Japan charge $13 for Mount Fuji climbing route

• Last year, over 220,000 individuals made the ascent between July and September.
• Issues include congested routes, rising injuries, littering, and poorly dressed hikers.
• The authorities will also prohibit climbers from starting between 16:00 and 02:00 to halt “bullet climbs.”

Authorities will soon impose a $13 (£10) charge on people hoping to climb Mount Fuji using its most popular route as they attempt to limit the numbers scaling Japan’s famous volcano. Last year, more than 220,000 individuals made the ascent between July and September. However, congested routes, rising injuries, littering along the trail, and poorly dressed hikers prompted officials to take action.

This year, authorities will only allow 4,000 people a day to ascend the Yoshida Trail, which is currently the route of choice for more than 60% of climbers and easily accessible from the capital, Tokyo.

Authorities will also prohibit climbers from setting off between 16:00 and 02:00, as part of an effort to halt so-called “bullet climbs,” during which individuals attempt to scale the 3,776-meter (12,388-foot) summit without breaks.

Several groups had been sounding the alarm for some time. Masatake Izumi, an official from Yamanashi prefecture, stated last September that the area was confronting “a real crisis” and that the numbers had become “uncontrollable.”

Photos depict congested paths, with local associations complaining that they are forced to pick up rubbish left behind, and huts along the route unable to keep up with demand. News agency Reuters reported that last year, Shizuoka prefecture police received 61 rescue calls.

According to officials, the majority of callers were suffering from altitude sickness, and hypothermia, or were simply poorly equipped to climb the UNESCO World Heritage site.

With all this in mind, officials decided that the time had come to act: the Yamanashi regional government approved the new rules, which came into force on 1 July, on Monday.

“After Covid restrictions were lifted, we started seeing more people,” said local government official Toshiaki Kasai to news agency AFP. “We want them to dress appropriately for the mountain and be well prepared.”

They are not the only ones implementing new rules to curb over-tourism.

Last year, Venice approved a €5 (£4.30; $5.35) tourist fee for daily visitors on a trial basis, while Thailand closed one of its famed beaches for several years to allow it to recover. Authorities reopened Maya Bay, on the island of Phi Phi Leh, with a daily visitor cap in 2022.

Meanwhile, authorities have questioned the number of permits given to climbers tackling Mount Everest after high numbers of deaths during the 2023 season.

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