Still no snow on Mount Fuji, a record

Photo: Philip Fong Archives Agence France-Presse The summit of Mount Fuji, June 19, 2024

Agence France-Presse in Tokyo

Published at 8:23 a.m.

• Asia

Mount Fuji, the symbol of Japan, was still snowless Monday, the highest date since records began 130 years ago, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

On average, the summit of this volcano begins to be covered in snow on October 2. Last year, the first snowflakes fell on October 5.

But this year, due to high temperatures, no snowfall was observed there, said Yutaka Katsuta, a weather forecaster at the local weather service in Kofu, central Japan.

Since records began in 1894, no first snowfall had been observed later than October 26, a record that was measured twice, in 1955 and 2016.

“Temperatures were high this summer,” as in September, “which prevented any cold air” that could produce snow, Katsuta told AFP.

According to him, climate change is possibly partly responsible for this delay. Japan experienced its hottest summer since records began in 2024, equaling the record of 2023.

Mount Fuji is covered in snow for most of the year except for the period from July to September. Many hikers then choose to walk it at nightfall to watch the sunrise from its summit, at an altitude of 3,776 meters.

However, Japan's most famous mountain has seen a significant drop in attendance this season, a consequence of the Japanese authorities' decision to introduce an entrance fee and a daily quota to combat overtourism.

This summer, the Ministry of the Environment counted around 178,000 hikers, compared to around 205,000 the previous year and before the pandemic, a drop of 14% between early July and early September.

Mount Fuji is about a two-hour train ride from central Tokyo and can be seen from dozens of kilometers around, especially from the capital. The majestic mountain is a symbol of Japan immortalized in countless works of art, including Hokusai's The Great Wave.

Its last volcanic eruption occurred three centuries ago.