Climbers seeking to ascend Mount Fuji from popular Yoshida Trail in Yamanashi prefecture will now need to make an online reservation before they can make the climb, Kyodo News reported.

The move aims to ease crowding and congestion on Mount Fuji.

Bookings can be made on official website

The online reservation began on Monday (May 20) and bookings can be made on the official website for climbing Mount Fuji.

The Yoshida Trail on the Yamanashi Prefecture side of Mount Fuji typically operates from Jul. 1 to Sep. 10.

The prefecture restricts the number of people entering Mount Fuji to 4,000 climbers daily.

3,000 slots will be available through online booking up till the day before the climb.

The remaining 1,000 slots will be available on the day of the climb, with fees collected at the site.

Climbers who have made their bookings online will be given a QR code via email which they must scan at the fifth station of the Yoshida trail.

Upon verification, they will be given an identification wristband.

Easing congestion

The online booking is the latest implementation which was introduced to ease congestion near Mount Fuji's summit.

In March, the Yamanashi Prefectural Assembly announced that climbers seeking to ascend Mount Fuji from the prefecture would have to pay a 2,000 yen (S$18) entry fee from Jul. 1, 2024.

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.

Top image via Aditya Anjagi/Unsplash.