Mount Fuji Virtual Adventure

I've done it, and just in time for the end of the year!

One month after starting my very first virtual adventure, I have completed the 46 mile journey around and up Japan's Mount Fuji! This was the first adventure that I started, but it's the second one that I've finished. I may be addicted to these virtual challenges now, but I suppose an addiction to being more active and getting more fresh air and exercise can't be a bad one!

The walk took me past Lakes Yamanaka, Kawaguchi, Saiko, Shōji and Motosu - known collectively as the Fuji Five Lakes, past the Sea of Trees at Aokigahara Forest, up the Subashiri trail to the peak of Mt. Fuji, and in a small loop around the dormant volcano's crater at the summit.

When I logged my penultimate few kilometers, I checked my location on the app's built-in Google Street View , and was delighted to find myself near the summit watching the sunrise along with several other hikers! This was my best moment so far using this app!

Even though I'm not really there, and these people must have visited Fuji at least a year and a half ago (climbing season is only open in the summer, and I doubt many people were able to trek up Fuji this year), it felt like I was standing there with them. It sounds a bit silly, but it did feel like a special moment.

I've been studying up on the trek up Mount Fuji. It's not a technically difficult climb, and I am certain that I can do it! I want to make the trip next year (assuming that travel is possible again!) as one of my big goals for 2021.

Here are some of the things that I learned during my virtual adventure around the Five Lakes of Fuji and up to the peak of Japan's sacred mountain:

• Mount Fuji is one of Japan's "Three Holy Mountains", along with Mount Haku and Mount Tate, and definitely the most famous. It's one of the most iconic symbols of Japan.
• Regarded as a sacred space and "power spot" in Japan's indigenous Shinto religion, some 400,000 pilgrims, adventurers, and tourists climb up the mountain every year between July and August.
• Mount Fuji is 12,389 ft tall, and although it hasn't erupted since the 18th century, is still classified as an active volcano (dormant, but not extinct).
• There are four trails leading up to the peak, each with its own unique path, culture, and traditions. The Yoshida Trail is by far the most popular. Most hikers take the public shuttle bus from the nearby town to the 5th Station up the mountain where the trailheads are located, although a number of hikers prefer the "Sea to Summit" trek.
• Mount Fuji was recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2013.