KOFU, Yamanashi Pref. (Kyodo) Mount Fuji got its first snowcap of the season Saturday, six days earlier than average, the Kofu Local Meteorological Observatory said.

Officials in the city of Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi Prefecture, which makes observations of its own, also said that snow thinly covered Japan's highest mountain from its peak to a slightly lower level.

Last year, Mount Fuji saw snow at its peak on Aug. 9, the earliest day snow had been recorded there since observations began in 1894.

The Kofu observatory, located about 40 km from Mount Fuji, has long monitored snowfall levels on the mountain. Fujiyoshida started in 2006.