Mount Fuji climbers from Yamanashi side to be charged ¥2,000 as tourism rises

Climbers ascending Mt. Fuji from the most commonly used trail in Yamanashi Prefecture will be charged 2,000 yen ($13) …

The fees will be collected at a gate to be installed at the 5th station of the Yoshida Trail

The number of people who passed the 8th station of Mt. Fuji from any of its four different routes reached 221,322

More than 60 percent, or 137,236 of them, used the Yoshida Trail.

137,000 X 2,000 yen = 274 million yen

What former LDP and Yamanashi Prefecture politicians are going to get amakudari positions leading the organization suddenly raking in 274 million yen annually?

And that amount will likely rise. National Geographic reports, “Between June and August, an estimated 400,000 people climb Mount Fuji.” Another source reports “About 300,000 people make the ascent to Fuji’s summit every year. About 320,000 climbed it in the 2012 summer season. More than 350,000 people climbed Fuji in 2007 and a record 430,000 did it in 2008. This was up from around 200,000 between 2000 and 2006.”

If money can be made, climbers on all four trails will eventually be charged, bringing the annual total to around 600 million yen (300,000 x 2,000 yen = 600 million yen). Expect corruption.

This has little to do with "keeping the number of climbers & overcrowding," and more to do with greed.

137,000 X 2,000 yen = 274 million yen

How many comfortable seat for amakudari position will be secured, not to mention which company that got contract for light construction, cleaning and maintaining those Fuji trails.

I’ve got zero interest in doing the tourist thing of climbing Mount Fuji. Any person serious about hiking will tell you that it’s a boring mountain - nice from afar but far from nice. And, you should never have to pay to climb a mountain or be out in nature.

2000 yens will not changer anything. Up to 10000, people will pay if that is their first time.

At that time, only the Yamanashi side.

I am doing it from Shizuoka, so this is not an issue, but if the Shizuoka routes stay free of charge, many will start climbing from there instead

All the complain for 2000 jpy.

As a climber for Fuji san I just encourage this.

It is to crowded, especially people who rush to go up are the worst.

Also enough people who needed help because they don't wear dedicated clothing or forget altitude sickness.

And as long if the money is used for cleaning and paying all the people involved with Fuji san I really don't care to pay for.

It seems easy to say it has to do with creed without any concreet prove. Just don't go because you are not the climber for Fuji san

@newgirlintown

above the tree line, ALL mountains are boring. It’s the breathtaking and spectacular views from the mountain of the surrounding area which are absolutely stunning.

i’ve climbed Fuji-san 4 times. Technically it’s an easy climb but can be hard on the body stamina-wise if you do the bullet climb.

Sounds good...

you should never have to pay to climb a mountain or be out in nature

Agree with you, but Nepal does charge a lot and it is part of the national income

Agree with you, but Nepal does charge a lot and it is part of the national income

So you apparently don’t agree that Nepal should charge either.

I disagree with you both.

If services are required to create and maintain trails, install safety measures, remain on call for periodic rescues, etc., then a moderate charge seems appropriate.

Expect corruption.

Or you can expect some of it to go to me and the NPO that I'm part of.

We clean Fuji twice a year, now we might be able to do it four times and hire a few more bodies to do it even better. There are multiple trails up the mountain on the Yamanashi side that need maintaining and improving.

"Bullet climbing" Mount Fuji isn't dangerous. It was a piece of cake and I was well past my 21st birthday. I was up and down in no time. I think they only tell people that to drive up some business for the hut owners who probably pay a lot of money to operate their businesses.

2,000 yen might seem expensive for people in Japan trying to live on poverty wages but for people in the rest of the G7, it is cheap.

They should put a limit on visitors or require reservations like Yosemite National Park.

It costs $35 real dollars to drive into Yosemite or even for a week pass to off beaten places like Glacier National Park. A yearly National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass is $80 and a steal of a deal.

An annual national park pass in Canada is $151.25 in Canadian dollarettes.

Use part of it to refund bringing back trash cans/bins throughout Tokyo and Japan. That would be worthwhile.

If someone really wants to climb Mount Fuji (which I highly recommend, by the way, not for the boring climb itself but for the magical view from the top at sunrise), I don't think that 2000 JPY will make any difference. It would probably start to have an impact if it was 10,000 or more.

If they're collecting that much of a fee for climbing Fuji, I'm expecting something better from the staff keeping the public safe and keeping facilities better.

Still cheaper than hiring a sherpa and less garbage at base camp.

 Any person serious about hiking will tell you that it’s a boring mountain - nice from afar but far from nice.

add to that 500 yen for a small bottle of water, literally an essential to avoid altitude sickness, and maintain adequate hydration. Fuji san, a sacred place dominated by pure greed. BTW, don't give me the difficulty it is to transport water up the mountain excuse. They seemed to have no problem installing and filling the vending machines at every level.

The good news, thousands of beautiful hikes all over Japan.

ClippetyClop,

Or you can expect some of it to go to me and the NPO that I'm part of.

We clean Fuji twice a year, now we might be able to do it four times and hire a few more bodies to do it even better. There are multiple trails up the mountain on the Yamanashi side that need maintaining and improving.

Thanks for your hard work.

I'd suggest shifting/extending the season and requiring climbers get (free) permits -weather dependent of course - so their gear can be inspected and climbing plans and ETAs recorded because, obviously, safety is a concern and that is much more risky. However, a couple of weeks either side of the peak season shouldn't increase the risk level too much.

 Any person serious about hiking will tell you that it’s a boring mountain - nice from afar but far from nice.

add to that 500 yen for a small bottle of water, literally an essential to avoid altitude sickness, and maintain adequate hydration. Fuji san, a sacred place dominated by pure greed. BTW, don't give me the difficulty it is to transport water up the mountain excuse. They seemed to have no problem installing and filling the vending machines at every level.

The good news, thousands of beautiful hikes all over Japan.

Sorry for the repost - JTs antiquated message board lacks editing capability.

Thanks for your hard work.

Thanks for the thanks!

The mountain provides a living for me, so it’s the least I can do.

The climbing season has already been extended into mid September. It’s difficult to start it earlier than July 1st because there is usually still a lot of snow on the trails.

This isn’t so much of a problem in the Shizuoka side though, as the snow melts a lot earlier there.

ClippetyClop,

I appreciate the feedback. Do you see overcrowding as a problem? If so, what would you do about it? Is charging this fee a good idea?

"Bullet climbing" Mount Fuji isn't dangerous. It was a piece of cake and I was well past my 21st birthday. I was up and down in no time

This needs a bit of qualifying-

Don't take this climb lightly. It can be dangerous if you are not prepared. People do die trying to climb Fuji. This is not a leisurely walk in the park. It is strenuous both uphill/ascending and downhill/descending. Weather conditions change abruptly between the 5th station and the summit. Temps can drop to below 0 degrees in July, not including the wind.

If you have access to a 5 to 10 story building nearby, take the stairs to the top. Repeat this two or three times to get a sense of your overall physical condition and what it will take to summit Fuji.

Fuji is climbable, just respect the mountain. Nature doesn't take fools lightly.

I appreciate the feedback. Do you see overcrowding as a problem? If so, what would you do about it? Is charging this fee a good idea?

Yeah, it's a massive problem in peak season. Towards the top the trail narrows and people can't move when they are trying to make the peak for sunrise. So they end up spending much more time on the mountain than they should. The trail needs widening and the yamagoya huts need upgrading to handle more people passing through. 

Of course, all this is at 3000m so any construction up there can only be done for a short period and will inconvenience the climbers and the huts. 

The Fujinomiya and Subashiri trails could take more people, but again their parking areas and trails will need upgrading. Big money will be needed wherever, and someone will have to pay for it. 

They should charge ¥5000, but then you’d probably get hikers scrambling up the scree to avoid paying!

They should have started charging this way sooner. Mt Fuji is overcrowded and way too much garbage lying around.

This is not true at all.

Very few scraps here and there. In addition, many people, including myself pick up what we can while doing the climb. I think this is a testimonial that many people really care and respect the outdoors enough to keep their trash to themselves and lend a collective land to gather those scraps of trash that slip out here and there.

They should charge ¥5000, but then you’d probably get hikers scrambling up the scree to avoid paying!

This experience should not be limited to those with the means to pay. 5000 yen, Xs family of 4 - Fuji san is a huge profit center as it is - see previous post -500 yen for water.

If the concern is over use, then just limit the amount of climbers to a lottery/reservation system. Issues a tag, easy enough to monitor.

Just today in the news there was a tourist spot in Chicago everyone went to see. It was a rat shaped indentation on the curb of a street in a suburb. The people who lived there are outraged about the people showing up and leaving cheese and other stuff there that had to be picked up each day.

So Mt. Fuji is being over-run and the Japanese want to do something about. People here are say that Japan is bad, man, bad bad bad. But if it were your neighborhood being over-run you'd cry out and have protests against it. It's not very hard to imagine why one of Japan's national symbols means a little more to people here than just a mountain. Japan isn't bad. The tourists aren't bad. It's simply a situation that needs to be dealt with and it's that and that alone. Nor more whining or judging. Suggest a solution or comment on some other story.

I think a more reasonable 500 yen per person for all the trails would be better or none at all.

Call it the nature, fresh air, and gouge the tourist tax, Japan's becoming poorer by the day it seems!

If you can travel all the way to Mt Fuji - assuming most climbers are not locals - then you can pay the price of ￥2000. That's about the same as a movie admission ticket and a drink.

I'm with Clippety on this - ￥3000 ~ ￥5000 seems more appropriate. There must be large costs involved in maintaining the site, it's trails, infrastructure, carparks, access roads etc etc.

And the mountain itself has a tolerable climbers limit which seems like it has been reached or exceeded. The overcrowding ard inability to move due to congestion in parts is a recipe for a disaster in the making.

Crowd management is a hot topic these days with many examples world wide incl Japan of dire consequences through lack of vision and planning. No local / prefectural authorities want that on their conscience.

And if you can't afford it - save up a little of your weekly coffee money or put aside ￥100 a week for a few months.

User pays for everything these days. Won't change a thing regarding "overcrowding". Hopefully the revenue equitably distributed to NPOs and other organisations that do a lot of good work on conservation like ClippetyClop's but I'm certainly not betting on it. Since when is there equitable distribution of anything here? I cynically expecf the money to be spent on excluve Sakura parities for politicians and their cronies at the base of the mountain. Let's see if I am wrong.

5000 yen, Xs family of 4 

Fair point. Kids go free and get a badge.

@Ask Trade People die at home watching TV, everyday.

It snows in the Rocky Mountains in North America in summer. Anyone with any hiking experience has no problem going up and down Fuji in a reasonable time.

Never wanted to and never will climb Fuji

Asiaman7Today  07:45 am JST

So you apparently don’t agree that Nepal should charge either

Yes, because this is the nature, we are mammifère, and access to the nature should remain free, like for beaches or whatever. If there is a cost, it should only be dedicated to keeping the site in order and clean it, but no profit should be done from that. Usual taxes can pay for those cost, as it has always been.

Nepal is making profit from it

Stopping the bullet climbers seems unfair. Bullet climbers usually don't stay in the huts, thus they can't make money off the climbers. When I climbed Fuji years ago I started at around ten at night and went straight to the top to see the beautiful sunrise. There was almost zero traffic. When I climbed down in the morning there were tons up people on the way up.

Few points here:

2000¥ fee

Personally I don’t see the problem. I climbed Fuji during the season twice and out of season once. During the season I always paid 1000¥. If the 2000¥ is too much for someone, Shizuoka side is free and of season climbing is free although not for inexperienced.

bullet climbing

Japanese media is vilifying doing this kind of climbing. I agree that some inexperienced and unprepared people doing this can result in injury or worse, but for anyone else who is familiar with hiking there are no issues whatsoever IMHO.

“not interesting mountain”

Fuji is indeed not that interesting hike, but I still strongly believe it’s worth doing it. Especially if you’re tourist from abroad. It can be done without much fuss, while other mountains are not as accessible by public transportation.

@ask trade

add to that 500 yen for a small bottle of water, literally an essential to avoid altitude sickness, and maintain adequate hydration

And you think those bottles are delivered easily.

Of course it cost money. You can also prepare well and bring enough water with you instead of complaining.

The fish market wants that tourist yen and now Fuji-san is hot on its heels. What's next? So glad I did my climbing years ago. What a money grab under the guise of to "ease congestion." Sure.

If you go to Mount Fuji once in your life and travel halfway around the world to get to the base, I don't think this amount should affect the decision. Half of the amount should be used for landscaping and the rest should be donated to those affected by the earthquake.

When all the other costs involving a Mt Fuji climb are considered, ¥2,000 is but a drop in the bucket.

If the money is spent on trail maintenance and improving safety and emergency response, I’m all for it.

However, given the historic rivalry of Shizuoka and Yamanashi over the “ownership” of Fuji, I see Shizuoka advertising that their trails are free, and thumbing Yamanashi.

Would you risk your life and climb the mountain, only to see surrounding foggy clouds OR would you relax on plunge pool and see the spectacular view of the whole mountain?

2000 Yen isn't that expensive, also I wonder where it will be collected, 6th station? Bc many tourists just go for a stroll from the Base Station. And I would expect a bit more openess about how that money will be spend. But what really gets me going are those TV "news variety", who seemingly hunt down the most crazy foreigners to give the impression it's only the Gaijin that are a problem and liability, when in reality many more Japanese have similar distress, either bc of in-experience, or bc they are too old, but stubbornly go ahead until they break down....

It also would be nice to try to advertise tours with views of Mt Fuji, or the Zero - Fuji trail, which would be much more interesting for hikers than using the overcrowded route.

Interesting initiative though I am a bit confused.

I climbed Fujisan last year one week after the season was closed (Subaru trail). Many tourists present at the 5th station. I counted we were approximatively 20 people max to attempt the hike. Obviously all huts were closed and saw few agents working on the trails. I had to stop at the 8.5 station not to miss the bus due the reduced frequency.

Few things can be done to improve the situation.

1- get a spread of climbers across the 4 trails. I think almost 75% percent of people are using the Yoshida trail)

2- extend the season. I came on September 15 and it was still pleasant even at height. I think one positive aspect of global warming;-)

3- impose a charge to filter some of the bozos disrespecting the location by endangering themselves

Voila

2,000¥ is still way too low of a charge! It should be around 10,000¥ if they are serious about controlling overcrowding! 2,000¥ will not deter anyone except some complaining beggars who comment about it here on Japan Today! Maybe free access to the residents of Yamanashi and Shizuoka Prefectures as they pay prefecture taxes there, a lower levy of around 3,000 or 4,000¥ to other prefectures residents and 10,000¥ for tourist from abroad.

If they want to limit the number of climbers, they should charge 50,000￥. I do not see the point of climbing it, as the best view of the mountain is not from the top, but from the far!