The ascent was almost too difficult, but Kokichi Akuzawa successfully climbed Japan’s Mount Fuji at the ripe age of 102 years and 51 days, making him the oldest man to summit the famous mountain.
“It was tough, and it felt a lot different to the last time I climbed it,” he said after receiving his Guinness certificate. “I’m amazed that I made it to the top. I couldn’t have done it without everyone’s help. I’m feeling pleased now.”
Akuzawa, from Gunma Prefecture just north of Tokyo, had been battling his way back to health from heart failure, though he had been an avid mountaineer for many years. He had previously been made honorary chairman of the Gunma Mountaineering Club and used to scale one mountain a week.
After turning 102 last summer, however, Akuzawa wanted to accomplish something nobody his age had ever done before.
He set out at 8:40 a.m. on Aug. 3, along with his mountaineering buddies and his 70-year-old daughter. They began their ascent on Mount Fuji’s Yoshida route—the easiest of four routes to the summit, yet still far from simple. Although the ascent usually takes six hours, Akuzawa spread the climb over three days, spending two nights in a hut.
Although the weather was excellent throughout the climb, he said he experienced chills and strong winds as their elevation rose. Despite the drop in air pressure and low inspired oxygen, he pressed on.
After two days of smooth going, Akuzawa found the third day tough. By the time they reached the ninth station he was feeling like he wanted to give up because of the challenging atmospheric conditions.
Concerned about his health, his mountaineering cohorts were leery about encouraging him to continue, as they knew he'd recently endured several health challenges. Yet his daughter, Motoe, lent him the support he needed to trek on.
Everyone knew what Akuzawa had been through over the past year. After a tumble while mountain climbing in January, he suffered from an outbreak of shingles, and then endured heart failure. Surviving all these setbacks, Akuzawa got back into shape by taking hour-long walks in the mornings and scaling one mountain almost every week.
As his 102nd birthday approached, his eyes were set on Fujisan.
In his moment of doubt during the climb, Motoe urged him to take it one step at a time but not to give up. By the time he reached the summit on day three, the climb had sapped some of his enthusiasm, but he’s since bounced back. At 102, he knows he’s the oldest man to climb Japan’s most renowned—and arguably most beautiful—mountain.
But when asked whether he might make the climb again someday, and possibly set another world record, he told Guinness, “never again.”
Then he added, “If you ask me next year, maybe you'll get a different answer, but for now, I’m happy with that climb.”
