Those who want to climb one of the most popular trails of Japan’s iconic Mt Fuji will now have to reserve ahead and pay a fee as the picturesque stratovolcano struggles with overtourism, littering and those who attempt rushed “bullet climbing”, putting lives at risk.

The Yamanashi prefecture said on Monday in a statement via the Foreign Press Centre of Japan it had introduced new rules for the climbing season starting July 1 to September 10, for those hiking the Yoshida Trail on the Yamanashi side of the 3776m-high mountain, designated a Unesco World Cultural Heritage site in 2013.

Only 4000 climbers will be allowed to enter the trail a day; 3000 slots will be available for online booking at a fee of ¥2000 (about $21), and the remaining 1000 can be booked in person on the day of the climb.

Climbers can book their slots via Mt Fuji Climbing’s official website, jointly run by the Environment Ministry and Mt Fuji’s two home prefectures, Yamanashi and Shizuoka.

Those climbing Japan’s highest peak, Mt Fuji, will now have to book ahead and pay a fee as the picturesque stratovolcano struggles with overtourism. Photo / AP

Mt Fuji is divided into 10 stations, and there are four “5th stations” halfway up the mountain from where the four trails — the Yoshida, Fujinomiya, Subashiri, and Gotemba — start to the top.

Under the new system, climbers need to choose whether they will do a day hike or stay overnight at the several available huts across the trail. Once they input their information and the day of the climb, they are given a QR code to be scanned at the 5th station. Those who have not booked an overnight hut will be sent back down and not allowed to climb between 4pm and 3am, mainly to stop climbers who rush to the summit without adequate rest, raising safety concerns, authorities said.

Yamanashi Governor Kotaro Nagasaki thanked people for their understanding and co-operation in helping conserve Mt Fuji.

The Shizuoka prefecture, southwest of Mt Fuji where climbers can also access the mountain, has sought a voluntary ¥1000 fee per climber since 2014, and is considering more ways to balance tourism and environmental protection.

The number of Mt Fuji climbers during the season last year totalled 221,322, the Environment Ministry says.

A climber summits Mt Fuji just before sunrise. Photo / AP

The announcement came just as a town in Shizuoka was to set up a huge black screen on a footpath to block a view of Mt Fuji because of tourists overcrowding the area to take photos with the mountain as a background of a convenience store, a social media phenomenon known as “Mt Fuji Lawson”. This has inconvenienced locals and disrupted their businesses and road traffic.

Overtourism has also become a growing issue at other popular tourist destinations such as Kyoto and Kamakura as foreign visitors have flocked to Japan in droves since the coronavirus pandemic restrictions were lifted, in part due to the weaker yen.

Last year, Japan had more than 25 million visitors, and the figures in 2024 are expected to surpass nearly 32 million, a record from 2019, according to the Japan National Tourism Organisation.