It was our hike up the highest and most prominent peak in the country: Mt. Fuji. The year after my hike, UNESCO added Mt. Fuji to the World Heritage List as a Cultural Site because it “has long been the object of pilgrimages and inspired artists and poets.” Hiking season on Fuji isn't very long--early July to early September--because that's the only time hikers don't have to fight snow and ice on the sometimes-scrambly trail.