New rules for iconic tourist spot in Japan
It’s one of the most popular sites to visit in Japan, but authorities are cracking down on travellers choosing to climb Mount Fuji during the more perilous off-season as the cost of hiker rescues skyrockets.
Japan’s Yamanashi prefecture is introducing a series of measures to deter reckless and poorly prepared climbers, including a rescue fee should you find yourself in trouble.
Japan is set to charge a rescue fee on Mount Fuji during off-season. nna\yashee.sharma
From next year, people who attempt to climb Mount Fuji during the off-peak season, which runs from early September to July, and require rescue by helicopter will have to pay for the service.
Yamanashi authorities will also require any climber going above the sixth station – a point nearly 2,400m above sea level – during this period to file a climbing plan beforehand detailing the intended route and equipment.
Neighbouring Shizuoka prefecture, which looks after the southern part of Fuji, will also introduce penalties for off-season climbers that fail to register their plans.
The move comes as both areas report an increase in off-season climbs.
“We ask the general public to refrain from climbing during the off-season. We hope that these measures will cause people to rethink what climbing Mount Fuji during the winter is like,” Yamanashi Governor Kotaro Nagasaki said on Monday.
The prefecture is considering a fee based on helicopter fuel costs.
According to NHK Japan, the proposed rate is about 8,000 Japanese yen ($72) for every five minutes of helicopter operation.
About 200,000 hikers attempt the Mount Fuji summit each year during the climbing season. Getty
Mount Fuji's official climbing season runs from July to early September, with about 200,000 hikers attempting the summit each year.
Outside those months, climbing is already discouraged. Now barricades and sensors will also be used to block access and warn people trying to climb.
In April last year, a Chinese university student was rescued twice within a few days after climbing on the Shizuoka side of the mountain.
There have been 21 climbing accidents and four deaths on the Yamanashi side of Mount Fuji in the seven years to 2025.
The new measures are expected to go into effect in September 2027.
A similar system has been in place in the Saitama prefecture, since 2018.
Climbers there are charged for certain rescues by disaster-response helicopters in designated mountainous areas where operations are considered especially dangerous.
