Workers have rehearsed operating a new toll gate installed halfway up Mount Fuji to cap the number of climbers, before the trail opens for the season on July 1.
Reckless climbing on Japan’s highest mountain has been a problem, with some people attempting overnight treks.
The gate was completed on Monday on a trail on the Yamanashi Prefecture side.
It will be used to limit the number of climbers to 4,000 a day, and collect a fee of 2,000 yen, or around 13 dollars, per person.
At Wednesday’s rehearsal, the prefecture’s Governor Nagasaki Kotaro said over-tourism on Mount Fuji must be addressed without delay.
He said the prefecture will be fully prepared by the start of the climbing season.
Later, the governor, acting as a climber, showed the QR code of his reservation at a management office at the front of the gate, received a wristband and went through.
Staffers confirmed how to deal with climbers who have not made reservations, and explained to those wearing light clothes the risks of trekking up the mountain.
Nagasaki told reporters he anticipates problems after the scheme starts, so the staff will fix them on a case-by-case basis.