Guinness World Record: He Was Told It Was Impossible—At 102, He Climbed Mount Fuji Anyway

On August 5, 2025, Kokichi Akuzawa of Maebashi, Japan, achieved a feat that defies imagination: at 102 years old, he scaled the 3,776-meter (12,388-foot) Mount Fuji, securing a Guinness World Record as the oldest man to stand atop the country’s iconic peak. The recognition was officially confirmed by Guinness World Records on August 30, 2025.

The climb was grueling, the air thin, and his body frail with age and past ailments. Yet, step by step, with determination and support from loved ones, Akuzawa reached the summit proving that perseverance and community can outmatch even the steepest challenges. At the top, he reportedly broke into tears, telling reporters that he was grateful simply to be alive to see the view again.

Kokichi Akuzawa tackled the mountain via the Yoshida route, pacing himself over three days. Nights were spent in mountain huts alongside his 70-year-old daughter Motoe, his granddaughter, her husband, and four members of a local climbing club.

“There were moments I wanted to quit,” Akuzawa admitted to the Associated Press. “I felt weaker than ever, but my friends and family pushed me forward.” Their encouragement carried him to the top, where he paused in awe at the view, reflecting on what he called the toughest climb of his life.

According to his daughter, there were stretches where his steps slowed to just a few meters before needing rest, but he kept repeating, ‘One more step, one more breath.’

This was not Akuzawa’s first brush with history. At 96, he became the oldest person to summit Fuji only to surpass his own record six years later.

Preparation was the key. Despite battling heart problems, shingles, and even a fall that required stitches, he trained rigorously for three months. Every morning at 5 a.m., he set out on hour-long walks, while weekends were devoted to climbing smaller peaks in Nagano Prefecture.

His doctors had once told him climbing again was impossible after he suffered heart failure at 100, but Kokichi Akuzawa refused to accept that. “I wanted to prove that life can still be lived fully, even at this age,” he told CNN.

“At my age, no mountain is easy,” he told the Associated Press, emphasizing the value of staying active and humble before nature.

Akuzawa’s love for climbing began nearly nine decades ago. Outside the mountains, he led a full professional life as an engine design engineer and later as a livestock artificial inseminator until the age of 85. But in the mountains, he found something deeper: equality.

“Intelligence doesn’t matter up there,” he reflected. “We’re all on equal footing, moving together.”

Once a solitary climber, he now embraces teamwork, saying it is “easy to make friends on the mountain.” That sense of camaraderie, he believes, kept him moving when his body urged him to stop.

Friends describe him as someone who never complains, even when exhausted, instead joking that Fuji “must be shrinking each year” because it feels steeper.

Back in Maebashi, Akuzawa surrounds himself with paintings of the mountains he has conquered. He volunteers at a senior care center, teaches art, and now plans to paint Mount Fuji at sunrise—capturing the memory of what he believes may be his last summit.

“I’d love to climb forever,” he said with a laugh, “but I think I’m at the level of Mount Akagi now,” referring to a nearby 1,828-meter peak. His daughters, Yukiko and Motoe, beamed with pride as he shared his story, amused by his half-serious vow of “never again.”

For Kokichi Akuzawa, the climb was less about records and more about showing younger generations that age should never be seen as a limitation. “If I can do it at 102, then perhaps people will feel encouraged to take their own first step—on a mountain or in life,” he said.

References:

1. Associated Press. 2025. 102-Year-Old Japanese Man Becomes Oldest to Climb Mount Fuji, Sets Guinness Record. August 6, 2025. https://apnews.com/article/b9d24c63e28568f76fa32d0cef9131ec.

Guinness World Records. "102-Year-Old Fights Back from Heart Failure to Become Oldest Person to Summit Mount Fuji." Guinness World Records, August 30, 2025. https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/2025/8/102-year-old-fights-back-from-heart-failure-to-become-oldest-person-to-summit-mount-fuji

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