Mt. Fuji Climbing Stick

One of the reasons to climb Fuji is to collect a Fuji climbing stick. The stick can be bought at the 5th Station (starting point for most climbers) for about $10 - $15. John's climbing stick had bells tied to the top which he immediately removed to make it easier to hold. My climbing stick was more costly at about $15 because there's a silk screened Mt. Fuji map tied to the top. I also removed this flag before the climb so it wouldn't fall off and become lost.

Each station has one or two stamps that represent that part of the mountain. Most of the stamps had the elevation and the date. The stamps are branded onto the stick using a hot iron. Each stamp costs about $2 - $3. John and I stopped at each stop to get a stamp and ended up spending nearly $80 on the stamps and sticks. Some people don't want to spend that kind of money and only collect stamps from the more famous stations and the summit.

The rising sun flag you see in the picture was purchased at the summit. The summit looks like a shanty town except instead of houses it's full of souvenir vendors and food carts (all overpriced). So while we didn't rack up souvenirs, we are very proud of our walking sticks with their stamps. We can't wait to display them in our new house at our new duty location!