Mount Fuji to be closed over summer due to coronavirus富士山、今夏は閉山

Mount Fuji will be closed to climbers this summer in a measure aimed at preventing the spread of coronavirus.

Shizuoka Prefecture, which manages three of the four major routes to Japan’s highest peak, announced May 18 it will not open any of the paths for the official climbing season this year.

Normally, hordes of climbers make their way to the summit of the mountain between July 10 and Sept. 10 each year and the prefecture judged there would be risks of climbers getting infected on the paths or the cabins where they rest.

Yamanashi Prefecture has already made a similar announcement regarding the fourth route to the peak of the 3,776-meter volcano. Its Yoshida track is the most popular route, with 60% of climbers using it.

It is the first time since at least 1960, when the Shizuoka Prefectural Government began managing the three routes, that all four routes will be closed during the climbing season, according to the prefectures.

The cabins, dotted along the routes and usually used by climbers to rest, will also remain closed.

The mountain, a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site, attracted about 236,000 climbers for last year’s season, according to the Environment Ministry. About 85,000 of those used the routes managed by Shizuoka, the prefectural government said. (Kyodo)