Climbers seeking to ascend Mount Fuji from Yamanashi prefecture would have to pay 2,000 yen (S$18) more per person from Jul. 1, The Japan Times reported.

The Yamanashi Prefectural Assembly passed the entry fees decree on Monday (Mar. 4) to ease congestion near Mount Fuji's summit and to fund safety measures, Kyodo News reported.

There are four different trails one can take to ascend Mount Fuji, the most popular being the Yoshida Trail in the Yamanashi Prefecture.

Known as the "Beginner's Trail", it offers climbers opportunities to buy water and snacks, as well as having two first aid stations.

The entry fee is in addition to the 1,000 yen that climbers are asked to pay on a voluntary basis for the preservation of the mountain.

According to Jiji Press, the entry fees will be used to set up shelters and deploy observers to warn climbers who are behaving badly.

Entry fees

At 3,776 meters tall, Mount Fuji is split into 10 stations, with the summit being the last station.

The entry fees will be collected at the fifth station, or the entrance to the Yoshida Trail, where a gate will be installed.

During the 2024 season until mid-September, the gate will be closed from 4pm to 3am the following day.

Entry restrictions will also be imposed once the daily climber count exceeds 4,000.

Exception will be given to those who have reservations to stay at mountain huts— a move to prevent "bullet climbers".

"Bullet climbers" refer to hikers who attempt to climb the mountain without resting at one of the mountain huts.

More than 200,000 climbers annually

Mount Fuji is an active stratovolcano and is considered the sacred symbol of Japan.

In 2013, Mount Fuji made the UNESCO's list of World Heritage sites.

The iconic mountain is climbed by more than 200,000 hikers annually, Japan National Tourism Organisation (JNTO) reported.

Mount Fuji drew a total of 221,000 climbers last summer, 60 per cent of whom used the Yoshida Trail.

There are three trails to Mount Fuji in Shizuoka Prefecture.

Shizuoka Prefecture said that it is not planning to collect an entry fee from climbers seeking to ascend Mount Fuji other than the current fees imposed for conservation purposes.

Top image Ben Cheung/Pexels.