Mt. Fuji's Climbing Season Opens: Safety Tips for Visitors

Kengo Nishina, Announcer: "Tour buses are arriving one after another, and tourists are pouring in."

Visitor from Yokohama: "There are so many foreign tourists, it's really lively."

Shopkeeper: "It's exciting and a bit worrisome, knowing it'll get busy."

As the climbing paths to Mt. Fuji prepare to open, guides can be seen shoveling snow near the summit.

Guide Shoveling Snow: "There's about three meters of snow here."

This year, however, there are noticeable changes.

Announcer: "At the 5th station, there are now retractable gates. Next to them, there's a sign saying, 'Stop Bullet Climbing.'"

The biggest change involves new climbing rules. This is footage from last year, showing long lines of climbers, many of whom attempted to reach the summit in a single go, ignoring risks. To address over-tourism and the surge in bullet climbers, new regulations are being introduced this year. A new entrance fee of 2,000 yen will be implemented, and the number of climbers will be capped at 4,000 per day. The gates will be closed from 4 PM to 3 AM the next day.

At the Safety Guidance Center beyond the gates, preparations are underway, with hopes high for a successful season.

Masatoshi Haneda, Mt. Fuji Manager, Fujiyoshida City: "Last year, over 20% of climbers were unprepared. Around 30,000 people passed through during the closed gate hours. We expect the numbers during these hours to decrease this year."

Already, the new regulations are impacting the mountain huts at the 8th station.

Yoshikage Inoue, Taishikan Mountain Hut: "Reservations filled up much faster this year compared to last year."

With a reservation, climbers can enter regardless of gate closures or entry restrictions. This has led to huts being nearly fully booked well in advance. While the opening of the climbing season is eagerly anticipated, Akimitsu Saito from the Fuji Five Lakes Office, who climbed Mt. Fuji for a survey this week, emphasized the need for caution.

Akimitsu Saito, Fuji Five Lakes Office: "As of the 26th, there's still snow on the mountain. Rockfalls can occur at any time, and the risk increases with heavy rain during the rainy season."

A body found near the summit was identified as a man who went missing earlier this month while climbing.

Source: ANN