Yamanashi Prefecture, having tourism contents attracting tourists, addresses a variety of tourism policies from new climbing restriction for Mt.Fuji to the future visions, such as ‘Mt.Fuji Railway Plan’ or ‘Fuji Five Lakes Green Metropolis Concept.’ Kotaro Nagasaki, Yamanashi Governor, said, “Tourism is one of pillars in the tertiary industry sector of Yamanashi.” How is he going to manage the prefecture’s tourism industry?
Results of the new climbing rule for Mt.Fuji
Yamanashi Prefecture enforced Mt.Fuji climbing restrictions on Fuji Yoshida Route this summer to avoid a serious over-tourism issue around the summit and improve manner violation. The prefecture charged 2000 yen a climber for the first time in the period between July 1 and September 10.
Governor Nagasaki said that the prefecture first focused on controlling visitors above the fifth station, where life is at risk. When it explained the new rule to local business operators, they were worried about it, saying, “If 2,000 yen is charged, visitors will reduce.” Governor Nagasaki convinced them that a value of Mt.Fuji is more than that, and as a result, the new rule worked effectively, and he revealed that so-called ‘bullet climbing’ was no longer found during the period.
The prefecture announced that the number of climbers during the restricted period was down 17.2% year on year to 132,904, and the prefecture did not confirm a day exceeding the limitation of 4,000 climbers a day and complains from the mountain huts.
富士山の登山規制は大きな効果を出した。(写真:山梨県提供)
On the other hand, the prefecture discovered another issues, such as light clothing climbers and ‘last-minute climbers’ who pass the gate just before the gate is closed at 16:00. “We are trying to find solutions against the issues next summer,” Nagasaki said. “But, I think that we can show a new model for climbing Mt.Fuji. The new rule is absolutely right.”
In addition, Governor Nagasaki said, “We are informing another experiences in Mt.Fuji, not only climbing to the summit but also cultural and traditional attractions on old climbing routes” to avoid over-tourism and to decentralize tourists.
山梨県の観光政策を熱く語る長崎知事
Supports to make the tourism industry higher value
“If the tourism industry continues being a low-wage and high-workload industry, nobody wants to work for the industry, and human resources may flow from the prefecture to others,” Governor Nagasaki said. “We try to raise the status of the tourism industry and make it a attractive workplace for young or female people.”
Yamanashi financially supports the tourism industry to make it higher-valued industry. Governor Nagasaki emphasized, “That is a basic philosophy of the prefecture’s tourism policy.”
For higher-valued industry, for instance, the prefecture expects that rehabilitation clinics, including physical therapists, in Isawa Onsen area can be used for new tourism contents especially for people who hesitate to travel for health reasons.
Governor Nagasaki said, “If needs can be met, a profitable business model can be build.”
Also, the prefecture tries to evolve a variety of local food products to unique tourism contents, and Governor Nagasaki hopes that Yamanashi becomes ‘Gourmet Kingdom’ through matching farmers with chefs.
To make Mt.Fuji area ‘Davos’ in Japan
As a future vision, Governor Nagasaki has a goal to make Mt.Fuji area a world-standard tourism destination, saying that the prefecture aims to make the area a place for global people to come together and exchange their ideas.
Yamanashi launched ‘Fuji Five Lakes Green Metropolis Forum,’ in which five working groups, such as environment-friendly transportation or art-centered town building, were formed in 2022. From the Forum, a variety of international projects, such as ‘Fuji Five Lakes Global Village’ or ‘Fuji Green Hydrogen Community,’ have already started off.
In April 2024, ‘Fuji-California Young Artists Expo’ was organized to foster next generation entrepreneurs, joined by international students from more than 100 countries.
“I hope that Mt.Fuji area will be a place for young people in Yamanashi and from the world to experience a variety of things through common activities and to continue partnerships for the future,” Governor Nagasaki said. “We would like to make Mt.Fuji area Davos in Japan.”
Furthermore, Governor Nagasaki hammered out ‘Mt.Fuji Railway Plan’ in 2020. The plan is to lay environment-friendly LRT or Light Rail Transit on the existing road to Mt.Fuji. He said, “We expect that the LRT will reach Fuji Five Lakes area or a station of the future Yamanashi Maglev Line.
富士五湖自然首都圏フォーラムの枠組み(山梨県「ふれあい2023春号No.76」から引用)
Yamanashi always welcomes tourists
In this summer, a black mesh screen was temporarily put up on the pavement in front of Lawson convenience store to control tourists who wanted to see a unique landscape of Mt.Fuji behind the store, which is one of the over-tourism countermeasures.
It was reported globally, but setting up flower beds in front of another Lawson,, close to the Lawson in trouble, to avoid the same over-crowded issue,. was not known well. That was a Governor’s idea to make the problem and the unique landscape compatible.
“Concentration of tourists brings about various frictions, but I believe co-existence is possible with accumulated knowledge,” Governor Nagasaki said. “Yamanashi always welcomes tourists.”
「ローソン富士河口湖町役場前店」では、小さな工夫で人の動きを抑制
