Evening filming near Hoei Crater on the slopes of Fuji ended with a night search
A 58-year-old woman from Konan City got lost near Mount Fuji's Hoei Crater on the evening of the 31st. She set out alone at around 4 p.m. to take photos of the peak and surrounding scenery in the evening. When the woman began her descent to the fifth station of the Fujinomiya route shortly after 5 p.m., it was getting dark quickly and she lost her way.
At 7:30 p.m., the hiker called emergency services about 500 meters southeast of the station and reported that she had the strength to continue walking, but could not see the road. The Shizuoka Prefectural Police Mountain Rescue Team found her at 10:10 p.m. and escorted her to the station on foot. The hiker was not injured.
Although the mountaineering trails to the summit of Fuji are currently closed for the winter, the hiking area near the crater remained open to visitors. Despite 10 years of hiking experience, the woman had no winter hiking skills and had not registered her route, prompting law enforcement to once again urge people to plan their outings in advance and return in time for daylight.
Source: 「暗くなり道がわからない」富士山宝永火口から下山中に道に迷った58歳の女性 山岳遭難救助隊が救助 - ｄメニューニュース
Context
The Hoei Crater was formed on the southeastern slope of Fuji during the last major eruption of the volcano in 1707. It is reached by a popular short hike from the fifth station, Fujinomiya, which is located at an altitude of 2,400 meters above sea level - the highest of all the starting points for climbing the mountain.
The trail skirts the giant crater bowl through the sixth station and emerges onto open volcanic scree. Despite its relative proximity to parking lots and developed infrastructure, the section runs through a high-altitude, treeless landscape with loose rocks, where visual landmarks quickly disappear at dusk or sudden fog.