Climbing Mt. Fuji with My Elderly Mother ① | Sudden Rain, a Miracle at the Mountain Hut, and a Mother-Daughter Journey.

My mother has always been an incredibly energetic person.

One day, she called me out of the blue and said,
“I want to climb Mt. Fuji. Will you come with me?”
—she’s the kind of person who would just say something like that (laughs).

I couldn’t believe my ears, thinking, “Are you sane? You’ve never even been hiking before!” But since she is the type who never changes her mind once it’s made up, I realized I didn’t really have a choice.

On top of that, she said,
“I want to bring my SLR camera and two telephoto lenses. But they’re heavy, so will you carry them while we climb?”
At those words, I thought, “Here we go.”

She loves photography,
and the root of this Mt. Fuji climb was her quest to capture “the perfect shot.”

And so, my mother, who had never been hiking, and I,
set off in clear weather, with me carrying a lot of anxiety and her carrying a lot of hope.

From the unexpected to a miraculous turn of events

The start was smooth.
Both of us were climbing Japan’s highest mountain with ease.

Come to think of it,
how old was my mother back then?
I’m not entirely sure, but maybe in her late 60s?

I didn’t understand why she was so determined to get that one moving shot,
or why it had to be Mt. Fuji, but as we walked, I couldn’t help but be impressed by the power of her dreams.

And, in a way, I was happy to be able to help her with that.

However, our smooth climb
was turned upside down by a heavy downpour along the way.

A fierce, driving rain suddenly began to fall.

Wait a minute!
I was flustered, thinking, “Oh no!”

“Mom! Get your raincoat out!”

This is bad.
I have to protect Mom.
Oh, but I can’t let the camera get wet either...!

Should we find shelter from the rain?!
B-but where?!

I was at a complete loss.

Seeing my mother gradually succumb to the rain and crouch down,
I felt like screaming on the mountainside of Fuji, not knowing what to do.

Hey, what am I supposed to do here!!

Just then, we realized there was a “mountain hut”—a sanctuary—nearby, so I headed toward it alone.

Help us,
my mother,
please, just help my mother.

Holding onto that feeling, I searched for the entrance.

But the moment I found it, I was stunned.
The entrance was packed with people seeking accommodation.

Well, of course it was.
Everyone is in the same boat...
This is bad, it's impossible...

I froze.

I went back to my mother and asked,
“It was so crowded. What should we do? But we need to get into the hut, right...?” and my mother just nodded without a word.

I have to break through this somehow...!
I steeled myself and headed back toward the hut entrance.

From the edge of the crowd, I managed to reach the staff member and pleaded desperately.

The rain was still heavy.

“I have an elderly mother with me; could you please let her sleep inside tonight, even if it's just her?!”

The man, who looked about ten years older than me, wore a thoughtful expression before whispering to me.

“There's a door around that corner, so go in there, the two of you.”

“Huh???” I thought, but between the harsh rain and my worry for my mother, I opened the door as instructed without really understanding what was happening.
The man from before was standing there.

My mother had already exhausted most of her strength,
and was completely worn out.

“You can sleep here.”
The man said this and guided us to a sleeping area where futons were stacked to serve as blankets.

Looking around, many climbers were already asleep, and it seemed we had miraculously reached the last two available sleeping spots.

It's too much of a miracle...
We were saved 😭

Thinking back now, I can't help but wonder why I didn't book the mountain hut in advance! But I still remember the series of events following the rain very clearly.

I am overflowing with gratitude to that man for assigning the “last 2” sleeping spots to my mother and me.

Outside, there were still many people seeking accommodation while being pelted by the rain.

I felt incredibly guilty, but the sense of relief that I had protected my mother inevitably took over.

I'm sorry.
But thank you for saving us...

I pressed my hands together in prayer in my heart over and over again.

Still, I'm so tired,
ah, but I'm so glad 😭

My head is a mess.
And my body is exhausted from the cold and fatigue.

In this way, we were able to slide into the 'two remaining' sleeping spots with my mother, and we spent the first night lying down our chilled bodies.

To be continued in the next post🌧️⛰️🌧️

I am co-managing a magazine with some wonderful members.
Please be sure to connect with them🌸
We are also looking for participants to share their thoughts with us♡

Click here for other articles