Nash VS. Mount Fuji:  Curse of The Murder Woods!?

    


    I was on a break from school and decided I would use the time for Shugyo, or aesthetic training. Thinking about what to do, and what I hadn't done, I remembered I wanted to climb Mount Fuji, and so I decided I would do that as my training mission.  I went to the internet cafe to find the general direction of the mountain.  Check.  The website said people take a bus from a neighboring city and start climbing at what's called "the 5th step". The 5th step is a shanty-town built up on the side of the mountain and is the halfway point. People then go from there to the peak and back in a day. I would have none of that! If I'm climbing Fuji, It's going to be all of it.  The Fuji tourism web site states:

"

Climbing Equipment

In order to enjoy a safe hike to the summit of Mount Fuji, it is crucial to bring the proper equipment. Some of the most important things to bring are listed below:

.. .. ....



Proper Shoes

The rocky, steep terrain in some sections and the potential of sudden, strong wind gusts are reasons to bring proper hiking shoes which protect your ankles.

.. .. ....



Proper Clothes

Bring proper protection against low temperatures and strong winds. It can be below zero at the summit, and strong winds often make it seem even colder. Bring rain gear, as weather conditions can change very quickly in the mountains. Gloves are recommended both against the coldness and for hiking the steep, rocky passages.

.. .. ....



Flashlight

If you hike during nighttime, a flash light is highly recommended in any season and essential outside of the peak season, when the trail is not illuminated by other hikers. Most people choose head lamps, as they leave both of your hands free.

.. .. ....



Food

Particularly on the trails where there are few mountain huts, it is important to bring enough water and food. Mountain huts offer various meals and drinks. Note, however, that prices increase with the altitude. Also, be prepared to carry home all your garbage as there are no garbage bins on Mount Fuji.

Altitude Sickness

The human body requires some time to adjust to a sudden increase of altitude, otherwise there is a risk of headache, dizziness and nausea. Quite a few people, who climb Mount Fuji,  fall victim to altitude sickness.

To avoid altitude sickness, you are advised to tackle the mountain at a slow pace and make frequent breaks. An overnight stay at a hut around the 7th or 8th station is recommended as opposed to a straight climb to the top."



I packed : 

• What I was wearing (white T-shirt and Jeans)
  
• Nothing Else
  
  

And so, Giving no thought to the situation, doing no research, and telling no one where I was going I left for the mountain.  Casually.  I spent the night before engaging in the usual activity of jogging barefoot late into the night and early morning, and so went to bed around 4 am.

    I figured going about how I do things would be great shugyo.  It was.  After all, I was on Obon break, which gave me over a week off from school. What better way to spend my time than adventure and training? I left in the morning and jumped on a train bound for the general direction of the mountain. Feeling like I should have rations for my journey I got off the train and went to a 100yen store and got a bag of 6 raisin dinner rolls and a bottle of water. I got back on the train and resumed my mission. I waited until I could see Mount Fuji, then I got off. I figured “If I can see the mountain, I must almost be there.” Pro-tip: Just because you can see a mountain does not mean you are almost there! They tend to be quite large and resistant to perspective shifts.

To say I climbed all of Fuji is an understatement.  I began "climbing" the mountain before it was a mountain. 

    All I knew was that I was going to the top, So I walked straight toward the mountain, starting from KawaguchiKo. Within 5 minutes I had eaten and drank all my food and water. Some rations...

  I didn't know what roads to take, and some where dead ends.  When that happened, I just walked through whatever farm or construction site was in the way.  Eventually I passed a sign that said " 5th station, this way".  Great, I thought.  Almost there.  The sign neglected to mention that the location it was talking about was about a days walk away.

    The road leading up the mountain snaked back and forth up the mountain for miles. Thats fine if you're in a vehicle, but that would take ages on foot, so I decided straight would be best, which meant cutting through the forest.

    Soon my journey took me into the forest of Mount Fuji... and night fell.  As I wandered in the forest I realized two things.  One: I had no idea where I was and could only see 2 meters around me.  Two: there was a huge amount of deer.  They kept running around and jumping wildly.

    While walking through the woods I heard screams of creatures not man or beast and saw things that I attributed to imagination and exhaustion.  My reassurances did nothing to the very real feelings of uneasiness and apprehension, however.  I decided that I needed some rest or these things would not go away.  Wary of sleeping on the ground for caution of being trampled by deer, I kept wandering. It was pitch black; the canopy so thick the sky couldn't be seen. I was left alone with my own exhaustion and my lost mind playing tricks on me. Thinking I heard a noise I turned around, and what I THOUGHT I saw was a monster with the lower body of a man, and the top half of a dear, maybe 2 and a half meters tall. My body switched to instinct mode: as I let out the scream of a pre-pubescent girl I bolted off in the opposite direction of the creature, smacking into and bouncing off of numerous trees like a pachinko ball. Screaming the whole time. Eventually my frantic antics saw me fall into a waste deep hole, still screaming as I tried to get out. I made it out and went back to scream-running and eventually came to a clearing. It seemed to be an abandoned construction site, complete with bulldozer. I tried to get in, but it was locked. I climbed on top, figuring that was the safest point, and attempted to sleep a few hours until sunrise.

    While laying there, looking up, trying to sleep in the woods on the side of Mt. Fuji, I realized:  the stars where the clearest I had ever seen in my life.  It was as if I was laying on a rock flying through space. 

Absolutely beautiful

And with that imagery I drifted off to sleep.

    It would only last about an hour though, as I was woken up by my own rapid powerful body convulsions. It would seem my adrenaline had worn off, and  I had suddenly become aware of the fact that there was no heat where I was.  I was freezing.  I spent the next few hours shivering with all my might, to stay warm against the night mountain air.

    I had tried to sleep from a little after midnight, to a little before 4am.  Of course, I got very little sleep.  By 4 the sun was up, so I performed my morning exercises and headed on my way.

    I passed "the first step" and "second step"  the night before, so by 6am I had passed the "third step".  Heavy mountain fog was rolling in and of course, I could see nothing.  Pressing on, I passed the "4 step" and now it was raining.  The rain felt good as climbing uphill constantly was making me rather hot.  However, it was causing my shoes to rub my feet in uncomfortable ways, and I could feel blisters where forming. On the TOPS of my feet! This is why I climb mountains barefoot...

As I walked I could tell the path was snaking again, so I decided I would take a shortcut... through the woods! I went back in and eventually around 9 I had arrived at the 5th step. I was already beat up and ragged out, and I had only just arrived at the “start”!   The other steps had all just been signs on the road or in the woods, but the 5th step was a tiny tourist town.  I had decided to eat and rest and leave by 10:30. I got a bowl of ramen, but wound up passing out in it from exhaustion. After my involuntary nap and meal it was around 10 and I was getting antsy, so I set off again.  Before doing so though, I purchased a "Fuji Stick", which was just a glorified walking stick.  At first I just wanted it as a souvenir,  but it soon became evident that it would be very helpful.  Plus, you could get it stamped, branded, at every "step" passed the 5th, to prove you where there.

    While climbing the mountain, I came across some monks who where also doing shugyo.  We exchanged bows and acknowledgments, and went our ways.  Many shrines exist on the mountain, and they where no doubt on their way back from these. In fact, given the sacredness of the mountain, I was surprised to find it covered in garbage. No bins means people either have to take their junk back with them, or drop it on the ground. Apparently most people choose the latter. Sad. It's the garbage that's keeping the mountain off of the world historical registry (UNESCO?). There's even a saying in Japan: “Mount Fuji is like a woman; Beautiful from far away, but full of baggage when you get close.” I don't know which part of all that is worse....

    I kept climbing and it became colder, but the exertion was keeping me warm.  Soon the mountain was covered in wind and clouds.  Climbing through that wind was treacherous, but fun.  I got smacked in the eye by a few pebbles as a result of the wind. Once you get above the trees, then the clouds, there is plenty of ice and snow as well.

    On the way, I met some members of the United States AirForce.  After I reached the very top of the mountain, they where kind enough to take my picture, and one of them gave me a bagel and a "power bar".  They never tasted so good.  While I was up on the very top, I performed the Karate kata Sanchin, and did a bit of other training.

    At the very top of the mountain there is also a hut that is a temple where a man lives for a couple months who will give you the final stamp on your stick. I banged on the door, and a man appeared “Yes?”. I made it. Stamp my stick please! “Can't. Climbing season starts tomorrow, so the furnace isn't on.” … Well turn it on! “Nope. It takes awhile to get going. It won't be on until tomorrow.” ...and with that, I had made it all the way to the top and didn't get my Fuji stick branded.

I was pissed I didn't get that brand, but I was glad I at least had the stick; the path I took on the way down would have been almost impossible without it. I kept thinking “Old people and little kids climb Mount Fuji, why is this so hard!? … I don't think people belong here...” I'm pretty sure I was climbing down the wrong way.

    When I got back to the dorm, I became aware of the fact that I had acquired a massive skin beating from all the particulate and sand flying around, my feet where mangled and bloody: as where some parts of the top of my feet(from the wet shoes), and my right eye was bleeding (from the pebbles in the wind).

    When I arrived at school the teachers wanted to know why I looked so rough, so I told them.  "WHAT!?!  you went in the...Fuji Forest?"  They asked me with fear in their eyes.  I slept there. "WHAT!?  Don't you know...people go in, ... and they don't come out.  All the time this happens.  There is something there that keeps your sense of direction permanently confused. The canopy is so thick it keeps you from seeing the sky, even in the daytime. The metal in the mountain keeps compasses from working. "  Good thing it was night, and I didn't have a compass, I said grinning.  "That is nothing to joke about.  Seriously, people don't come out all the time.  Why is it you went again?"  Shugyo.  "Ha, only you could go in and come out completely oblivious."

     That night I went to the kyokushin dojo and told Mori what I had done.  "How long did it take?"  days.  "Did you go alone?"  Yes. "What route did you go?"  I told him. "You went in the murder woods?!" what? "People die in there all the time! Also murders.  Nobody goes in there. Guys murder their girlfriends there. Yakuza drop bodies there. People commit suicide there. Police don't even really go there. It's Illegal to go in that part!” I wasn't on a road, so I didn't see any cops or anything to stop me.  With the most serious of faces he asked " Did you see the ghosts? Did you see or hear the screams and monsters?"  I had mentioned nothing of the sort, but he was being honest with his question, so I told what I had come across.  Yes.  "Where they scary?" Yes.  "Did you try to fight the monsters?" No. "Did you walk towards the ghosts?"  Nope. Away.  Fast.  "I bet you tried to fight the monsters and chop their horns off!  Ha, only you could do something like that, and you did it during Obon too!” What's that got to do with anything? “That's what you where on school break for right? It's when we pay respects to our dead ancestors because it's the time when the spirit world is closest with this one! You went in a place that has the most ghosts and monsters at a time when ghosts and monsters are at their max! You're only alive because you're too stupid to know you're supposed to be dead!”  What good shugyo.  “Man, that is great.  I bet the ghosts left you alone because you're a foreigner."  probably. We laughed.  "You're skin looks rough...does it hurt?"  A little on the arms.  And with that Mori gave me a swift smack on the arm.  It hurt.  We laughed.  " You're not completely invincible!"  Then we got down to work, training. 

I spent the next couple of days, and the occasional odd thought forever, thinking about those woods. At the time I was telling myself exhaustion was messing with me. If I had heard all these tales of the murder woods before I went in, I would have said my preconceived notions and expectations were influencing my perceptions; but I knew nothing of the curse of the murder woods and still had those experiences... now my odd journey was corroborating the Japanese' superstitions! Not only did I go to the scariest place, but during the scariest time! Maybe I SHOULD do some research the next time I do something...

    In regards to doing something you want to do, if you fear that a second thought ( or in some aspects, a first thought) will keep you from doing it, give it none.  Do not think, just go.




-Nash

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