One of the greatest experiences for Japanese is climbing up the Mt Fuji. They go by bus up to the Subaru 5th station at an altitude of 2300 meters. That's basically the alpine forrest boundary there. Nice greenary downwards, black gravel upwards. To climb up to the holy corona they meet there in groups of thousands, literally. Just to have a nice view into the mist and standing in the snow with sandals on. So they are - I love that.
The stairway to heaven is actually very crowded. But for 100 Yen you can relieve yourself before climbing.
Luckily for us the Yoshida Trail to the left goes downwards. That means different things to the wanderer.