The summer climbing season on Mount Fuji kicked off on Monday, with new crowd control measures in place to cope with an influx of tourists on the Japanese volcano’s most popular route.
A 2,000 yen ($13) entrance fee plus an optional donation is charged to those going on the Yoshida Trail, and numbers are limited to 4,000 per day.
Officials concerned about safety and environmental damage on Japan’s tallest mountain have also introduced online reservations this year.
“I really liked the idea because if you respect the mountain you have to limit the number of people,” climber Chetna Joshi told AFP at the trail’s fifth station – a busy starting point for climbers that can be reached by car.
The 47-year-old from India compared the crowds seen at Fuji in recent years to a “traffic jam” of climbers at the top of Mount Everest.
Though the climbers could not reach the summit on Monday due to strong winds and drizzle, Joshi said climbing some distance was still a “great experience”.
She said, “I love the mountains. I feel that this time the mountains are not allowing me to do it, it doesn’t matter. I accept it.”
Japan is seeing record crowds of tourists following the pandemic, many of whom want to see or climb Mount Fuji.
The mountain is covered in snow for most of the year, but receives over 220,000 tourists each July–September.
Many people travel overnight to watch the sunrise from the 3,776-metre (12,388-foot) peak.
Some people sleep along the way or light a fire for warmth, while others attempt to complete the journey without stopping, resulting in illness or injury.
‘Crazy Adventure’
There are three other main routes to this once peaceful shrine, which will be free to climb.
But the Yoshida Trail – which is relatively easily accessible from Tokyo – is the preferred choice for most holidaymakers, with around 60 percent of climbers taking this route.
Each summer there are reports in the Japanese media that tourists are climbing Mount Fuji with inadequate mountaineering equipment.
Yamanashi Prefecture Governor Kotaro Nagasaki said the new measures were introduced “first and foremost to protect lives.”
According to local media reports, four bodies were found near the summit last week, a reminder of the dangers.
“I personally feel like I overprepared,” United States climber Jeffrey Kula told AFP.
“Looking at the forecast, being prepared with multiple changes of clothes in case it gets wet and things like that. Yeah, it sounds like another crazy adventure.”
tourist attraction
The monthly number of tourists visiting Japan exceeded three million for the first time in March, and subsequently exceeded three million again in April and May.
The tourism chief said the country’s ambitious target of attracting 60 million foreign tourists has been achieved, with over 25 million visitors visiting last year.
Mount Fuji is about two hours from central Tokyo by train and can be seen for miles around.
The mountain is a symbol of Japan that has been immortalized in countless artworks, including Hokusai’s “Great Wave.”
But unlike other tourist hotspots, such as Venice – which recently introduced an admission charge for day visitors – the influx of visitors has not been universally welcomed.
In May, a town near Mount Fuji erected a large barrier at a popular spot to view the volcano to prevent growing numbers of tourists from taking photos.
Local residents were fed up with the hordes of tourists, mostly foreigners, who littered, trespassed and broke traffic rules to post photos on social media.
Similar problems have cropped up in the country’s ancient capital, Kyoto, where locals have complained that tourists are harassing the city’s famous geisha.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)