The Japanese Mount Fuji, registered as a World Cultural Heritage site this month, will welcome its first climbing season opening day tomorrow. Local authorities are urging tourists and travel agencies to avoid organizing overly rushed hikes to prevent accidents.
At 3,776 meters above sea level, Mount Fuji was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in late June. It will open for climbing on July 1 this year.
Straddling Shizuoka and Yamanashi prefectures, Mount Fuji has three main climbing routes to the summit: the Gotemba and Subashiri routes from the Shizuoka side, and the Yoshida route from the Yamanashi side.
Local authorities expect a large influx of visitors this year, with mountain huts already receiving a surge in bookings. However, they warn climbers not to push themselves too hard just to catch the sunrise.
According to the Yomiuri Shimbun, reservations at the “Mikasa-goya” hut (capacity: 150 people), which offers rest areas on Mount Fuji, began as early as April, with all slots from July 20 to mid-August fully booked. This year, climbers have started making reservations earlier than usual.
Staff at the hut speculate that the number of first-time climbers may increase following Mount Fuji’s registration as a World Heritage Site. However, they advise hikers to prepare for cold and rainy conditions, as the site sits at over 3,000 meters above sea level.
The “Daizengaku” hut (capacity: 350 people) on the Yoshida route has also been fully booked from July 12 to the end of August. In previous years, some spots were still available in July, but this year all reservations were taken by mid-June.
Kazuyoshi Sanada, head of the mountain rescue team, is concerned that visitors may be overly eager to climb Mount Fuji after its World Heritage designation, without adequate preparation. He warns that nighttime hiking makes it harder to spot falling rocks and increases the risk of slips and falls, urging climbers not to push themselves to the summit without rest. 1020630
(Central News Agency)