Japan’s iconic Mount Fuji will open to hikers Friday, with climbers required to go through health checks as part of anti-coronavirus measures introduced last year.
The local governments of Yamanashi and Shizuoka prefectures, which Mount Fuji straddles, will require hikers to hand in a health check sheet and take their temperature at the fifth station. If they have a temperature of 37.5 degrees Celsius or higher, or 1 degree higher than their normal temperature, they will not be allowed to climb further.
Those who pass the checkpoint without any health problems will get a wristband to show that they can continue the climb, while those who develop a fever or show other symptoms of COVID-19 will be asked to descend.
Trekkers will also be asked to wear masks in crowded areas, such as when indoors, at the summit or walking along paths that are crowded with people.
Mount Fuji has four trekking routes, with each of them having different opening dates. The Yoshida trail will open Friday, while the other three trails — Subashiri, Gotemba and Fujinomiya — will open July 10. All trails will be accessible through Sept. 10.
In 2020, Yamanashi and Shizuoka closed all four routes amid the coronavirus pandemic for the first time since 1960, but reopened them last year.
According to the Environment Ministry, 78,548 people climbed Mount Fuji last year, about 33% of the 2019 figure, which was 235,646.