TOKYO (AP) — Those that need to climb some of the in style trails on Japan’s iconic Mount Fuji should e-book a slot and pay a charge as crowds, littering and climbers who attempt to rush too quick to the summit trigger security and conservation issues on the picturesque stratovolcano.
The brand new guidelines for the climbing season, beginning July 1 to Sept. 10, apply for these mountaineering the Yoshida Path on the Yamanashi facet of the three,776 meter- (practically 12,300 feet-) excessive mountain that was designated a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage website in 2013.
Solely 4,000 climbers will probably be allowed to enter the path per day for a mountaineering charge of two,000 yen (about $18). Of these slots, 3,000 will probably be out there for on-line reserving and the remaining 1,000 will be booked in individual on the day of the climb, Yamanashi prefecture mentioned in an announcement by way of the Overseas Press Heart of Japan on Monday. Hikers even have an possibility of donating a further 1,000 yen (about $9) for conservation.
Climbers can e-book their slots by way of the Mount Fuji Climbing web site, which is collectively run by the Surroundings Ministry and the mountain’s two residence prefectures, Yamanashi and Shizuoka.
Mount Fuji is split into 10 stations, and there are 4 “fifth stations” midway up the mountain from the place the Yoshida, Fujinomiya, Subashiri, and Gotemba trails begin to the highest.
Underneath the brand new system, climbers should select between a day hike or an in a single day keep on the a number of out there huts alongside the path. The day of their climb, they’re given a QR code to be scanned on the fifth station. Those that haven’t booked an in a single day hut will probably be despatched again down and never allowed to climb between 4 p.m. and three a.m., primarily to cease “bullet climbing,” or dashing to the summit with out ample relaxation, which authorities are anxious places lives in danger.
An emblem of Japan, the mountain known as “Fujisan” was a spot of pilgrimage. In the present day, it particularly attracts hikers who climb to the summit to see the dawn. However the tons of trash that’s left behind, together with plastic bottles, meals and even garments, have change into a serious concern.
In an announcement, Yamanashi Gov. Kotaro Nagasaki thanked individuals for his or her understanding and cooperation in serving to preserve Mount Fuji.
Shizuoka prefecture, southwest of Mount Fuji, the place climbers can even entry the mountain, has sought a voluntary 1,000-yen ($6.40) charge per climber since 2014 and is contemplating further methods to steadiness tourism and environmental safety.
The variety of Mount Fuji climbers through the season in 2023 totaled 221,322, in response to the Surroundings Ministry. That’s near the pre-pandemic degree and officers count on extra guests this yr.
Only a few weeks in the past, a city in Shizuoka started establishing an enormous black display on a sidewalk to dam a view of Mount Fuji as a result of vacationers have been crowding into the world to take pictures with the mountain as a backdrop to a comfort retailer, a social media phenomenon often known as “Mount Fuji Lawson” that has disrupted enterprise, site visitors and native life.
Overtourism has additionally change into a rising concern at different in style vacationer locations resembling Kyoto and Kamakura as overseas guests have flocked to Japan in droves for the reason that coronavirus pandemic restrictions have been lifted, partly as a result of weaker yen.
Final yr, Japan had greater than 25 million guests, and the figures in 2024 are anticipated to surpass practically 32 million, a report from 2019, in response to the Japan Nationwide Tourism Group.
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