‘Tis the day after Fuji

‘Tis the day after Fuji,
The climb is all through.
We’re back home in Tokyo,
and I’ll just say, “whew”!

Our trip on the bus,
it went as expected.
A great way to travel,
no problems detected.

Got off at station 5,
the place where we’d start.
Nice man gave a briefing,
Said go slow, you’ll be smart.

The walk started easy,
nice and flat, smooth and such.
We thought, “this is simple,”
But soon, not so much.

The trail started climbing,
as mountain trails do.
It was steep, rocky, difficult,
and went on and on, too.

A few hours later,
we reached our abode.
A simple mountain hut,
just a bed, food and commode.

Our sleep, there was little,
we were up around 3:00.
Joined hundreds of others,
climbing with lights, just to see.

The sunrise it was awesome,
a truly spiritual sight.
A time we’ll always remember,
for many a night.

But what goes up must come down,
and for us, that was true.
Coming down off that mountain,
Would be daunting — who knew?

The slope is so steep,
the trail snakes down the hill.
Volcanic rock, it is slippery,
Every step takes great will.

A few hours went by,
with slips, slides, and some spills.
But to the end we did make it,
This test of our wills.

Looking back on it now,
some muscles are aching.
Would I say that this trip
was an adventure worth taking?

I’d have to say yes,
absolutely, you bet.
Mt. Fuji is amazing,
a great challenge we have met.