Reservations and per-person hiking fees are now mandatory for the Yoshida Trail.

Mt. Fuji is Japan’s tallest mountain, and many would also say its most beautiful. But a less desirable superlative it’s also picked up in recent years is being Japan’s most notoriously crowded mountain too, and this summer a number of new regulations are going into effect in an attempt to address overtourism and safety fears on Mt. Fuji’s hiking trails.

The most impactful change is that every single trail leading to the top of Mt. Fuji will be charging a 4,000-yen (US$28) fee per person, and limits will be imposed on what hours the trails can be used by hikers who haven’t also made a reservation to stay at one of the huts/lodges on the mountain. If you’re hoping to hike on Yamanashi Prefecture’s Yoshida Trail, the most popular route, you’ll also need to make a reservation for one of the limited number of slots beforehand, and the reservation website for the summer 2025 climbing season is now open.

The Yoshida Trail will be open from July 1 to September 10, and for each date the reservation site’s calendar shows one of four symbols. A circle means reservations for that day are still available in relative abundance, a triangle that there are only a small number left, an X that all reservations slots have already been filled, and a dash/hyphen that no hiking is allowed on that date (though currently hiking is allowed on all days between July 1 and September 10). Payment must be made in full at the time of reservation, and while you can reschedule your reservation to a different time if need be, refunds will become unavailable two days after purchasing your ticket.

Reservations can be made through the Mt. Fuji Official Site, with separate categories for those doing a single-day hike and those staying in a mountain hut. As of this writing, the first page of the reservation process appears to be only available in Japanese, so you’ll want to click on the チケット購入に進む button under 【日帰り登山者】富士山吉田ルート通行料 for single-day hikes and the チケット購入に進む under 【山小屋宿泊者】富士山吉田ルート通行料 if you’re staying in a hut.

This will bring up a list of notices and terms related to climbing, again all in Japanese, explaining that this is for reservations for the Yoshida Trail only, that mountain hut reservations (if required) must be made separately and that there is a limit of 4,000 hikers per day, as well as proverbial fine print related to refunds and rescheduling. At the bottom you’ll need to click on 確認しました (“confirmed”/”understood”) to go to the next screen.

That will bring up the reservation calendar/information entry screen, which has multilingual options via a button in the bottom-right corner. After selecting a date, you’ll be asked to choose a reservation time, but there’s actually only one option for each type of reservation. Those not staying in huts are only allowed to use the trail between 3 a.m. and 2 p.m., while those staying in huts can use it at any time. If you’re thinking that’s going to mess with anyone’s plans to start hiking in the evening, reach the summit in the early morning, watch the sunrise from the peak of Mt. Fuji, and then hike back down without having to shell out for mountain hut accommodations, eliminating that style of hiking is one of the local government’s expressed purposes for the new regulations.

It’s also worth noting that as part of the reservation process you’re required to click a box stating that you agree to bring warm clothing, rain gear with a separate top and bottom (i.e. no single-piece rain ponchos), and “suitable footwear for climbing.” It’s unclear whether or not officials at the gate at the start of the trail will be inspecting hikers packs and feet to confirm that they do indeed have these items, but following recent incidents of foreign tourists needing assistance while hiking Mt. Fuji without proper mountaineering gear, spot checks of non-Japanese hikers about to head out on the trail wouldn’t be a shock, and not actually having the equipment agreed to in the reservation could possibly be grounds for barring entry to the trail, so it’s probably best to make sure you have everything on you before you get to the mountain.

The Mt. Fuji Yoshida Trail reservation page can be found here.

Source: Mt. Fuji Official Site
Top image: Pakutaso
Insert images: Mt. Fuji Official Site (1, 2)
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