Over 250,000 climbers scale Mt. Fuji in 2010

More than 250,000 people--a record high--have climbed Mt. Fuji by the trail on the mountain's Yamanashi Prefecture side this season, according to the Mt. Fuji safety guidance center.

Last year, 247,066 people--the previous record--climbed the nation's highest mountain from the Yamanashi Prefecture side. The figure is likely to reach 260,000 by Tuesday, the last day of the climbing season, which started July 1.

According to the center at the 6th stage of Mt. Fuji, the season's 250,000th climber set out on the Yoshidaguchi trail at about 11:30 p.m. Saturday. As of 5 p.m. Sunday, the number had reached 253,414.

This season, more than 100,000 climbers took to the mountain in July, a record high. More than 5,000 climbers scaled Mt. Fuji daily on weekend days and during the Bon period in mid-August. On Aug. 21, more than 10,000 climbed toward the summit, the center said.


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Published Aug. 31, 2010 by "The Daily Yomiuri" (now "The Japan News")