Three days, three legendary hill climbs
There are many ways to see Mt. Fuji. Through the window of a Shinkansen, from the edge of a quiet lake, on a postcard. For a cyclist there is only one way to feel the full scale of the mountain: ride its three legendary passes yourself, all the way up to the 5th Stations.
The Fuji 3 Climbs Challenge is not a sightseeing tour. It is an adventure built for riders who live for the hill climb.
Over three days you take on three paved roads, each climbing a different flank of Mt. Fuji to its own 5th Station (Go-gōme) — the highest points a bicycle can reach in Japan.
You set out from Lake Kawaguchi and ride straight for the 5th Station on Fuji's northern side. As the road climbs, the forest, the temperature and the air all change around you.
The reward for reaching the top is a very long descent, fast and exhilarating, back down to the foot of the mountain.
The longest day of the journey: from Lake Kawaguchi past Lake Yamanaka to Gotemba, then up the Fuji Skyline.
It asks for stamina, resolve and careful pacing. Every turn of the pedals brings you closer to your own limit.
The finale is the Fuji Azami Line, known worldwide for ramps steep enough to stop your breath, rising to Subashiri 5th Station.
With two hard days already in your legs, this one is settled by willpower alone. Ride it out and the Fuji hat-trick is yours.
Your legs grow heavier with every day. So does your confidence, one metre of climbing at a time.
When you crest the final ramp on day three and stand at the last 5th Station, the mountain in front of you will mean something entirely different from the one you saw on the first morning.
Fuji is no longer a famous view on a tourist map. It has become the witness to a new limit you set for yourself.
Three days. Three climbs. One Fuji.
The programme departs weekly from early March to mid-December. Contact NKI to hold your place and receive a route personalised to your group's fitness.
“I rode all three of Mt. Fuji's climbs myself.”
