The decision to charge admission fees to Mount Fuji comes amid growing concerns about unsafe climbing or attempts to reach Japan's highest peak to watch the sunrise without spending the night on the mountain.
“Controlling the number of climbers is an urgent task because we are seeing an overload (of tourists climbing Mount Fuji),” Yamanashi Governor Kotaro Nagasaki said at a press conference.
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Mount Fuji climbing season starts from July to September every year. |
The new fee will be separate from the 1,000 yen that climbers are currently required to voluntarily pay to support the mountain's conservation.
The provincial government will submit a draft fee regulation to the local council in February.
The fee will be collected at the Yoshida trail on the Yamanashi side of the mountain, where buses and taxis take visitors, and the money will be set aside in a fund, according to the prefectural government.
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Mount Fuji was recognized by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage in 2013. |
Mount Fuji is the highest mountain in Japan, standing at 3,776m above sea level, located on Honshu Island, between Yamanashi and Shizuoka Prefectures. The route to the summit is divided into 10 stages, with the summit at the 10th station.
Shizuoka Prefecture, which has three trails up the mountain, said it has no plans to charge fees beyond the current fee imposed for conservation purposes.
Mount Fuji was recognized by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage in 2013 and has become a famous tourist destination in Japan.
Mount Fuji is usually open to climbers from July to early September each year.
According to Japan's Environment Ministry, the number of people who have climbed Mount Fuji's 8th station from any of the four different routes has reached 221,322 in the 2023 climbing season, on par with the 2019 level before the Covid-19 pandemic broke out.
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Mount Fuji is a popular destination for those who enjoy long-distance mountain climbing. |
In August 2023, the Yamanashi prefectural government said it would limit the number of hikers who can use the Yoshida trail to reach the summit if it becomes dangerously crowded. So far, no restrictions have been imposed.
Yamanashi Prefecture said it will set up a gate at the 5th station to close the trail between 4 p.m. and 3 a.m. to limit the number of climbers, except those who have reserved overnight huts.
The province also said it would build a shelter to protect climbers from falling rocks and other dangerous phenomena in the event of an eruption, and the number of climbers would be limited to 4,000 per day.
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