JJapan Trips

Visiting Mt. Fuji with a disability

I am trying to plan a visit to Japan with my father. He would love to visit Mt. Fuji but he’s concerned about his ability to climb it. He states that he believes he could go up but not down. Are there cable cars/lifts that will bring visitors down after they’ve traveled to the top themselves? Thank you!

11 comments

  1. There is no cable car to take people to or from the peak of Mt Fuji. It’s possible to visit the 5th station, as buses drop off many climbers there to start the journey but to put it bluntly it is not an easy hike, and if your father is questioning his ability to get down, it’s going to be very difficult for him to get up to the peak as well – if not fully impossible.

  2. The ascent wasn’t quite hard but the descent was actually absolute hell and much harder than the ascent. My knees were shot halfway through the descent just from the impact of constantly going down.

    I think it would be best for him not to risk it.

  3. Note that you see very little of Mt Fuji from any of the 5th stations because you’re on Mt Fuji. From there, the hike is doable but still relatively physical from someone in standard shape, but it’s not a walk in the park. The trip down can be straining.

    If he’s concerned, better to not do it….

  4. Google search info – From the fifth station, it is about a 5km trail to go up and then the same trail to go down. You ascend about 1,500 meters (about a mile) up to get to the summit. That is about 550 flights of stairs. Give your father that information and ask if he is still able to do it, or will need to train to be able to do it.

  5. Depends on his disability. If his walking or knees are affected , think twice. Boulder climbing is part of it. The trip down is brutal. So best thing you can do is watch YouTube videos others have posted. Sadly you won’t find much about the trip down but take out work. It’s harder than the trip up. It’s steep and slippery. Your feel will feel like skis. People fall down. It’s common to see people falling. I fell 4x.

  7. Sadly if he already has these concerns I wouldn’t recommend it. Even starting at the 5th station it’s still quite an intense hike.

  8. Thank you for the responses guys! Definitely will find a more realistic plan for us. 🙂

  10. I have climbed and I would love to climb again one day , I will never come down that mountain on foot again and foot is the only option. Around the 6th station you can pay for an expensive horse ride back o the 5th but the steep part is foot only.

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