If I had 100 yen for every time someone got stranded on a mountain in Japan with inadequate climbing gear…well, I’d probably be able to afford a nice steak dinner, actually. This time, the culprits are two foreign tourists who were apparently unaware that summer clothes aren’t adequate climbing gear.
Mountain madness
The pair, a 30-year-old man and a 29-year-old woman, were a British couple reportedly visiting Hokkaido together. They decided to attempt a hike up Mt. Yōtei from the town of Kutchan on May 13th, despite having no experience with such forms of high-altitude climbing.
The woman was reportedly wearing short sleeves and long pants. Conversely, the man was wearing long sleeves and shorts.
The pair apparently got to the Ninth Station, at approximately 1,750 meters (5,741 feet) elevation. It was around this point, at 6:10 pm, that the man called the 110 emergency line to report that they were cold and couldn’t find shelter.
A rescue helicopter took them to safety an hour later.
Many such cases, most of them foreigners
Dubbed “Ezo Fuji” (Ezo being the former name of Hokkaido), Mt. Yōtei is a tantalizing location for hiking and backcountry skiing for foreigners. While the mountain itself doesn’t have ski slopes, the extremely popular Niseko ski resort area sits near the mountain’s base.
The mountain is no stranger to such strandings. Back in February this year, an Australian woman who works at a hotel in Kutchan had to be rescued after suffering an injury while skiing in the backcountry.
At the time, authorities said, over 50 people had required rescue during the winter season. Around 80% of them were foreigners.
Like Mt. Yōtei. Mt. Fuji to the south also deals with unprepared climbers. Recently, a Chinese national attending school in Tokyo had to be rescued from the mountain twice – once when his crampons broke and a second time after he went back to retrieve his smartphone.
Officials in Yamanashi and Shizuoka Prefectures constantly warn climbers against tackling Mt. Fuji without adequate equipment or preparation. Despite this, every year, thousands of people attempt the climb with little more than the shirts on their backs.
It’s not just foreigners who find themselves caught out, either. In 2024, four people – most of them Japanese nationals – died within the opening days of Mt. Fuji’s hiking season.
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Sources
“半袖・短パン”外国人カップルが“雪山”に登山…9合目で「寒さで動けない」110番通報し警察のヘリで救助―イギリスから観光客〈北海道羊蹄山〉. Hokkaido News UHB
山岳救助隊が出動→バックカントリースキーでケガをしたオーストラリア人女性救助―「蝦夷富士」と呼ばれる羊蹄山の8～9合目で脱臼か…“インバウンド急増の余波” 今冬の遭難者50人超で8割外国人＜北海道＞. Hokkaido News HUB
