Shizuoka Aims to Collect 4,000 Yen from Mt. Fuji Climbers

Shizuoka, Dec. 13 (Jiji Press)--The Shizuoka prefectural government Friday unveiled the outline of a draft ordinance calling for collecting 4,000 yen per person from those climbing Mount Fuji from the central Japan prefecture, starting next summer.

The proposal for an entry fee for Japan's highest mountain, presented to the prefectural assembly's culture and tourism committee, is designed to ease congestion at the site and prevent dangerous attempts to scale the peak.

The prefectural government aims to submit the draft ordinance to the assembly's session from February next year, after making adjustments with neighboring Yamanashi Prefecture, from where people can also go up the 3,776-meter mountain.

According to the draft ordinance, the proposed fee will be collected at the mountain's fifth stations of the Fujinomiya, Gotemba and Subashiri trails on the Shizuoka side. The proceeds will be spent to implement related regulations and safety measures.

The draft bars climbing from the three Shizuoka routes between 2 p.m. and 3 a.m. the following day for those who will not stay at mountain huts overnight. It also asks people to learn mountaineering rules and manners beforehand.

The Shizuoka prefectural government will scrap the existing voluntary "conservation cooperation" fee of 1,000 yen per person. It will not set a limit on the number of climbers.

This summer, the Yamanashi prefectural government started regulating entry to Mount Fuji, introducing an entry fee of 2,000 yen per head and a daily limit of 4,000 climbers.

The Shizuoka prefectural government, which introduced a voluntary registration system for Mount Fuji climbers during this year's climbing season, had been considering collecting an entry fee of 3,000 yen to 5,000 yen.

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