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Posted on 08/22/2026 4:31:08 PM PDT by xxqqzz
A Japanese father was berated by cops when he ditched his fussy 7-year-old son alone on Mount Fuji — then kept climbing toward the iconic summit with his older son.
The 48-year-old dad, who is from Nagoya, was hiking the Fujinomiya Trail Thursday with his sons, ages 7 and about 12 or 13, when he left the younger boy near the trail’s sixth checkpoint about 8,000 feet up Japan’s tallest peak, according to Japan Today.
The boy complained that he was tired during the climb, but his dad told him to “wait here” and continued toward the summit, which is the mountain’s 10th checkpoint.
A Japanese father abandoned his 7-year-old son on Mount Fuji’s Fujinomiya Trail to continue climbing with his older son.
“Even if it means having to give up on climbing the mountain together, leaving a child behind is unacceptable,” police told the father, according to the outlet.
The boy’s father admitted that he “made a rash decision, and I deeply regret it.”
The climb from the sixth checkpoint to the summit takes more than five hours, with another two and a half hours or so required to return to the same point, according to the Mount Fuji website.
Police believe the father left the boy around 4:30 a.m. on Thursday, potentially leaving him alone on the mountain for hours.
However, the boy did not wait that long for his dad and brother to get back.
The boy complained that he was tired during the climb, but his dad told him to “wait here” and left him alone for hours.
Around 7:40 a.m., a mountain hut worker near the sixth checkpoint spotted the child sitting alone on a bench, brought him inside for shelter and contacted police, according to the outlet.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
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Dad of the year award.🙄
The boy’s father admitted that he “made a rash decision, and I deeply regret it.”
Police have not indicated whether the father will face any charges.
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It was worse than a rash decision. It was selfish and dangerous.
drop everything and carry the kid. might not have been as memorable as getting the cops involved though... how close were they? I had to backtrack several times and carry my 9 year old sons pack up the steep point of his first hike.
Maybe he'll be up for the full hike next year.
Visited, but wisely didn’t climb Mt Fuji maybe 30 years ago. The 5th station you can drive to and there’s a big tourist center there. You can buy climbing sticks and as you get to each station there is someone to brand it for you showing you made it.. The higher the station the more it costs to get the brand.
Why someone would take a 7-year old to climb Mt Fuji and be surprised he’s tuckered out after one station is beyond me.
Not the best idea, to just leave your kid, but the guy is clearly not a deep thinker.
Most of the hikers actually start at the 5th station. It’s the highest parking lot, at around 7,700 (? Give or take) feet. From there the trek begins.
The various stations on the way are up were little shelters when I was station at in Japan ‘89-’92. A small group of us did the trek to the top once a month, every month the one year, which had some sucky climbs given the weather. But we were all early 20’s and in good physical shape. We ended with the spending new years day at the top to see the sun rise.
Kids in Japan are NOTHING LIKE kids in the West. They actually listen to their parents.
Lol. You have a point
His father is an idiot.
Let's hope the son inherited MOSTLY from the distaff side.
My daughter hiked to the top. She said it was mighty cold.
I admire some of the Japanese ways.
They BATHE. It's part of their culture.
The Chinese don't aren't like that.
Since it's 12,000+ feet...why would one take ANY youngster up there? Parents who do are idiots.
Much ado about nothing. Should have left the kid at home though.
So much whining on this thread. First, this father has at least three children in the midst of Japan's demographic death spiral. He is going his part. Second, he is out there spending real time with his children. I doubt many fathers here have climbed mountains with their children. Third, Japan is one of the safest nations on earth, so the child was probably much safer on a bench on Mount Fuji than I was playing alone in a park in the USA at the same age. Finally, that child probably learned a valuable life lesson with this experience. I would wager that this father's children grow into more capable, self-sufficient, and confident young men than the coddled children of the posters who are whinging here.
Who is hiking at 4:30 AM? Were they hiking all night? That sounds crazy.
"Son, you are 7. You're an adult now, you have to learn to make it on your own."
Yes, but they don't have the obesity needed to complete a long hike.
I bagged a 7,500 mountain in the Sierras when I was nine. I reckon I could have done done the 12k. Wish I had gotten the chance.
There is a saying in Japan - "Wise man climb Mt. Fuji, fool climbs it twice." I climbed it six times. Hen na Gaijin!
So if the son wasn’t tired, everything would’ve been copascetic? Weird.
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