During the 2021 Mt. Fuji climbing season (July 1 - September 10), 78,548 climbers passed the eighth station of Mt. Fuji, according to the Ministry of the Environment. This is a third of the 235,646 climbers in 2019. The mountain was closed due to the pandemic in 2020, so there were no climbers that year.
In 2021, the largest number of climbers used the Yoshida trail, about 54,393, or 40% of the total. This is followed by 11,409 on the Fujinomiya trail, 6,411 on the Subashiri trail, and 6,336 on the Gotenba Trail. The day with the highest number of climbers was Saturday, August 28th, with 4,563. The daily average for holidays and weekends was 1,843 and the daily average for regular weekdays was 1,007.
Why were there so few climbers this year? I think many people were still staying at home because of the pandemic. There were no foreign tourists this past summer, but I don't know how many there usually are on Mt. Fuji. What do you think?
I would agree with you about the pandemic. Between lack of tourism and just being cautious, it makes sense.
ReplyDeleteThere might be some tourists who come to climb Mt. Fuji, but I think mostly people were still being careful this year!
ReplyDeleteIs it a rite of passage kind of thing in Japan to climb the mountain? The lack of foreign tourists will make a difference.
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