The challenge
Overcrowding on Mount Fuji caused dangerous congestion and litter.
The case
Overcrowding on Mount Fuji brought dangerous congestion, litter and 'bullet climbers' rushing to the summit overnight without rest. In 2024 Yamanashi Prefecture introduced a 2,000-yen fee on the Yoshida Trail, the most popular route, capped climbers there at 4,000 a day and closed the gate overnight to those without a hut booking; the other three trails stayed free. Preliminary environment ministry counts from all four trails showed climber numbers fell by 14 percent between early July and early September, to around 178,000, compared with more than 200,000 the year before. In 2025 the fee was raised to 4,000 yen and extended to all trails.
Why it worked
A cap and a gate controlled crowds directly, while the fee funded safety measures. Combining limits with pricing worked better than a fee alone, as Venice's experience suggests.
Sources
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