Visitors who plan to climb Mount Fuji will be able to book their places online from May 20 and make an advance payment of the mandatory ¥2,000 ($13) climbing fee.
Climbers can sign up through the new online system up until a day before their climb. After completing payment, they will receive a QR code for them to scan at the entrance of the popular Yoshida trail in Yamanashi Prefecture. As informed by a news report in The Japan Times.
Each user will be able to submit payments for up to 100 people in a single transaction.
There will also be an option to make a voluntary ¥1,000 donation — which goes toward the mountain’s preservation — on the official website for climbing Mount Fuji when they make bookings.
While online reservations are not mandatory, they guarantee entry to the trail on the intended day of climbing.
Local authorities are limiting the maximum number of climbers to 4,000 per day.
Climbers without a reservation can still enter the trail if there are available slots upon arrival at the entrance.
The new online reservation system aims to streamline the process of climbing Mount Fuji and give climbers peace of mind, Yamanashi Gov. Kotaro Nagasaki said in a news release on Monday.
“We hope that (everyone) will actively use the reservation system and enjoy a safe and comfortable climb up Mount Fuji,” he added.
In addition, the Yoshida trail, the most popular of four trails up Mount Fuji, will be closed from 4 p.m. to 3 a.m. each day to prevent those without a cabin reservation from engaging in “bullet climbing” — climbing the 3,776-meter peak in one go to watch the sunrise without staying overnight on the mountain.
Yamanashi Prefecture, one of the areas in which the mountain stands, announced in February that it would charge each climber a ¥2,000 entry fee from this summer to address overtourism, a problem faced by Japan’s most iconic landmark and its surrounding area as well as other popular tourist destinations in the country after the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions.
In Fujikawaguchiko, a town at the foot of the Yoshida trail where a local convenience store have become a popular photo spot due to the view of Mount Fuji from there, a 2.5-meter black barrier is being put up to obstruct the view in response to tourists’ misbehavior, such as ignoring traffic when taking pictures.
Last year, a total of 221,322 climbers passed the eighth station near the summit, close to pre-pandemic levels, according to data from the environment ministry. Of these, 62% climbed the mountain via the Yoshida trail.
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