Photo/Illutration Mount Fuji (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Climbing Mount Fuji will become more expensive next summer, with Yamanashi Prefecture raising the toll on the mountain’s Yoshida trail from 2,000 yen ($13) to 4,000 yen.

The prefectural government also plans to start closing the gate at the fifth station two hours earlier to climbers, shutting it at 2 p.m., sources said.

The same policy will be applied to the Fujinomiya, Gotemba and Subashiri trails in Shizuoka Prefecture starting next summer, making the restrictions almost identical in both prefectures.

To accommodate non-climbing visitors at the fifth station, where tourist facilities are concentrated, Yamanashi Prefecture will also establish a new guided nature trail on the gated side of the mountain, allowing visitors to explore the area, sources said.

However, some have expressed concern that closing the gates earlier will make tourists think they can’t enter the sightseeing facilities, which are placed outside of the gates, hurting businesses there.

Approximately 60 percent of Mount Fuji climbers take the Yoshida trail.

Yamanashi Prefecture introduced the nation’s first mountain climbing restrictions this summer to prevent “bullet climbing,” dangerous attempts to ascend the mountain overnight without stopping to rest in reserved mountain huts.

The prefecture established a gate at the fifth station of the mountain, which previously was closed from 4 p.m. to 3 a.m. to all climbers without mountain hut reservations.

The prefecture also limited the number of climbers without reservations to 4,000 a day and started charging a toll of 2,000 yen per person, in addition to the existing voluntary conservation fee of 1,000 yen.

As a result, the number of suspected bullet climbers dropped by 95 percent this summer to 708 from 14,000 the previous year.

However, since many climbers passed through the gate just before closing time, the prefecture decided to strengthen measures by closing the gate earlier.

The tolls are currently being used to cover the costs of implementing the restrictions and safety measures, including patrols that give climbers instructions in the mountains.

However, additional costs are currently being covered by prefectural funds, so the prefecture aims to shift the burden from prefectural residents to the climbers by raising the climbing fee.

The Yamanashi prefectural government will make the policy a formal decision at a meeting with involved parties on Dec. 20. The decision will be submitted as an agenda item to the prefectural assembly in February of next year.

Meanwhile, Shizuoka Prefecture had already announced at a committee of the prefectural assembly that it will abolish the current voluntary contribution fee, establish a “mountain entry fee” of 4,000 yen and close the gate at the fifth station from 2 p.m. to 3 a.m.

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