The majestic Japanese peak has been a major tourist draw for years, but with numbers swelling, there's debate over how to mitigate the impact of the visiting hordes.
/ CBS News— Japan's majestic 12,388-foot peak has stirred poets and painters, sent the devout on treacherous pilgrimages up its slopes, and continues to inspire awe and admiration. It is the namesake of companies from Fuji Film and Fujitsu to Fuji Xerox.
"It was a time of our lives that we wanted to travel. Japan seemed the obvious, and when in Japan, you need to see Mt. Fuji, I think," Eero Keronen, visiting from Australia with his wife Sarah, told CBS News. Tourists enjoy a sunset view from Mt. Fuji, in an image provided by the administration of Japan's Yamanashi prefecture."Mount Fuji," Yamanashi prefecture Gov. Kotaro Nagasaki told the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan last month,"is screaming!"
In a presentation for reporters at the World Heritage Site visitor center, near the access road, Yamanashi representatives showed off plans to raze the current hodgepodge of 5th station shops and its concrete parking lot and replace it all with a greenery-covered, high-end hotel and railroad station.
Last August, a writer for the liberal Asahi newspaper suggested sharply reducing crowds by requiring all summit-bound hikers to carry a permit and overnight at one of a handful of small huts along the trails — a measure also meant to improve safety. Yamanashi prefecture argues that visitor numbers are rebounding toward 2019 levels, when 5th Station visitors topped 5 million. That was more than double the 2.3 million who came in 2012, which was already excessive, the prefecture argues.Most visitors start and end their outing at the 5th Station; an estimated 200,000 to 300,000 continue on foot to the summit during the climbing season from July through early September.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Japan says swarms of tourists defiling sacred Mt FujiOn a grey, rainy Saturday a steady stream of tour buses arrive at a base station of Japan's Mount Fuji depositing dozens of lightly dressed foreign tourists in front of souvenir shops and restaurants.
Read more »
The Crooked Man: Why Did the Conjuring Spin-off Never Happen?Both Valak and Annabelle have their own movies, so why not this guy!?
Read more »
Texas vs. Alabama prediction: College football picks, odds, best betsWhy we’re projecting a close, competitive contest and betting accordingly.
Read more »
Japan PM Kishida spoke about Fukushima water release with G20 leadersJapanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has explained the release of treated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant to the sea to the G20 leaders who gathered in New Delhi for a two-day summit on Saturday, an official with Japan's foreign ministry said.
Read more »
15 Reasons Ahsoka's Baylan Skoll Is The Perfect Star Wars VillainWhy Baylan Skoll is a perfect villain in Ahsoka.
Read more »