This Photographer Lives Atop Mount Fuji

A photographer lives in one of the most beautiful places in the world for two months each year: atop Mount Fuji in a Shinto shrine.

Megumi Ueda lives in Spartan lodgings every year during the mountain’s climbing season. Along with taking stunning pictures, she also gathers important weather information, especially the conditions above the clouds where it can be incredibly windy.

“The weather in the mountains is so complicated,” Ueda tells the Associated Press (AP). “That I think even meteorologists probably have a hard time predicting it.”

She explains the problems of the weather on Mount Fuji, which can differ vastly from the ground below.

“It probably was really hot today on the ground below,” she says. “But at the summit, the temperature is like midwinter in February.”

On a website dedicated to Mount Fuji weather reports, Ueda urges climbers to not only check the weather information before their ascent, but also during it, as conditions can worsen.

“Please choose to descend rather than pushing yourself to the summit,” she adds.

Ueda regularly updates her Instagram page with fabulous photos of the mountain and the sweeping views it offers.

“I wanted to see all the possible views from Mount Fuji,” she tells AP. “To an extent that I didn’t want to even blink. Once I started feeling that way, I became completely hooked.”

It’s hardly surprising: Ueda takes incredible photos of sunsets above the clouds, hazy mountain peaks, and swirling star trails.

In the AP video, Ueda shows off her accommodation on Mount Fuji, which she cheekily calls her “suite room.”

“I think it’s the best bedroom on Mount Fuji,” she says. The room consists of little more than a hardwood bed with a sleeping bag.

Image creditsFeature photo licensed via Depositphotos.