In Japan, Mount Fuji climbing season begins with new crowd management measures

“I actually like the thought as a result of in case you respect the mountain, you need to restrict the individuals,” hiker Chetna Joshi mentioned on the path’s Fifth Station – a busy place to begin for hikers that’s reachable by automotive.

The 47-year-old from India in contrast the crowds seen at Fuji lately to the “site visitors jam” of climbers on the peak of Mount Everest.

Though windy and drizzly climate on Monday prevented hikers from reaching the summit, Joshi mentioned ascending half approach was nonetheless a “nice expertise”.

“I really like mountains. I feel it’s not giving me permission this time, that’s OK. I settle for it,” she mentioned.

Document vacationer crowds are flocking to Japan post-pandemic, with many desirous to see or scale Mount Fuji.

The mountain is roofed in snow many of the yr however attracts greater than 220,000 guests every July-September climbing interval.

Many trudge by way of the evening to see the dawn from the three,776-metre (12,388-foot) summit.

Some sleep on the path or begin fires for warmth, whereas others try to finish the hike with out breaks, turning into sick or injured because of this.

The once-peaceful pilgrimage website has three different important routes that can stay free to climb.

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Mount Fuji climbers face US$13 cost to curb overtourism

Mount Fuji climbers face US$13 cost to curb overtourism

However the Yoshida Path – accessed from Tokyo comparatively simply – is the popular choice for many holidaymakers, with round 60 per cent of climbers selecting that route.

Every summer time, stories in Japanese media describe vacationers climbing Mount Fuji with inadequate mountaineering gear.

The brand new measures had been launched “firstly to guard lives”, governor Kotaro Nagasaki of Yamanashi prefecture has mentioned.

In a reminder of the risks, final week 4 our bodies had been discovered close to the summit, in response to native media stories.

“I personally really feel like I’ve over-prepared,” Geoffrey Kula, a climber from the US, mentioned.

“Having appeared on the forecast, being able to swap out a number of outfits if garments get moist and issues like that. Yeah, it simply looks as if one other loopy journey.”

Month-to-month guests to Japan exceeded three million for the primary time in March, after which once more in April and Might.

The tourism chief has deemed the nation’s bold objective of attracting 60 million overseas vacationers properly inside attain, having final yr welcomed greater than 25 million.

Mount Fuji is about two hours from central Tokyo by practice and will be seen for miles round.

The mountain is a logo of Japan that has been immortalised in numerous artworks, together with Hokusai’s “Nice Wave”.

However as in different vacationer hotspots, akin to Venice – which just lately launched a trial of entry charges for day guests – the inflow has not been universally welcomed.

In Might, a city close to Mount Fuji mounted a big barrier at a well-liked viewing spot for the volcano in an try to discourage photo-taking by an ever-growing variety of vacationers.

Residents had been fed up with streams of largely overseas guests littering, trespassing and breaking site visitors guidelines of their hunt for a photograph to share on social media.

Related woes have befallen the nation’s historical capital of Kyoto, the place locals have complained of vacationers harassing the town’s famed geisha.