TOKYO – A crowd control gate was installed in the middle of Japan’s Mount Fuji on Monday, ahead of the start of this year’s climbing season on July 1, but the governor of Yamanashi, one of two prefectures home to the mountain, said additional measures are needed to control overcrowding on its lower slopes.
The gate was completed as part of a new set of rules that Yamanashi is introducing this year to address growing safety, environmental and overcrowding problems on the mountain.
The newly installed gate will be closed between 4pm and 3am to prevent entry to anyone who has not booked an overnight stay in a hut along the Yoshida Trail, used by most climbersmainly to stop “bullet climbing”, or running to the summit without adequate rest, considered a major safety risk. A maximum of 4,000 climbers will be allowed on the trail per day.
“The restrictions that will come into force this year are measures to solve the problems that are putting the lives of climbers at risk,” Yamanashi Governor Kotaro Nagasaki said at a news conference in Tokyo. He said the number of climbers on the trail this year is expected to surpass last year’s 137,236.
“Overcrowding near the summit can lead to a major disaster, like people falling in a domino effect,” he said.
Under the new system, climbers must make reservations and choose between a day hike or an overnight stay in one of several huts along the trail. There is a mandatory hiking fee of 2,000 yen (about US$12.70) and an optional donation of 1,000 yen (about US$6.35) for conservation.
A QR code is sent to climbers’ smartphones to be scanned at the gate, which is halfway up the mountain in an area known as the fifth station, where the Yoshida trail begins. There are 10 stations on the mountain.
Nagasaki said he was confident the new measures would alleviate overcrowding at the top of Mount Fuji, but that problems remain further down.
He promised to alleviate overtourism in and around the lower levels, possibly introducing a mountain railway to the fifth station, which can currently be reached by car and bus, while promoting traditional climbing routes from the foothills. from the mountain.
Shizuoka Prefecture, which also contains part of the mountain, does not currently impose mandatory restrictions on hiking. On June 10, it began an online registration system in which climbers fill out their hiking plans and are encouraged not to climb after 4 p.m.
Mount Fuji, long a symbol of Japan, was once a pilgrimage site. Today, it attracts tens of thousands of people who hike to the summit to watch the sunrise. But the tons of trash left behind, including plastic bottles and food, have become a major concern.
Recently, the city of Fujikawaguchiko in Yamanashi erected a large black screen along a sidewalk to block the view of Mount Fuji after tourists began flocking to the area to take photos of the mountain that appeared to be on the roof of a convenience store, a social media trend known as “Mount Fuji Lawson” that disrupted business, traffic and local life.
Overtourism has also become a growing problem for other popular tourist destinations such as Kyoto as foreign visitors flock to Japan, in part due to the weaker yen.
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