Mount Fuji climbing season opens with 2 trails, new fee kiosks ease crowds
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Yamanashi and Shizuoka prefectures have introduced a range of measures to regulate climber access amid a rise in visitors.
PHOTO: KENTARO TAKAHASHI/NYTIMES
- Mount Fuji climbing season started July 1 with two trails open and new self-service kiosks for the 4,000 yen entrance fee to reduce congestion on the Yoshida Trail.
- Yamanashi and Shizuoka prefectures urge online preregistration and have increased safety patrols amid rising foreign visitors and concerns about unprepared hikers.
- Despite recent typhoons and a 5.6-magnitude earthquake, climbers enjoyed clear weather and sunrise views; volcanic alert remains at the lowest Level 1.
AI generated
TOKYO – Mount Fuji’s climbing season commenced on July 1 as two of the four main hiking trails opened, with hikers making their way to the summit greeted by a clear sunrise breaking through clouds around 4.30am (3.30am Singapore time) in fair weather.
Yamanashi prefecture has set up two self-service payment kiosks for the 4,000 yen (S$32) entrance fee at the fifth station on the most popular Yoshida Trail in 2026, to ease congestion for those who had not pre-registered.
The Subashiri Trail on the side of Shizuoka prefecture also opened on July 1, earlier than in past years.
Two other trails on the Shizuoka side of the 3,776m-tall mountain will open on July 10 as usual.
Yamanashi prefecture is urging climbers to pre-register online and complete entrance fee payments in advance. Local authorities have also begun around-the-clock deployment of patrol and safety personnel at the summit area.
Jasper Overall, 26, an international student from Australia, said: “(I) wasn’t sure the hike was even going to happen with that typhoon. We’re really glad that we got to see the sunrise at the end.”
A staff member of a mountain hut near the summit said that there were more climbers than he expected, despite a strong earthquake in the area and twin typhoons that passed close to Japan last week.
Both Yamanashi and Shizuoka prefectures have introduced a range of measures to regulate climber access amid a rise in foreign visitors and growing concerns about ill-prepared hikers in recent years.
During the 2025 season, the number of Mount Fuji climbers using the three trails on the Shizuoka side fell by 6.1 per cent to 84,032 from 2024, while those using Yamanashi’s Yoshida Trail increased by 5.4 per cent to 121,068.
On June 26, a 5.6-magnitude earthquake jolted Yamanashi prefecture and nearby areas, measuring lower 6 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 in Fujikawaguchiko, situated at the northern base of Mount Fuji.
The volcanic alert for the mountain remains at Level 1, the lowest of five levels and indicating potential for increased activity. KYODO NEWS
