Mt. Fuji Climbers to be Charged ¥2,000 to Take Trail on Yamanashi Side

The Yomiuri Shimbun

18:49 JST, March 5, 2024

Yamanashi Prefecture, looking to reduce congestion among climbers on Mt. Fuji, will begin charging a ¥2,000 fee for those using one of the trails on its side of the mountain from July 1.

The new fee was stipulated in an ordinance unanimously approved by the Yamanashi Prefectural Assembly on Monday. It will apply to climbers on the Yoshida Trail for the stretch between the 5th Station and Izumigataki falls.

The fee is separate from the voluntary ¥1,000 conservation cooperation fee currently collected by the prefecture. The accumulated capital from the new fee will be used in principle to fund safety measures for climbing the 3,776-meter mountain.

The prefecture will set up a gate at the fifth station, with a limit of 4,000 climbers per day allowed to pass through. It will be closed between 4 p.m. and 3 a.m. the following day.

“I am grateful that the prefectural government has formulated the ordinance,” Shigeru Horiuchi, the mayor of Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi Prefecture, said in a statement. “I hope it will be well publicized so that there will be no confusion.”