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Mount Fuji Crowds Shrink After Japan Brings in Over-Tourism Measures 

This photo taken on September 10, 2024 shows the temporary gate at the Yoshida Exit at the 5th station of Mount Fuji being closed to coincide with the end of the summer mountain climbing season, at Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi prefecture. (AFP)
This photo taken on September 10, 2024 shows the temporary gate at the Yoshida Exit at the 5th station of Mount Fuji being closed to coincide with the end of the summer mountain climbing season, at Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi prefecture. (AFP)
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Mount Fuji Crowds Shrink After Japan Brings in Over-Tourism Measures 

This photo taken on September 10, 2024 shows the temporary gate at the Yoshida Exit at the 5th station of Mount Fuji being closed to coincide with the end of the summer mountain climbing season, at Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi prefecture. (AFP)
This photo taken on September 10, 2024 shows the temporary gate at the Yoshida Exit at the 5th station of Mount Fuji being closed to coincide with the end of the summer mountain climbing season, at Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi prefecture. (AFP)

Fewer climbers tackled Mount Fuji during this year's hiking season, preliminary figures show, after Japanese authorities introduced an entry fee and a daily cap on numbers to fight overtourism.

Online reservations were also brought in this year by officials concerned about safety and environmental damage on the country's highest mountain.

The number of climbers fell by 14 percent between early July -- when the volcano's hiking trails opened for the summer -- and early September, according to the environment ministry.

To calculate its preliminary figures, the ministry used infrared devices installed on the four trails.

It comes despite Japan welcoming a record influx of foreign visitors, with nearly 18 million tourists entering the country in the first half of 2024.

Officials raised the alarm last year about overtourism at the once-peaceful pilgrimage site, with the local governor of Yamanashi region warning that "Mount Fuji is screaming".

This summer the environment ministry counted around 178,000 climbers, compared to more than 200,000 the previous year and before the pandemic.

Gates to the trails were closed on Tuesday, marking the end of the hiking season. The preliminary data runs to September 4 and will be updated on a later date, a ministry official told AFP on Wednesday.

The mountain is covered in snow most of the year but during the summer many trudge through the night to see the sunrise from the 3,776-meter (12,388-foot) summit.

This year, an entry fee of 2,000 yen ($14) plus an optional donation was charged on the popular Yoshida Trail, with numbers capped at 4,000 per day. The three other trails remained free.

Concern had been raised that some climbers were sleeping on the trail or starting fires for heat, while others became sick or injured after trying to reach the summit without breaks.

Mount Fuji is about two hours from central Tokyo by train and can be seen for miles around.

The majestic mountain is a symbol of Japan that has been immortalized in countless artworks, including Hokusai's "Great Wave".

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‘Wellness Rooms’ Are Claiming Space in Many Homes

This photo provided by Thermasol, shows a Total Wellness Package Steam Shower. (Thermasol via AP)
This photo provided by Thermasol, shows a Total Wellness Package Steam Shower. (Thermasol via AP)
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‘Wellness Rooms’ Are Claiming Space in Many Homes

This photo provided by Thermasol, shows a Total Wellness Package Steam Shower. (Thermasol via AP)
This photo provided by Thermasol, shows a Total Wellness Package Steam Shower. (Thermasol via AP)

Our homes have been multitasking for a while now. They may be where we work, they are certainly where we play, and in today’s stress-filled world, they’re often the place where we feel most at peace.
Spurred by the pandemic, dens became offices, extra bedrooms became workout zones, dining rooms morphed into multifunctional creative spaces.
Often, we’re seeing rooms transformed into sanctuaries of self-care: welcome to the “wellness room.”
“Small sophisticated home gyms, music rooms, meditation rooms and Zen gardens are some of the wellness spaces we’ve designed recently,” says designer Gonzalo Bueno, who owns the firm Ten Plus Three in Dallas. “Spaces for wellness, retreat and recharging are all really popular right now.”
Bueno and his team combined several of these ideas in a home renovation in Austin, Texas. There is an outdoor Zen garden, flanked indoors by a meditation room on one side and the soaking tub of the primary bath on the other, with both facing a serene green space.
Holistic high and low tech “Soundbathing,” where you immerse yourself in soothing instrumental and natural sounds, has become popular at many professional spas. Now, companies are making versions for the home, or you can set one up yourself.
Create a low-tech soundbathing studio with some comfy pillows, yoga mats, essential oil scent and dimmed lights or candles and then either play or use recorded sounds of chimes, singing bowls and gongs. You can find links to meditation sounds online.
There are full-size beds available that use low frequency sound and vibrations, or you can find cushion-y mats with some of the same features, far less costly.
Traditional saunas use steam, but infrared light saunas are an easier-to-install alternative for indoors. Several makers offer single, two-or three-person versions made of wood or just an insulated fabric. Fancy ones come equipped with Bluetooth audio and color-changing lights.
If you really want to splash out on an in-house, multi-sensory, luxury experience, there are shower units integrating tech into customizable water, steam, lighting and music.
Quiet and maybe deep Jack Ovadia, whose eponymous design firm is based in New York, created a one-person onsen, the Japanese deep-soak-style tub, for a Phoenix client. The cocoon-like space has a contemplative wall of terrazzo pebbles and a pretty, petal-bedecked chandelier above.
But he also is doing wellness rooms that can multi-serve with a sauna and then an invigorating cold plunge tub. In his own home, he has an area to practice yoga and Pilates.
“Having a private space is essential," Ovadia says. "A wellness room should be a space where the outside world dissolves; no background noise, no movement beyond your own. This is where you go to let go; to drop into something quieter, something deeper.”
Celebrating creativity solo or with your peeps Your ideal wellness room might be a little more energetic than the serene, spa-like versions.
“We’re designing more music rooms,” Bueno says, “which isn’t surprising since music is so healing. “
He notes how much fun it is to work with clients who have a passion — “art, yoga, music or entertaining” — and design spaces to help bring that passion home.
“Recent clients had an extensive vinyl collection," he says. "Others have wanted a room to enjoy music during large family gatherings.”
Materials and accessories to set the mood Make sure the size of the space suits your activity and you use materials to set the tone.
“Bring in warmth and a sense of calm with things like natural tan oak, cork, bamboo, neutral tones and organic textures,” Ovadia says.
Small table lights can be set on a timer to play calming nature sounds. Some offer a soft amber glow or an array of soothing day-to-evening hues. Invest in a comfy sectional if you have space, or look for flop-worthy giant beanbags and squooshy oversize chairs.
If it’s an energy-filled space you’re after, Bueno has some suggestions for lighting that kicks things up a little, or a lot.
“We did a home gym with red accents, to bring in passion and motivating energy,” he says.
Engaging art can add to that vibe. Bueno mounted a clubby neon work in a large music/family room that says, “This Must Be the Place.” In the red gym hangs a contemporary piece that reads, “Keep On Keeping On.”
And for the quiet well room? Dreamy nature photographs, prints or mural wallpaper would be the chef’s kiss.
If you don't have room for a wellness room Nowhere to stake out a wellness room in your own place? You might have something similar in your hometown.
Public wellness spaces are becoming places to jive and gather as well. So-called social spas offering traditional spa services, as well as group hangout spaces and social activities, are popping up around the US.
“It’s the new nightclub,” Ovadia says. “Self-care is evolving into a shared experience, becoming a prominent scene rather than just a side routine.”