Photo/Illutration Climbers show their wristbands to pass through the gate at the fifth station on Mount Fuji on July 1. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

KOFU—Yamanashi Governor Kotaro Nagasaki on Oct. 1 revealed that he is considering raising fees to ascend the prefecture's trail up Mount Fuji starting next summer.

About 60 percent of climbers take Mount Fuji's Yoshida trail. From this climbing season, Yamanashi Prefecture began charging 2,000 yen ($13.89) for each climber. 

An actual figure has not been decided. Nagasaki said he would revisit whether to increase next summer's fee after calculating next season's projected cost to regulate the trail.

The governor is also mulling over whether prices should differ on weekends, which see more climbers with correspondingly higher safety measure costs, compared to weekdays. Another hope is that varied fees would reduce the concentration of weekend climbers.

"The beneficiaries (the climbers) should bear the costs—this is how it should be," he said, referring to the safety measures. 

According to the Yamanashi prefectural office, safety and other trail-related costs totaled 170 million yen during the 2023 season before the 2,000 yen fee was introduced. 

Of this, 100 million yen was covered by donations from climbers (1,000 yen each) while the remaining 70 million yen came from prefectural coffers. 

Taxpayers saw their financial burden reduced by 50 million yen this year after the prefecture began charging climbers.

Meanwhile, the governor also aims at reducing the concentration of climbers on weekends by setting different pricing for weekdays and weekends.

The summer season's total costs increased to 380 million yen; the addition of a gate at the fifth station, increased security and staff instruction contributed to the higher amount. 

However, 360 million yen of the total was covered by the mandatory fees and contributions from climbers and lowered the amount shouldered by prefectural residents to about 20 million yen. 

On the other side of Mount Fuji, Shizuoka Prefecture also announced its plan to charge fees for its three trails—Fujinomiya, Gotemba and Subashiri—starting next summer.

Yamanashi Prefecture is considering increasing cooperation with Shizuoka Prefecture by sharing information and improving its plan to charge climbers while listening to the opinions of the Environment Ministry and related local organizations.

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