The number of monthly visitors to Japan exceeded 3 million for the first time in March, and exceeded 3 million again in April and May.
Japan:
The summer climbing season on Mount Fuji began on Monday, with new crowd-control measures put in place to combat overcrowding on the Japanese volcano’s most popular climbing route.
Participants in the Yoshida Route are charged an entrance fee of 2,000 yen ($13) plus a voluntary donation, and the number of participants per day is limited to 4,000.
Authorities, concerned about safety and environmental damage on Japan’s highest mountain, also introduced online booking this year.
“I think this is a really good idea because if we respect the mountain we have to limit the number of people,” hiker Chetna Joshi told AFP at the fifth station of the motorable trail, a busy starting point for hikers.
A 47-year-old man from India likened the crowds seen on Mount Fuji in recent years to the “traffic jam” of climbers at the top of Mount Everest.
Strong winds and drizzle on Monday prevented climbers from reaching the summit, but Joshi said getting partway up was a “great experience.”
“I love the mountains. I don’t think I’m allowed to go this time, but that’s OK. I’ll take it,” she said.
Tourists have flocked to Japan in record numbers since the pandemic began, many of them hoping to see or even climb Mount Fuji.
Although the mountain is covered in snow for most of the year, it attracts more than 220,000 tourists each year during the climbing season from July to September.
Many people make the overnight trek to see the sunrise from the 3,776-metre (12,388-foot) summit.
Some people sleep on the trail or build fires to stay warm, while others try to complete the hike without taking a break and end up getting sick or injured as a result.
“Crazy Adventure”
There are three other main routes up this once peaceful pilgrimage site that are free to access.
However, the Yoshida Route, which is relatively easy to access from Tokyo, is the preferred option for most visitors, with around 60% of climbers choosing this route.
Every summer, Japanese media reports of tourists climbing Mount Fuji with inadequate climbing equipment.
Yamanashi Prefecture Governor Kotaro Nagasaki said the new measures were introduced “first and foremost to protect human lives.”
In a reminder of the dangers, four bodies were found near the summit last week, local media reported.
“Personally I feel like we were overprepared,” American climber Jeffrey Kula told AFP.
“I’ll keep an eye on the weather forecast and bring lots of clothes in case my clothes get wet. Oh man, this is going to be another crazy adventure.”
Tourist attractions
The number of monthly visitors to Japan exceeded 3 million for the first time in March, and exceeded 3 million again in April and May.
The tourism director said that with more than 25 million foreign tourists coming to the country last year, the country’s ambitious target of attracting 60 million foreign tourists is well within reach.
Mount Fuji is about a two-hour train ride from central Tokyo and can be seen from miles around.
The mountain is a symbol of Japan and has been depicted in countless works of art, including Hokusai Katsushika’s “Under the Great Wave off Kanagawa.”
But as in other popular tourist destinations such as Venice, which recently began a trial of charging entrance fees for day-trippers, the influx of tourists has not necessarily been welcomed.
In May, a town near Mount Fuji erected large fences around popular viewing spots in an attempt to stop a growing number of tourists from taking photographs of the mountain.
Residents were fed up with a string of mostly foreign tourists littering, trespassing and breaking traffic rules in the pursuit of photos to share on social media.
Similar incidents have occurred in Japan’s ancient capital, Kyoto, where locals have complained that tourists are harassing the city’s famous geisha.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
