The Yamanashi Prefectural Government said Thursday that it will begin accepting online reservations for climbing Mount Fuji from the prefecture on April 24.
To make reservations to enter the Yoshida Trail on the Yamanashi side of the mountain, climbers are required to pay an entrance fee of ¥4,000 per person in advance and agree to comply with rules, including not scaling the 3,776-meter mountain without resting at alpine huts.
The government of neighboring Shizuoka Prefecture plans to accept such reservations from May 9. It will charge an entrance fee starting this season.
The reservation system is aimed at reducing congestion and preventing people from climbing Japan's tallest mountain in casual clothes.
"We strongly urge people to use the advance reservation system to avoid confusion at the gate," Yamanashi Gov. Kotaro Nagasaki said.
Reservations can be made on the official website for Mount Fuji climbers until the day of the climb, after agreeing to all seven rules, including wearing cold weather gear. From this year, climbers will be able to cancel their reservations or change the dates.
The Yamanashi and Shizuoka governments have set up gates at the fifth stations of all four trails on Mount Fuji, as a measure to ease crowding. The gates will be closed between 2 p.m. and 3 a.m. the following day.
The Yamanashi side has set an entry limit of 4,000 people per day, excluding those with lodging reservations at mountain huts. The Shizuoka side has no such limit.
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