As the climbing season for Mt. Fuji approaches, local governments in surrounding areas are warning against "bullet climbing," the practice of ascending to the peak of one of Japan's most iconic landmarks without taking a sleep break at night.
This year's climbing season, scheduled to run from July 1 through Sept. 10, will be the first since the lifting of COVID-related movement restrictions, and most of the mountain huts en route to the summit are already reserved.
That has led to growing concern that climbers unable to book accommodation will try to press on in the middle of the night, placing themselves in danger.
At one mountain lodge, the phone rang off the hook when it started accepting reservations from the beginning of May and its website's server also crashed due to heavy traffic.
To counter infection, the lodge is limiting capacity to 60 to 70 percent of the level prior to the coronavirus pandemic and it is almost fully booked.
This year marks the 10th anniversary of Mt. Fuji's registration as a World Heritage site and many people from both Japan and abroad are expected to flock to see the sunrise from the top.
Most people try to time their ascent so they can see the sunrise from the summit, arriving at a hut and sleeping for a few hours before continuing to the top.
Bullet climbing in a shorter time increases the risks of altitude sickness and slipping. People lingering near the summit could also suffer from hypothermia.
To prevent such incidents, Yamanashi Prefecture has decided to shorten the night hours of the Fuji Subaru Line toll road that connects the 5th station of the Yoshida entrance and the foot of the mountain during the climbing season.
Local governments on the Yamanashi Prefecture side of Mt. Fuji have submitted a request to the prefecture to limit the number of climbers.
However, that seems unlikely to be accepted as the prefectural government's position is that it "cannot impose restrictions."
Osamu Nakamura, head of a group of mountain hut owners, said, "I'm happy that so many people want to climb the mountain, but if an accident happens it would be a total loss. We want people to have fun within reason."
The Yamanashi prefectural police stressed that climbing Mt. Fuji should not be seen as simply an extension of sightseeing and urged people to prepare carefully.
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