As the climbing season for Mount Fuji starts on Wednesday, two new emergency shelters have been installed on the Yoshida Trail, improving climber safety in the event of a volcanic eruption or other mountain hazards.
The reinforced concrete shelters have been built along the Yoshida descent route near the seventh and eighth stations, and are designed to withstand volcanic debris. Inside, rubber flooring has been installed to help reduce the risk of electric shock during lightning strikes.
The shelters have been built into the mountainside to minimise their visual impact on the World Heritage-listed site. Each shelter measures around 2 meters high, 2.5 meters wide and 5.4 meters deep, and can accommodate up to 135 people during an emergency.
The two shelters were completed in December after construction began last September, making them the first purpose-built volcanic evacuation shelters on the Yamanashi side of Mount Fuji’s descent route. Despite being on Mount Fuji’s busiest climbing route, the downhill section previously had just five emergency shelter points, including restrooms and a mountain hut, compared with more than 10 on the uphill route.
Each shelter cost approximately 38 million yen to build, with the project funded through climbing fees collected from visitors using Mount Fuji’s trails. Yamanashi Prefecture says it plans to install 13 emergency shelters on the mountain by the end of the 2031 financial year, further improving safety for the hundreds of thousands of people who climb Mount Fuji every year.
Although Mount Fuji hasn’t erupted since 1707, it remains an active volcano, prompting the need for ongoing safety measures.
The shelters were unveiled following an annual inspection of Mount Fuji’s climbing routes by officials from Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan’s Ministry of the Environment, local police and neighbouring Shizuoka Prefecture. During the checks, it was confirmed that no snow remained on the summit trails that would prevent the Yoshida Trail from opening as scheduled on Wednesday.
This year’s Yoshida Trail climbing season runs from July 1 to September 10. Shizuoka Prefecture has brought forward the opening of the Subashiri Trail to July 1 to reduce the number of hikers accidentally descending on the wrong route, while the Fujinomiya and Gotemba trails are scheduled to open on July 10.
Sources: FNN, YBS News, TV Asahi via Yahoo!News Japan
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2 Comments
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finally rich
Unpopular opinion: Mt. Fuji is really nice to see from afar, as in the picture above.
Literally dozens of very nice mountains to climb and watch the beautiful Mt. Fuji, from Ibaraki to Gifu.
Besides stopping/queuing/slowing down every few meters because of the crowd must feel 2x as exhausting.
kohakuebisu
This sounds smaller than a 20ft shipping container. I wouldn't associate one of them with "135 people".