By The Straits Times | Created at 2026-09-22 04:36:42 | Updated at 2026-09-22 05:32:35
1 hour ago
TOKYO – Severe crowding on trails just below the summit of Mount Fuji has persisted, despite the introduction of restrictions on climbers.
During this summer’s climbing season from July 1 through Sept 10, more than 240,000 people are believed to have headed for the summit, surpassing levels recorded before the restrictions were implemented. On some days, climbers hoping to see the sunrise converged near the top in such numbers that officials feared one person falling could trigger a chain reaction.
In the future, the Environment Ministry plans to use infrared counters that were installed near the summit this summer to quantitatively track the movement of climbers and assess both the severity of congestion and the effectiveness of the restrictions.
A series of measures were recently introduced for Mount Fuji, aimed at reducing overcrowding and discouraging so-called bullet climbing, in which people climb through the night without staying at a mountain hut. Yamanashi Prefecture introduced restrictions in 2024, including a climbing fee, while Shizuoka Prefecture followed with similar measures beginning in 2025.
Yamanashi also imposed a daily limit of 4,000 climbers.
Yet favourable weather this summer helped drive an increase in visitors. According to preliminary Environment Ministry figures, about 245,000 climbers used the mountain’s four main trails — the Yoshida Trail on the Yamanashi side and the Subashiri, Gotemba and Fujinomiya trails on the Shizuoka side.
The total number of climbers was higher than in 2023, before the restrictions were introduced, and also exceeded the figures for 2018 and 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic.
Crowding has continued near the summit as well.
An analysis by The Yomiuri Shimbun, conducted with the assistance of Location AI, a Tokyo-based company that analyses human movement using artificial intelligence, examined foot traffic from the ninth station to just below the summit. It found that the pattern of climbers concentrating on the trail before sunrise has remained essentially unchanged since the restrictions took effect.
According to an association of Mount Fuji guides based in Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi Prefecture, congestion has continued on the Yoshida Trail, which is used by most climbers and merges with the Subashiri Trail at the eighth station. The crowding has created risks of cascading falls and falling rocks.
As a result, Yamanashi and Shizuoka prefectures have continued deploying staff members near the ninth station to direct climbers.
Under a sky filled with stars at about 3am on Aug 16, a long line of climbers was making its way toward the summit near the ninth station of the Yoshida Trail, the busiest of Mount Fuji’s four main climbing trails.
At some points, climbers were so close together that they could have touched one another simply by reaching out. In other places, the line came to a standstill.
An office worker from Hino, Tokyo, said he repeatedly felt an impact on his back, beginning around the ninth station, as climbers behind him bumped into his backpack.
“I was scared that we might both lose our balance and fall,” he said.
Near the ninth station, five guides deployed by Yamanashi and Shizuoka prefectures continuously called out instructions.
“Keep moving forward without stopping and climb smoothly,” one said.
“There is a risk of causing rockfalls or falling yourself in the scree, where the footing is unstable,” another warned.
One man who stepped over a rope marking the edge of the trail in an apparent attempt to move ahead more quickly was immediately told: “Go back!”
The chair of Fujiyoshida’s Mount Fuji guides association said the pre-dawn period remains especially prone to congestion.
“Even after the restrictions were introduced, it still gets crowded before sunrise on days when large numbers of people gather to see the sunrise from the mountain,” he said.
Crowding was recorded near the summit this summer as well, particularly on weekends and public holidays.
According to standards established by the Fujisan World Cultural Heritage Council, which includes the national government and the prefectures of Yamanashi and Shizuoka, crowded conditions are defined as 1.25 or more climbers per square metre, leaving less than 30cm between people.
The guides association chair said such conditions increase more than just the danger of falls.
“They also raise the risk that people trying to overtake others will leave the designated trail and cause rocks to fall,” he said. “And climbers may be exposed to severe weather for extended periods, increasing the likelihood that their physical condition will deteriorate.”
The guides association has asked Yamanashi Prefecture to widen narrow stretches of the trail where climbers can pass only in single file.
So far, however, the proposal has not been carried out, in part because the area is designated as a special protection zone under Japan’s Natural Parks Law. THE JAPAN NEWS/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
