Miho Sakurai, a veteran ranger who has been patrolling Mount Fuji's slopes for seven years, has witnessed the familiar sights of human traffic jams, garbage-filled foothills, and inappropriately attired hikers, some even attempting the ascent in sandals.
“There are definitely too many people on the mountain at the moment; the numbers are much higher than before,” Sakurai lamented to CNN.
Mount Fuji, added to UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2013, has seen a significant increase in visitors since its addition, with the number doubling from two million in 2012 to over five million in 2019 at the mountain's popular fifth hiking station.
The mountain, which celebrates the 10th anniversary of receiving the UNESCO designation this year, has reached a "critical point" environmentally.
"Overtourism — and all the subsequent consequences like rubbish, rising CO2 emissions, and reckless hikers — is the biggest problem facing Mount Fuji,” says Masatake Izumi, a Yamanashi prefectural government official and expert on the famed peak.
