- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street falls
- US judge orders Google to open Android to rival app stores
- On attacks anniversary, Israel fights 'sacred' multi-front war
- Nobel scientist uncovered tiny genetic switches with big potential
- Grammy-winning Cissy Houston, mother of Whitney, dies at 91
- UN biodiversity summit in Colombia aims to turn words into action
- Georgia Supreme Court reinstates six-week abortion ban
- 'Dark day': Victims mourned around the globe on Oct. 7 anniversary
- On attacks anniversary, Israel fights multi-front war
- Mexican mayor murdered days after taking office
- Intensifying to Category 5, Hurricane Milton targets Florida
- Mission to probe smashed asteroid launches despite hurricane
- Biden, Harris mark Oct. 7 with call for Mideast peace
- Dupont set for Toulouse return after post-Olympic holiday
- French rugby bosses tighten discipline after nightmare Argentina tour
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street slips
- Visitors to get rare view of Rome's Trevi Fountain
- Europe's asteroid mission Hera launches despite hurricane
- Man City and Premier League both claim victory in legal case
- Deschamps delight as 'light back on' for Pogba after doping ban
- Biden, Harris urge Mideast peace on Oct. 7 anniversary
- Neeskens, tough midfielder in Cruyff's Ajax and Dutch teams
- UN warns world's water cycle becoming ever more erratic
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street retreats
- Ex-Dutch football star Johan Neeskens dies
- Man Utd battling to improve fortunes, says Evans
- What is microRNA? Nobel-winning discovery explained
- Masood, Abdullah centuries lift Pakistan to 328-4 in first England Test
- Hurricane Milton strengthens fast, threatens Mexico, Florida
- Tunisia's President Saied set for landslide election win
- Barca hoping to return to Camp Nou 'by end of year'
- Trump to open second golf course at Scotland resort in summer 2025
- Super-sub Jhon Duran rewarded with new Aston Villa deal
- US duo win Nobel for gene regulation breakthrough
- Masood hits first ton for four years to power Pakistan to 233-1
- Fritz wins delayed match to reach Shanghai Masters third round
- Naomi Osaka pulls out of Japan Open with back injury
- Weather may delay launch of mission to study deflected asteroid
- China to flesh out economic stimulus plans after bumper rally
- Artist Marina Abramovic hopes first China show offers tech respite
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on US jobs data
- Pakistan 122-1 at lunch in first England Test
- Kazakhs approve plan for first nuclear power plant
- World marks anniversary of Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- 'Second family': tennis stars hunt winning formula with new coaches
- Philippines, South Korea agree to deepen maritime cooperation
- Mexico mayor murdered days after taking office
- Sardinia's sheep farmers battle bluetongue as climate warms
- Japan govt admits doctoring 'untidy' cabinet photo
- Israel marks first anniversary of Hamas's October 7 attack
CMSC | -0.53% | 24.57 | $ | |
BCC | 1.68% | 141.27 | $ | |
JRI | -0.76% | 13.18 | $ | |
SCS | -0.15% | 12.95 | $ | |
BCE | -0.54% | 33.53 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.09% | 24.79 | $ | |
RBGPF | -1.97% | 58.94 | $ | |
RIO | -0.11% | 69.62 | $ | |
BTI | -0.26% | 35.2 | $ | |
NGG | -1.56% | 65.48 | $ | |
GSK | -0.49% | 38.63 | $ | |
RYCEF | -1.45% | 6.88 | $ | |
AZN | -0.78% | 76.87 | $ | |
RELX | -0.54% | 46.04 | $ | |
BP | 0.78% | 33.14 | $ | |
VOD | 0.31% | 9.69 | $ |
Crowd control at Japan's Mount Fuji as hiking season begins
Mount Fuji's summer climbing season begins on Monday with new crowd control measures on the Japanese volcano's most popular hiking trail to combat overtourism.
An entry fee of 2,000 yen ($13) plus an optional donation will be charged for those taking on the Yoshida Trail, and numbers will be capped at 4,000 per day.
Online reservations for the popular path have also been introduced for the first time this year by authorities concerned about safety and environmental damage on Japan's highest mountain.
Record tourist crowds are flocking to Japan post-pandemic, with many wanting to see or scale Mount Fuji, which is covered in snow most of the year but draws more than 220,000 visitors each July-September climbing period.
Regional officials have raised concerns linked to overcrowding on the mountain, which is a symbol of Japan and a once-peaceful pilgrimage site.
Many climb through the night to see the sunrise from the 3,776-metre (12,388-foot) summit.
Some sleep on the trail or start fires for heat, while many attempt to complete the hike without breaks, becoming sick or injured as a result.
The new measures were introduced "first and foremost to protect lives" of climbers, not to block tourists from coming, governor Kotaro Nagasaki of Yamanashi prefecture recently told reporters.
Each summer, reports in Japanese media describe tourists climbing Mount Fuji with insufficient mountaineering equipment.
"I personally feel like I've over-prepared," said Geoffrey Kula from the United States, who plans to climb Mount Fuji on July 1.
"I'm trying to err on the side of caution. Having looked at the forecast, being ready to swap out multiple outfits if clothes get wet and things like that. Yeah, it just seems like another crazy adventure."
- Tourist hotspot -
The active volcano has three other main routes that will remain free to climb.
But the Yoshida Trail -- accessed from Tokyo relatively easily -- is the preferred option for most holidaymakers, with around 60 percent of climbers choosing that route, according to official data.
Mount Fuji is about two hours from central Tokyo by train and can be seen for miles around.
The mountain has been immortalised in countless Japanese artworks, including Hokusai's world-famous "Great Wave".
Japan last year attracted over 25 million tourists from abroad, in part buoyed by the lifting of pandemic-era border restrictions. Its tourism chief said last month that its ambitious goal of luring 60 million foreign tourists a year was well within reach.
But as in other tourist hotspots, such as Venice -- which recently launched a trial of entry fees for day visitors -- the influx has not been universally welcomed.
In May, Fujikawaguchiko, a town near Mount Fuji, mounted a large mesh barrier at a popular viewing spot for the volcano in an attempt to deter photo-taking by an ever-growing number of tourists.
Town residents were fed up with streams of mostly foreign visitors littering, trespassing and breaking traffic rules in their hunt for a photo to share on social media.
And in June, Fuji, a city near Fujikawaguchiko, said it would build a tall metal fence to control unruly tourists who have annoyed locals at another popular Mount Fuji photo spot, "Dream Bridge".
Overtourism issues have been reported elsewhere in Japan, including in the country's ancient capital of Kyoto, where locals have complained of tourists harassing the city's famed geisha.
S.F.Warren--AMWN