Japan will introduce a ¥4,000 (or about £20 ) entry price for all 4 major trails of Mount Fuji beginning this summer time to deal with overcrowding.
Beforehand, solely the Yoshida Path in Yamanashi prefecture had a ¥2,000 (or about £10) price. Now, Shizuoka prefecture can even cost for its three trails, which have been beforehand free. Shizuoka is dwelling to a few of Mount Fuji’s 4 major climbing trails – Fujinomiya, Subashiri, and Gotemba.
The entry price will charged from this summer time after native authorities handed a invoice on Monday, The Japan Occasions reported. Yoshida Path’s entry price will double.
Japan’s iconic mountain has seen a surge in vacationers in recent times, sparking considerations over overcrowding, air pollution, and disruptive behaviour by vacationers.
Final 12 months, Japan began gathering entry charges of ¥2,000 (£10) per head from folks climbing the well-known volcano to restrict the variety of trekkers to Mount Fuji. A gate was put in on the entrance to the Yoshida Path, also called the fifth station, on the Yamanashi facet of Mount Fuji, standing at 3,776m.
The gate started gathering charges from climbers beginning 1 July final 12 months, marking the start of the 12 months’s climbing season.
The implementation of this price assortment was geared toward managing overcrowding close to the summit of the mountain, the Yamanashi prefectural meeting mentioned on the time.
Climbers have been required to allocate as a lot as ¥3,000 (or £15.60) per individual for his or her climb, which included a voluntary contribution of ¥1,000 (or £5) devoted to the conservation efforts of the mountain, recognised as a Unesco World Heritage web site.
For the 2024 season, up till mid-September, the newly put in gate operated with restricted hours additionally, closing at 4pm and reopening at 3am the following day.
Due partly to the brand new restrictions carried out final 12 months, the variety of climbers on Mount Fuji dropped to 204,316 final 12 months from 221,322 in 2023, in response to surroundings ministry information.
Whereas this stays beneath pre-pandemic ranges, officers word that “200,000 hikers continues to be large”, officers say.
Natsuko Sodeyama, a Shizuoka prefecture official, mentioned: “There isn’t any different mountain in Japan that draws that many individuals within the span of simply over two months. So some restrictions are needed to make sure their security.”
For hundreds of years, Mount Fuji has been a sacred web site for Shinto and Buddhist pilgrims, with a shrine at its summit devoted to Konohanasakuya-hime, the mountain’s Shinto goddess.
Final 12 months, to discourage crowds from gathering for images, the city of Fujikawaguchiko in Yamanashi put in a big black display screen alongside a pavement, obstructing a preferred view of Mount Fuji. The black mesh display screen was put in after locals grew pissed off with overseas vacationers littering, trespassing, and violating visitors guidelines in pursuit of the right social media picture.
The official climbing season lasts from July to September, with over 200,000 hikers trying the summit yearly. Many make the in a single day trek to witness the dawn from the height.
In keeping with the World Historical past Encyclopedia, dreaming of Mount Fuji is taken into account an indication of excellent fortune in Japan. Past the shrines on the mountain itself, greater than 13,000 shrines throughout Japan are reported to be devoted to Mt Fuji. Many characteristic small-scale replicas of the mountain, permitting these unable to climb the actual peak to make a symbolic pilgrimage.
