Yoshida Trail to the Summit of Mount Fuji

The Yoshida Trail is the most heavily used of Mount Fuji's four official climbing routes, starting at the Fuji Subaru Line 5th Station on the mountain's Yamanashi side at 2,305 m and climbing roughly 1,471 m to the 3,776 m summit. The route passes through numbered stations from the 6th to the 9th, lined with mountain huts such as Toyokan and Hachigome Taishikan that sell food, water, and simple bunk lodging, making an overnight stay before a pre-dawn summit push for sunrise (goraiko) the standard approach rather than a single continuous push. Since 2024, Yamanashi Prefecture has required a ¥2,000 ($13) Yoshida Trail toll for all climbers using this route, which folds in the longstanding ¥1,000 ($6) voluntary conservation donation, alongside a same-day hiker cap of roughly 4,000 people and a gate closure between 4pm and 3am to discourage unsafe rushed ascents (bullet climbing); reservations should be made in advance through the official Fujisan-climb portal. The trail surface alternates between packed volcanic gravel, switchbacks, and rocky scrambling closer to the summit crater rim, with no shade anywhere above the tree line. Altitude sickness is common above 3,000 m, and sudden weather changes, including lightning and high winds, are a real risk even in midsummer. Outside the official season, snow, ice, and closed huts make the climb a serious mountaineering undertaking rather than a hike.