Mt. Fuji's climbing season ends in Japan
Mt. Fuji's climbing season ended on Wednesday, with all four trails closed until around July next year to prevent accidents due mainly to snowstorms, Kyodo reports.
Local police warned against people climbing Japan's highest peak, southwest of Tokyo, when trails are closed, stressing that wintry conditions make the ascent especially dangerous.
Yamanashi and Shizuoka prefectures, which manage the routes on the 3,776-meter peak, have recently seen rises in off-season and unplanned climbs that have often resulted in climbers becoming stranded.
From this climbing season, both prefectures started charging an entrance fee of 4,000 yen ($27), while Yamanashi also began limiting the hours people can access its trails as part of measures to prevent unplanned, dangerous climbs, with their officials saying the measures have been effective to a certain extent.
Among cases of people becoming stranded during the trail closures are those who suddenly decide to climb without much preparation and foreign visitors who try to climb in their limited time in Japan, according to the officials.
In June last year, the bodies of three men were discovered inside the crater on the Shizuoka side.
Earlier it was reported that Mt. Fuji's climbing season commenced on July 1 with a doubled fee of 4,000 yen ($28) to ease overcrowding and the impact on the environment.