I wanted to write a basic trip report since i didn't find a ton of info on climbing Mt Fuji in early season, that way the info I found is consolidated to help others.

Getting to the mountain -

"Limousine" bus - These are just single deck highway buses without assigned seats. There are automated kiosks and a desk to buy bus tickets directly after going through Japanese customs in Haneda Airport. I would assume that the same is true for Narita, although Narita airport is much farther away. Our plane got in at 5am local time, so the first bus available left the airport at 6:55 am, scheduled to get to Kawaguchiko Station at 9:40 am. In reality, the bus got in about 30 minutes early. Sit on the left side of the bus when you start getting close to Mt Fuji for the best first view of the mountain. The bus cost 2470 yen per person and was very nice with built in WiFi.

Local bus to Mt. Fuji Fifth station - 8:50 am, 9:50 am, and 11am, continuing on the hour until 3pm - 2,100 yen RT. Return bus leaves the fifth station starting at 10:39 am, 11:39, 12:39, etc every hour after until 4:19 pm - https://www.japan-guide.com/bus/fuji.html. At Kawaguchiko station, there is an information desk with just about anything you want to know about the five lakes region and the buses, and the staff there is pretty fluent in English. Just across the street from the bus terminal is an outdoor shop (Fuji Local) that sells isobutane canisters and other camping stuff if you need it.

approximate exchange rate in May 2018 - 1 USD = 110 YEN

Weather - https://www.mountain-forecast.com/peaks/Fuji-san/forecasts/3776
Basic climbing Info - https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6901.html

The actual climb -
After getting up to the fifth station, we started heading towards the trail up to the 6th station and beyond. Where the trail leaves the gravel road, there were two very large signs indicating the trail was closed beyond that point until the summer, but locals just step over the ropes beside the signs. Beyond that, we saw about 20-30 people on the mountain the first day (Friday), and probably close to 70-100 the second day (Saturday). Lots of skiers and snowboarders going up to ski the upper slopes. Route required crampons and poles, and an ice axe was nice to have for the descent. Snow was solid and styrofoamy on the way up, and the rim was about 50% snow covered. Snow was soft enough for a nice glissade on the way down. Continuous snow started around 3200 meters. There were also a lot of people who were coming up the Fujinomiya trail, which seemed to be much shorter and direct for snow climbing, as it is on the SE side of the mountain and ends closer to the true summit.

As expected, since it was before the official climbing season, everything on the mountain is closed past the Subaru 5th station. Apparently camping on the mountain is not officially allowed, but during the off season, it seems like nobody cares as long as you do not leave a mess. We camped on a flat spot next to one of the buildings at 3350 meters. above these buildings, your chances of finding something flat with a wind block is low unless you camp on the summit rim near one of the buildings.

Descent route was partially under construction and being cleared of snow on the upper mountain, and had a lot of rotten snow covered with dirt in the switchbacks. Be sure to go the correct way between the old 8th station and the new 8th station on the descent route, and do not accidentally go down the Subashiri trail. The descent route is much nicer than the ascent route, with long switchbacks of gravel, vs short switchbacks of stone stairs, once you get below the rotten dirt covered snow.

Photos -

Midnight sun over the Bering Sea

Sunrise over Japan while the plane was landing

Made it to the fifth station (photo taken by a friendly Canadian that joined us between the 5th station and the red gate)

Somewhere just above the 7th station

Somewhere between the 7th and 8th Station

Snow climbing near sunset

Climbing between the old 8th station and the summit rim

Kusushi Shrine on the summit rim

At the top of the Kengamine peak (high point of the summit rim)

View from our hotel the next day

A funny sign at our hotel