Entrance fee to tackle overcrowding, litter on Mt Fuji
Authorities responsible for Mt Fuji are to introduce entrance fees, as the sacred volcano is overwhelmed by rubbish, human waste and pedestrian traffic jams caused by an uncontrolled numbers of visitors.
The local assembly in Yamanashi, one of two prefectures that contain the mountain, has voted to charge climbers 2000 yen (NZ$22) each to ascend the most popular of its trails. This is on top of a 1000-yen (NZ$11) donation already asked of visitors on a voluntary basis.
A maximum of 4000 walkers per day will be allowed on the Yoshida trail in the climbing season from July to early September.
It will be closed between 4pm and 3am, except to those who have accommodation booked in the huts on the 3776m mountain. This is to discourage the dangerous practice of so-called “bullet climbing”, whereby visitors rush up and down without a rest, increasing the risk of exhaustion, falls and hypothermia.
Guides will also be appointed to police those who attempt the climb in sandals, thin clothing and other inappropriate equipment, on a mountain where even summer temperatures can fall below freezing. They will also enforce rules against lighting fires and sleeping outdoors.
So crowded are Fuji’s paths during the peak season that climbers are frequently reduced to a shuffling column, with a shortage of toilets along the route generating hour-long queues.
The number of climbers last summer was 221,000, a return to levels before the Covid-19 pandemic. Some 137,000 of them ascended via the Yoshida trail, a record number. Locals anticipate that without controls, the number could creep up to the record of 300,000 in 2013.
“By strongly promoting comprehensive safety measures, we will ensure that Mt Fuji, a treasure of the world, is passed on to future generations,” said Kotaro Nagasaki, the governor of Yamanashi prefecture.