With a record-breaking influx of over 3 million foreign tourists in recent months, popular spots from viral restaurants and sightseeing spots have become nearly impossible to access without lining up or making reservations far in advance. Mt. Fuji is now another destination tourists cannot go without planning ahead. A new online reservation system opened this week for climbers on the popular Yoshida trail between July and September.
Mt. Fuji reservations started this week
The new online reservation and payment system for accessing the Yoshida Trail on Mt. Fuji began on Monday, a day before officials put up a view-blocking barrier in front of the infamous Lawson where tourists have flocked to take scenic photos.
Nearly 7,000 people booked reservations within six hours of the system going live on May 20th, according to prefectural officials in Yamanashi. Officials say they received many phone calls inquiring about reservations, which must be made on the Official Web Site for Mt. Fuji Climbing (the website is actually spelled “Web Site”).
Using an online system, officials aim to prevent overcrowding by having climbers choose between staying overnight in a mountain cabin or making a day trip to Mt. Fuji. Subsequently, climbers must reserve and pay for a “climbing day” in advance. The system completes a reservation by issuing a QR code for climbers to present on the day of their ascent.
The system may also help cut down on the dangerous activity known as “bullet climbing,” in which hikers without a cabin reservation attempt to make an overnight hike to see the am sunrise.
In a bid to protect the environment and assure safety in Mt. Fuji, Yamanashi will limit the number of climbers to 4,000 per day and charge each of them a toll fee of 2,000 yen (about 12 USD). The new summer climbing season begins July 1st and ends September 10th. Climbers have the option of making a voluntary contribution of 1,000 yen as well.
Reservations are open until the day before the climbing day. However, in anticipation of visitors who show up without a reservation, Yamanashi officials leave 1,000 out of the total 4,000 slots per day for unreserved tourists.
Shizuoka trails are still free
The governmental bodies in charge of running the website include the Ministry of the Environment, and the prefectural governments of Yamanashi and Shizuoka. Katsuhiro Iwama, an official from the Yamanashi prefectural government told reporters, “We want people to actively use this system and enjoy climbing Mt. Fuji safely and comfortably.”
On the other side of Mt. Fuji in Shizuoka Prefecture, where climbing season begins on July 10th, officials will not charge climbers on the trails of Fujinomiya, Gotemba, and Subashiri but make it optional for visitors to donate 1,000 yen as Yamanashi has.
Discussions about following in step with Yamanashi to introduce a toll system are still underway. However, past issues with bullet climbers and littering prompted officials to begin accepting 1,000 yen donations per visitor to budget conservation costs since 2014. The challenge to charge climbers for using Shizuoka’s trails is that the entrances are all private land.
Reservations are non-refundable
What if climbers want to cancel their reservation? Will they get refunds?
In a word: No.
The website writes, “Once payment is complete, cancellations due to personal reasons (including public transport delays) are non-refundable.” The prefecture will only issue refunds in cases in which climber’s reservations are cancelled due to “unforeseen circumstances.”
X users were quick to point out the flaw in creating a system for mountain climbing, an activity that requires monitoring the weather changes until the last minute for a safe experience.
“The weather in the mountains is unclear until the day before and you can’t even predict how you will physically feel so this system to make reservations in advance isn’t really appropriate,” one X user (@alyona_b_jp) wrote.
“As neither changing the climbing day nor making cancellations are possible, does that mean bad weather conditions will force people to give up? It seems like a lot of issues will arise from this,” another X user (@nigaoeman) wrote.
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富士山 事前に登山日予約し通行料決済 新システム運用を開始. NHK
【吉田ルート】山梨県富士山吉田ルート通行予約システム. 富士登山オフィシャルサイト
