post war to about about the mid 70s. I really like most of the films by Kobayashi, Kurosawa, and Ozu. After that Japan seems to have gone through an art house film stage.
@@tangelite9968 it is one of the movies I often play in the background just to listen to it. Now I even want a hardtop Saab 900T. It is one of the rare 3 hour movies that I don't mind watching over and over when I have time to really pay attention to it.
Hi Cheery Chris and Perfect Pete! I'm heading over to Japan in March 2025 with the aim of spending a week on the island of Shikoku. Do you have any 'must see' recommendations? Did you go to Dogo Onsen? Thanks from Australia! 😊
At 15 I ran from the bus stop (at the 5th station?) to the top of Fujiyama. Three of us started, two finished. If I recall correctly (unlikely) the run took us 1 1/2 hours. Took 1/2 an hour to recover, then got the worst Charlie horse of my amateur running career. Cannot recommend….
As someone who doesn't drink alcohol but cares about their health the advice about red win being healthy both worried and confused me. I understand alcohol can help people unwind but would that help someone who doesn't really get stressed? It seemed like blanket advice that assumed everyone was highly strung workers There was a study a few years ago that concluded that no alcohol was healthier than even moderate intake. Maybe because it's what I wanted to hear but it makes sense to me but there's no money in convincing people not to drink and no fears to allay either.
Yeah the WHO released a report saying no amount of alchole intake is healthy. Basically there is 0 benefits from ingesting alcohol. Red wine does not reduce cholesterol. It has always been an advertisement campaign for wine.
@@captainmarvel4015 I don't think they ever claimed it reduced cholesterol but just stress and there were anti-oxidents etc in the red wine. However they're present in lots of food which made me sceptical about the specific claim about red wine
Well, technically it's fruit juice and since the natural sugars are converted into alcohol ... :P Generally all such advice is nonsense; general health is dependent on a multitude of factors of which your diet is only one part, so any claim of a single specific thing being healthy (or for that matter unhealthy) is best ignored since it's lacking a huge chunk of necessary context required to actually make the information useful.
Few topics that that I was wondering while in Japan. Where the heck was all the mangos in peak season? Found one sando shop and paid 1800 yen for mango sando, it was absolutely amazing. Other than that, could not find fresh mango anywhere... Why? Beyond that, hotels in Tokyo. Wy they are al dank? Stayed in Royal Park as it was rated sky high and was more or less same as european motel with view. After looking at pics of other hotels, they seem all to be same level of 90's dilapidated glory with infamous hearing aid brown colored tubs and musky floor carpets. Is it cultural that once built they are never renovated to meet modern standards? Is it sacrilegious to tear down the outdated in hotels too? Quarter of a million for "hotel" aka dank box with mold is quite a scam.. (this dank box was rated 9/10 and I was baffled)
Some of the hotels we stayed in this year were pretty bad. Even Hotel New Otani Tokyo looked a bit old. International Resort Yurakujo was REALLY janky. But there were some nice ones! Like the Shiba Park Hotel. It was actually really nice. Each floor has a different theme with its own small library centered around that theme. We were on the architecture floor.
0:52 Drinking any kind of alcohol is worse than drinking no alcohol. But if you want to drink something wine is better than the rest. 17:17 Chris and woefully underpreparing his nature trips what's new. I remember when Connor almost got hypothermia on that island. He really should take lessons from this.
Perfect days is such a great movie, awesome soundtrack. If you like movies that make you feel like you are watching a documentary like the Florida project, I definitely recommend it.
What kind of ultra marathoner goes on 3776m peak wearing only shorts, planning to spend the night? One prone to bad decisions I suspect. Tourist trails in the winter are no different than in the summer if you have the proper gear, with the addition of getting info about avalanche prognosis. It's not K2, you're walking a snowy tourist trail, where the most technical gear you need is crampons, rest is just proper rated winter gear which you can find anywhere. Sure, it can kill you if you're dumb, but being dumb will kill you if you're crossing the street in a city.
Yeah the live action Japanese film industry really isn't in a great place. I think every single one of the top domestic box office films is an anime movie. Or, at the very least, the vast majority of them are anime. Japanese film studios don't have the budget of American studios, so they can't do the kind of things that get mass audiences anymore. The J-Horror boom of the late 90s through the 2000s is long since gone and has even descended into parody like with Sadako vs Kayako. I would like to see chanbara films (historical samurai films) make a comeback. Back in the 50s-70s, there were some amazing films like Harakiri and the Miyamoto Musashi trilogy.
Everything on Japanese TV is just a panel of people watching a random video with marketing at its core. Marketing food, products, locations, anything. Every single thing I saw on TV over there had some foundation of trying to sell me something.
Remember that time when Japanese t.v. made a man live in a small room and the olny way for him to get out was to enter sweepstakes and win over so much to get out? Good times so good they trick him into doing it again
Mt Fuji a wonderful climb, just not in July and August - hire a guide and do it off-season instead (or have enough safety training to manage it yourself). Fuji is a 3800 meter high mountain, not a Disneyland ride! Would you hop on a motorcycle without any training, give it a spin? Yet we've got thousands of clueless people, doing what mountaineers would consider extremely dangerous things, to the point most people say "ohh what I'm doing is totally normal," and then they tell all their friends about it, so the cycle repeats, deaths every year, such a shame...
The asthmatic guy and lifelong 50 year old heavy smoker climbing the hardest route on mt fuji didn’t do much to impress the difficult of the climb on the viewers. Or atleast I came away from watching that video thinking that the climb must be pretty easy for someone with healthy lungs and good general fitness
I climbed Fuji at the start of the season on 7/10/24 on the Fujinomiya trail (following Chris' advice!). Our group got up to the 8th base station to our lodgings and the weather was AWFUL. Bullet rain slashing your face and the wind was insane - white-out conditions at some points. Local repeat climbers told us this is the worst they'd ever seen the mountain. We woke up the next day and I forged ahead to the 9th station because I wanted to make it to the summit no matter what. Thank God I met a mountain police man who told me to turn back at the 9th...He told me two people had died, and I saw a third body on the way back down. Absolutely chilling to the bone. I want to reach the summit one day, but this season the hike was a bust. Still got to see some unbelievable views and hike one of the most famous mountains in the world, I'll be forever grateful for that experience.
I'm sorry you had to see that on the way down. My friend and I also started the Fujinomiya trail the same day, however we stayed the night in the 7th station lodge. When we woke up at sunrise the winds were so strong we could barely climb so we quickly decided to give in and make our way down, which I'm now very glad we did..
@@jordvanrossum3814 glad you’re safe friend!
Blimey.. That's rough! Good you got out safe.
My Nephew is in Japan on Holiday right now and British Airways being the reliable airline they are left his luggage back in Manchester, he was very grateful for the Convenience stores in Japan that sell underwear and clothes for his first day in Japan.
Me and my friends did the idiotic and bullet climbed Fuji off season and one of my friends started acting like had drank a bottle of vodka at the top. Turns out it was a symptom of cerebral edema.
Luckily we immediately headed straight down and he got better once we were back at the base and he had no permanent effects, but it was pretty scary seeing him in that state.
I’m gonna take your word for how scary that sounds and NOT Google it due to my terrible health anxiety. I am not going to climb Mount Fuji 😳
@@drphilisalwayswatching5993 I was about to google it until I read your comment. I have horrible health anxiety as well, so I'll refrain from googling it.
I just climbed Mt. Fuji a few days ago, did it the safe way and slept at a mountain hut on 8th station, woke up at like 1am and climbed the last 2 hours.
Got to see the sunset, all the way from pitch black night skies to blue clear sky on the summit, it was a definitely a once in a lifetime experience for me.
I climbed Ben Lomond here in Scotland for the 4th time the other week. It's 974 metres, and climbing it for the first time in 15 years has firmly removed whatever notion I had that I could ever climb Mount Fuji...I will admire it from afar when I get to Japan
Whyd you climb a dude named Ben Lomond?
@@jefftraboulsy8631 Who would'nt?
As a fellow Scottish resident here, I feel hills and Munros are always very exposed and very rocky. Hope to do Ben Lomond soon!
Yeah, we were so fast on the Fujinomiya trail that we got altitude sickness after staying for one hour on the peak. It was just a strong headache for me, but my friend was vomiting every station, had blackouts and needed oxygen. Still one of our best experiences in life so far. I am still kind of proud how fit we were that we managed to climb a 4-7 hours trail in 3 lmao. We went in August and it wasn't even that crowded.
Your friend could have died. That's very serious symptoms.
Nobody is following the internationally-standard acclimatization planning. They all think they can just hop up and down from sea level - something considered really dangerous for any mountaineer with even a little bit of experience.
Please. for people reading this - Mt Fuji is VERY DANGEROUS. The average is I think 10 deaths per year, but I would guess this goes up to 20-30 deaths this particular year, due to various factors.
I was up mount Fuji last week (16/7 to 17/7). It was pretty rainy and windy on the trip up, and pretty good weather on the way down. I agree that the temperature difference from the bottom to the top was pretty big (more than 20 Celsius difference). With regards to the fees they are 2000 Yen + 1000 Yen optional donation for the Yoshida trail.
We didn't really get stuck in any queues on the way up (probably because the weather wasn't good, so not many climbers), and the way down was quite easy with broad roads to walk. All in all it took us 2 hours 30 minutes to the hut, and further 2 hours 30 minutes to the top, and about 3 hours getting down. We weren't in a hurry, so it wasn't very grueling, but the amount (and quality) of sleep you get isn't great, so we got a little bit sleep deprived in order to the the sunrise.
Bullet climbed twice, once in the day and once at night. The day climb was glorious with great weather. The night climb went well, got there in time for sunrise. Unfortunately there was a blizzard at the summit in August. Cold, wet, and couldn't see a thing.
The Moscow Mule is hands down my favorite cocktail, i just love ginger beer
I hiked Fuji off-season several years ago, but treated it as a proper mountaineering venture with three other friends. Was definitely enjoyable and worth undertaking given the lack of people and spectacular views, but definitely not one you would want to underestimate. There were some very strong winds and major snowfall during my ascent, and much of the trail signage was missing or heavily damaged. Definitely do your research in advance.
I climbed Fuji last year with 6 friends in August. We took it seriously because we'd read the stories and I had asked my friends who had tried before about their experience. They always mentioned the cold. I took people seriously but by the 6th station I was too hot and took off my outer jacket and trousers; I had tactically left a pair of normal shorts underneath my trousers for this very scenario. I submitted Fuji in shorts and t-shirt. It was roughly 12C, we were in clouds, and I was still so hot that after 30m of rest on the summit I did not need my outerwear still.
My suggestion is do what I did; dress for the cold but with an underlayer of shorts and t-shirt you could strip down to if it was too hot and leave space in your bag for those additional clothes. It's the most adaptable method and I was the only person I saw who thought of it.
@Nate from Ohio-I'm also from Ohio, living in Japan now. I've been here 18 months. The storms here aren't as bad as Ohio storms. No tornados (so far). BTW November is a great time to visit, not as hot, fewer crowds.
The Moscow mule is part of a family of drinks called bucks. A buck is ginger beer or ginger ale, citrus juice plus an alcohol like whisky, brandy, rum, etc. A vodka buck is fine but a rum buck is next level.
Love Perfect Days, such a chill, vibe film.
Deeper story too if you delved into it.
we have a similar problem here in norway. lots of tourists take on trips up different mountains for the view and instagram pictures but dont heed the signs or what locals tell them. they come unprepared, bad shoes like slippers to use during the hide in the mountain, not enough clothes, think the trip is easy when it isnt, start a 12h trip at 17 in the afternoon thinking its ment for slow walkers and they will go there and back in 2-3h but ending up needing help to get back down as they get stuck due to being unprepared and it was thougher then they thought. its an issue that happens every summer here.
just today i read about 5 tourists from canada that did a trip up a mountain and was not able to get down due to fog. no food, in sweater or t shirts they had to use a small emergancy shelter with termal blankets on the top until the day after to go back down.
Yep, and it's usually those not from cultures with a strong outdoors culture.
I climbed Mount Fuji on the last weekend of the 2022 season at the beginning of September. My fitness level was probably at the lowest point of my life after the covid pandemic. There were eight of us and as we had only arrived in Japan the week before, so the huts were all fully booked. So we had the clever plan to walk up at 7pm and sleep on the benches like you did back then. The aim was to see the sunrise at the summit. I was already fucked after the 6th station. The people who were fitter were already up and away. But I knew that it was mainly a mental thing and I kept going. Sunrise was at 4:30am. I didn't reach the summit until just before 5am. But the view was fantastic. One of the best moments of my life. I still had blisters on my feet 3 weeks later though...
When I visited Japan and walked around Kabukicho, It felt so familiar thanks to playing Yakuza.
If you are still curious about wine, do give Washington State's and Oregon State's wines. Not really inexpensive but quite the thrilling experience for your mouth. Also, British Columbia's Okanagan Valley has some stellar wines, too. Ask Sharla about that. Maybe have her parents send you some?
i just came back from japan yesterday.
i hiked Gotemba trail exactly last week, thinking it was what people said "2 steps up, 1 step down".
i prepared myself better. more proper gear (better shoes, layerable clothes) , trained my legs longer, lost more weight (compared to when i did an unplanned bullet hike on a rainy july 3rd -4th night 2019).
but hell no... with extra gear, my pack was even heavier compared to 2019. so instead of sliding down every alternate steps, i was sliding down ever 2 out of 3 steps.
so i developed cramps by overworking my legs, i slowed to a crawl.
the slower pace meant, i would run out of water before i reached my hut.
thankfully, some Switzerland guys came to my aid, helped carry my pack to the next station (6th) and gave me enough water to reach the hut(7.4th station). they refused to take any money. i loaned my unused jacket to one of them so they all could view the sunrise at the peak. i chose to view the sunrise at the hut, allowing my legs to rest.
the guy returned my jacket and i continued hiking up the trail. taking my time to avoid altitude sickness and not fall off the trail. winds were so wild and it was foggy. i slipped 4 times thanks to the wind. i stopped recording because i used up all my camera's battery and spares. not that it got any useful footage, fog/clouds made it harder to see anything more than 5 meters away.
my phone was turned to battery saving mode. i still needed the GPS to pace myself since i couldnt see the peak or trail below me.
i hang around the top for 1h before it cleared up and got some pictures. i circled around to the yoshida side peak, mid way giving a moment of silence to the japanese streamer who slid off the path.
going down subashiri trail showed how much over-tourism has changed the path.
the path down subashiri and yoshida is shared until the 8th station. its super soft soil now.
in 2019, it wasnt that soft.
and given that this year yoshida trail implemented the number of hikers limit, the excess probably spilled onto the subashiri trail.
the lower part of subashiri trail looked and felt just as bad as Gotemba. there was deep gouging into the descent trail. i stumbled twice when i couldnt avoid the deeper gouges.
i fully expect Shizuoka prefecture trails to implement the same restriction on the other trails next year.
hopefully they add another hut between Oishi-Chaya and Hanzobo. because between those 2 places is Desert-like.
looking at a demolished Hinode-kan was kinda depressing.
with this, i have covered 3 out of the 4 trails. i will never hike another mountain on the grounds that my health is deteriorating and if i want to be able to walk on my natural knees after 40.
We get some insane rain in Sheffield, probably due to the surrounding Peak District hills. It'll be sunny and glorious then suddenly the wind picks up, the sky clouds over and the heavens open with incredible monsoon-like rain smashing down around you!! I kind of love those summer storms but it can be very alarming if youre caught out in it. Literally drenches you in seconds 😂 even if you got your big coat on!
Climbing mt fuji alone tomorrow 🙏🙏 wish me luck. I think i am pretty well prepared 😬
well...how was it?
I climbed Mnt Fuji last year (7/28-7/29) and had to make it even harder. Yoshida Trail ran out of huts instantly so I got one on the Subarashi Trail. So I had to climb to 8th station Fujisan then go back down to 7th station Taiyokan. The Subarshi trail is something else! Like walking on marbles up there! Already fatigued from the 5 hours on Yoshida trail to add another hour on the Subarashi trail... Now the Taiyokan Hut is spectacular so I'm happy I went as not going wasn't an option, but the morning climb in the dark was murder! Glad that after 8th station it was a giant queue so lots of standing around. Would I do it that way again? Yes, if that was my only option again. Mnt Fuji was the best part about that trip and I can't wait to see the top again!
Love the show.
And chuckled last episode where you talked about not coming to japan in summer.
Well me and the family is sweating in shinjiku now.
Then going to Kyoto, Osaka before spending some time in Korea before flying back to Sweden.
I guess UA-cam started recommending your channel as we booked hotels.
But seen so many episodes by now.
Keep up the great content.
Coming down from Mt Fuji was the WORST! Thank God there were horses 1/2 way down on my descent... Yoshida Trail 2023.
Saw that episode of extreme hide and seek and was amazed at their hiding places. Also recommend Departures as a great Japanese film.
I went to see Evil Does not Exist a couple of months ago. I thought it was really beautifully done.
Japanese Seek and Hide TV series sounded interesting! Think about that you are hiding as basketball one day in school. No moving or living sensors might recognize you (Why I got typical school zombie movie flashback..?)
I climbed Scafell Pike in the UK and at a mere 978m it was quite a walk :o Fuji being thrice the height must be a dam mission!
Take care people :)
FYI Perfect Days is available on Hulu...
Here in Spain, you can have red wine with sweet soda water (Casera), which is very easy to gulp down. 🤣🍷
My mum is flying soon and I always look at the films to try and recommend something. Most of the films on the list sounded rubbish but there was one by Wim Wenders that piqued my interest. It was about a Japanese man that cleans toilets so when Chris endorsed it I recognised it immediately and patting myself on the back for good instincts.
I just assumed that all airports were mostly terrible, I'll bear your advice in mind for the trip after my next one as I'm already booked to land in Narita for the second time in August.
Just wanted to thank Chris for constantly talking about Pocari Sweat because I tried it again recently, since my tastes have changed since I started my transition, and found I really like it. Was very helpful the other day with the heat.
I've seen that movie, it's very COOOOL!
My condolences to the families of the people who died on Mt, Fuji. There should be an age limit that bans people from climbing Mt. Fuji. I don't understand why the USA converts its money to plastic??? It could save so many trees.
I had that exact problem with the new currency change over in England. My boyfriend had some old pound notes left and I rocked up to Bonnie England last year and tried to pay for a taxi with a paper note and the driver gave me a dirty look and said I can’t accept that.
Luckily I could pay with card. It turns out I couldn’t even change the old notes to new and plastic notes unless I had an English bank account. Luckily I had family there who could deposit them into their bank accounts.
My uncle and his family were caught in an unexpected lightning storm on Mt Fuji in the 1980’s. Some Japanese citizens took shelter under a tree and were struck, leaving them unconscious and without a pulse. My uncle and cousin were close enough to the strike that they were knocked down. They knew CPR, got up, and were able to save two of the three people. They were pleading with bystanders to assist, but the other Japanese just stood there and watched. It’s was a sad and tragic day.
WOW what a story!
My Japanese mom told me that there is a little known old wives tale that it is bad luck to climb Mt. Fuji because it’s a sacred place that should be left alone.
Climbed it twice. Old proverb: _"If you come to Japan and don't climb Fuji, you are a fool. If you climb it more than once, you are an even bigger fool."_
This is a stargate beautiful energy for activation
Nod Nod all mountains should be respected and understood that they are dangerous.
@@yamiangie Yup. But not just that. It's that Fuji is regarded as a sacred mountain. It's beautiful, and it's the one place where I've had the most peace in my life. If you have ever seen the sun rising over the horizon from atop Fuji, you'll know exactly why the "Rising Sun" flag looks exactly as it does.
But climbers sometimes want to bring home "souvenirs" from the mountain, like rocks, and such. That's like stealing from a church. I would LOVE to have my own piece of Fuji with me here at home, but I made sure to leave the mountain trail as I found it. No souvenirs except for the walking stick I purchased. People are welcome to enjoy the beauty of the mountain, but "respect" is vital.
I’ve heard the same thing.
The legend is that it grew in one day from flatland to its current height. It formed 100,000 years ago. Japan was inhabited only 39,000 years ago, so there was no witness to its rapid growth.
Chris, Joey recently gave an interview on a YT channel and he said: The TikTok brains are ruining it for all long content creators. And oh, is he right with that statement. They can't even watch a 4 min song and click off after 1 min 30 sec. Pityful!
1m30s is on the mark the length of the average anime opening/ending. Joey's telling us people can only listen to OPs/EDs and not the full songs?
@@mfaizsyahmi I am going by my analytics.
I throughly enjoyed Perfect Days.
Interestingly Mt.Fuji and Tour Groups both came up, since I had a slightly unpleasant experience with a tourgroup once on Mt.Fuji. The tour guide - I assume - was behaving like he owns everything on the mountain. We were just taking a break on a bench, and that dude just came and had everyone stand up and move, so his group could sit down. Nothing too crazy I guess, but still very annoying.
Personally, I never had problems with Narita Airport. Surely it's a bit further away, but it's not that much difference depending on where you're travelling from. I'd say in most cases, HND is more convenient, but I also enjoy the more rural scenery on the train ride from/to NRT.
Climbed the local mountain twice, once in highschool and once when I'm in my uni.
Recently, hiked a small hill and lost my breath halfway through.
Not really sure how I climbed a 3,142m mountain twice seeing how shit my body is right now
Feel that, thought I was doing alright until on a work trip to Seattle last year I hiked a 7 mile trail that went 1000 ft up...half way though I was not doing well but I pushed thought and felt better by the end..made me do proper exercise after I got back. (Guess being close to 40 is not helping either)
I was up fuji on the 6th/7th july and the wind was almost enough to take me off my feet
Whilst they are not what they were, they are winning awars at cannes and getting nominated for the oscars - films like drive my car, shoplifters, asako 1 and 2 - Precisely what makes them so interesting is how different they are to other films. In regards to the slow burn and drawn out shots - you feel like you are there in the room witnessing what is happening, they are well dramatised and present interesting dilemmas that as Chris said stay with you
Exactly! And the latest from Hirokazu Koreeda "Monster" does not dissapoint as well. Highly recommended.
Whiskey and Lime Juice is all you need!
Hey Chris, we just saw a film called Made in England, a documentary about Powell - Pressburger films and their influence on Martin Scorsese. I highly recommend it.
Actual Nate from Ohio here,
Surprisingly, what you guys have described here is actually not too far off from what I see here in Ohio. I think the only main difference is I also regularly see hail and the infrequent tornado.
I am from Ohio as well. Ohio is where the weather is made up and the forecast doesn't matter lol. Have an awesome time in Japan! I can't wait to hopefully go one day.
Gin Hass for me, if I were to start my days with alcohol.
The Bombay Sapphire Premier Cru 47% is really good with its lemon/mandarin/orange notes 🤤
1:43 HELL YESS Mules are bloody great drinks.
I will climb Mt Fuji next year, i will start at the foot.
Yes, the old bank notes are still legal tender.
Would love to see a @nomad push collab! He is currently in Tokyo!
You should never underestimate a mountain, no matter what mountain it is!!!
Should be prepared for both hot and cold, sun and rain, and any injuries! Water and nutritious food!
Loved both Perfect Days and Evil Does not Exist.
I think for Perfect Days they needed to show Hirayama's routine 3 times to show that he shokunin of his 'Perfect Day'. He crafted his day to what be considered perfection. Then it gets contrasted by how his routine is thrown off when his niece suddenly appears.
Evil Does not Exist is a solid film too, but I do prefer Drive My Car, but I also think Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy is Hamaguchi's best film. I waiting for Evil Does not Exist to be available streaming to ponder it more.
Personally I feel like Japanese movies were at their best from post war to about about the mid 70s. I really like most of the films by Kobayashi, Kurosawa, and Ozu. After that Japan seems to have gone through an art house film stage.
Loved Drive My Car.
@@tangelite9968 it is one of the movies I often play in the background just to listen to it. Now I even want a hardtop Saab 900T.
It is one of the rare 3 hour movies that I don't mind watching over and over when I have time to really pay attention to it.
Hi Cheery Chris and Perfect Pete! I'm heading over to Japan in March 2025 with the aim of spending a week on the island of Shikoku. Do you have any 'must see' recommendations? Did you go to Dogo Onsen? Thanks from Australia! 😊
The climb up Mt Fuji is a four hour walk. I wouldn’t equate that to a four hour hike through the Midlands.
I’m sad I can’t find any way to watch the extreme hide and seek show online
Pete has a moustache. Chris… 😂
At 15 I ran from the bus stop (at the 5th station?) to the top of Fujiyama. Three of us started, two finished. If I recall correctly (unlikely) the run took us 1 1/2 hours. Took 1/2 an hour to recover, then got the worst Charlie horse of my amateur running career. Cannot recommend….
Pete, did you find any sailors?
What's up with the dates..?? Fuji climbing season began on 01 July. What are Chris and Pete talking about? "Last Wednesday"..?
As someone who doesn't drink alcohol but cares about their health the advice about red win being healthy both worried and confused me. I understand alcohol can help people unwind but would that help someone who doesn't really get stressed? It seemed like blanket advice that assumed everyone was highly strung workers
There was a study a few years ago that concluded that no alcohol was healthier than even moderate intake. Maybe because it's what I wanted to hear but it makes sense to me but there's no money in convincing people not to drink and no fears to allay either.
Yeah the WHO released a report saying no amount of alchole intake is healthy. Basically there is 0 benefits from ingesting alcohol. Red wine does not reduce cholesterol. It has always been an advertisement campaign for wine.
@@captainmarvel4015 I don't think they ever claimed it reduced cholesterol but just stress and there were anti-oxidents etc in the red wine. However they're present in lots of food which made me sceptical about the specific claim about red wine
Well, technically it's fruit juice and since the natural sugars are converted into alcohol ... :P Generally all such advice is nonsense; general health is dependent on a multitude of factors of which your diet is only one part, so any claim of a single specific thing being healthy (or for that matter unhealthy) is best ignored since it's lacking a huge chunk of necessary context required to actually make the information useful.
I imagine it is all relative. No alcohol is best, but switching from beer to red wine may have some benefits.
💜💜💜
Few topics that that I was wondering while in Japan. Where the heck was all the mangos in peak season? Found one sando shop and paid 1800 yen for mango sando, it was absolutely amazing. Other than that, could not find fresh mango anywhere... Why?
Beyond that, hotels in Tokyo. Wy they are al dank? Stayed in Royal Park as it was rated sky high and was more or less same as european motel with view. After looking at pics of other hotels, they seem all to be same level of 90's dilapidated glory with infamous hearing aid brown colored tubs and musky floor carpets. Is it cultural that once built they are never renovated to meet modern standards? Is it sacrilegious to tear down the outdated in hotels too? Quarter of a million for "hotel" aka dank box with mold is quite a scam.. (this dank box was rated 9/10 and I was baffled)
Some of the hotels we stayed in this year were pretty bad. Even Hotel New Otani Tokyo looked a bit old. International Resort Yurakujo was REALLY janky.
But there were some nice ones! Like the Shiba Park Hotel. It was actually really nice. Each floor has a different theme with its own small library centered around that theme. We were on the architecture floor.
Wish me luck I climb mt fuji in 2weeks😅
0:52 Drinking any kind of alcohol is worse than drinking no alcohol. But if you want to drink something wine is better than the rest.
17:17 Chris and woefully underpreparing his nature trips what's new. I remember when Connor almost got hypothermia on that island. He really should take lessons from this.
When did Pete turn into Ron Swanson? 😂
Ahhh wine, the best breakfast
Perfect days is f*ing amazing. Just my 2 cents
Perfect days is such a great movie, awesome soundtrack. If you like movies that make you feel like you are watching a documentary like the Florida project, I definitely recommend it.
What kind of ultra marathoner goes on 3776m peak wearing only shorts, planning to spend the night? One prone to bad decisions I suspect. Tourist trails in the winter are no different than in the summer if you have the proper gear, with the addition of getting info about avalanche prognosis. It's not K2, you're walking a snowy tourist trail, where the most technical gear you need is crampons, rest is just proper rated winter gear which you can find anywhere. Sure, it can kill you if you're dumb, but being dumb will kill you if you're crossing the street in a city.
The wine is good for your heart but bad for your liver. Which do you want to keep I suppose.
I mean, you could have buddied up during the island camp and stayed warmer, but I guess guys would rather freeze
Shenmue fans unite
I heard that there's a saying in Japan that everyone should climb Mount Fuji once, but that only a fool climbs it twice.
Yeah the live action Japanese film industry really isn't in a great place. I think every single one of the top domestic box office films is an anime movie. Or, at the very least, the vast majority of them are anime.
Japanese film studios don't have the budget of American studios, so they can't do the kind of things that get mass audiences anymore. The J-Horror boom of the late 90s through the 2000s is long since gone and has even descended into parody like with Sadako vs Kayako.
I would like to see chanbara films (historical samurai films) make a comeback. Back in the 50s-70s, there were some amazing films like Harakiri and the Miyamoto Musashi trilogy.
Are you sure they haven't got a serial killer knocking off old men?
Someone got a Whatsapp message at 23:57 :)
Everything on Japanese TV is just a panel of people watching a random video with marketing at its core. Marketing food, products, locations, anything. Every single thing I saw on TV over there had some foundation of trying to sell me something.
Around 36 years old is when you start to have lived more of your life as an adult. We aren't old yet, Chris. Sorry, Prehistoric Pete.
Remember that time when Japanese t.v. made a man live in a small room and the olny way for him to get out was to enter sweepstakes and win over so much to get out? Good times so good they trick him into doing it again
Mt Fuji a wonderful climb, just not in July and August - hire a guide and do it off-season instead (or have enough safety training to manage it yourself).
Fuji is a 3800 meter high mountain, not a Disneyland ride! Would you hop on a motorcycle without any training, give it a spin? Yet we've got thousands of clueless people, doing what mountaineers would consider extremely dangerous things, to the point most people say "ohh what I'm doing is totally normal," and then they tell all their friends about it, so the cycle repeats, deaths every year, such a shame...
I watched perfect days and evil does not exist in theaters loved them both.
I think at this point the majority of Japan is in your videos.
I'd rather fly around the mountain. >->
And Ohio had storms? Lol I'm like an hour from Ohio, and have been my whole life. Your full of foo meh man. We get weakly sauced storms.
The asthmatic guy and lifelong 50 year old heavy smoker climbing the hardest route on mt fuji didn’t do much to impress the difficult of the climb on the viewers. Or atleast I came away from watching that video thinking that the climb must be pretty easy for someone with healthy lungs and good general fitness
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