COVID-19: Mount Fuji to be closed this summer due to coronavirus outbreak

In order to prevent the spread of COVID-19, Japan's iconic Mount Fuji will be closed to climbers this summer 2020. All climbing routes on the Fujinomiya, Gotemba, and Subashiri Trails in Shizuoka Prefecture, and the Yoshida Trail in Yamanashi Prefecture, will not be opened for this year's climbing season.

Mount Fuji is Japan’s most-climbed mountain, with close to 300,000 people attempting the 3,776-meter summit each year. Climbers usually spend a night in crowded mountain huts (山小屋 yamagoya) before continuing onto the peak to see the sunrise.

This is the first time since at least 1960 that all four climbing routes will be closed during the summer climbing season, which usually lasts from early July to mid-September. In addition, all of the mountain huts along the routes will also remain closed.

Similarly, mountain huts located along hiking routes the Northern Alps (like Kamikochi and Mount Tsubakuro) will continue to remain closed until 14 July 2020, when measures will be reviewed according to the situation.

While you may not be able to climb Mount Fuji this year, there are still plenty of things to do and see near this World Heritage Site!

Header image credit: JR East / Carissa Loh

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