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Mount Fuji Hikers to be Charged $27 on All Trails

(FILES) A chimney is seen at the Keihin Industrial Zone as Mount Fuji (background L), Japan's highest mountain at 3,776 meters (12,388 feet), looms in the background as viewed from the observation deck of Kawasaki Marien in Kawasaki on January 24, 2022. (Photo by Philip FONG / AFP)
(FILES) A chimney is seen at the Keihin Industrial Zone as Mount Fuji (background L), Japan's highest mountain at 3,776 meters (12,388 feet), looms in the background as viewed from the observation deck of Kawasaki Marien in Kawasaki on January 24, 2022. (Photo by Philip FONG / AFP)
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Mount Fuji Hikers to be Charged $27 on All Trails

(FILES) A chimney is seen at the Keihin Industrial Zone as Mount Fuji (background L), Japan's highest mountain at 3,776 meters (12,388 feet), looms in the background as viewed from the observation deck of Kawasaki Marien in Kawasaki on January 24, 2022. (Photo by Philip FONG / AFP)
(FILES) A chimney is seen at the Keihin Industrial Zone as Mount Fuji (background L), Japan's highest mountain at 3,776 meters (12,388 feet), looms in the background as viewed from the observation deck of Kawasaki Marien in Kawasaki on January 24, 2022. (Photo by Philip FONG / AFP)

Hikers attempting any of Mount Fuji's four main trails will be charged an entry fee of 4,000 yen ($27) from this summer, after local authorities passed a bill on Monday.

A record influx of foreign tourists to Japan has sparked alarm about overcrowding on the nation's highest mountain, a once-peaceful pilgrimage site.

Last year, Yamanashi region -- home to Mount Fuji -- introduced a 2,000 yen ($14) entry fee plus an optional donation for the active volcano's most popular hiking route, the Yoshida Trail.

A cap on daily entries and online reservations were also brought in on that trail by officials concerned about safety and environmental damage on Fuji's majestic slopes.

The Yoshida Trail fee will be doubled for this year's July-September climbing season, while neighboring Shizuoka region passed a bill on Monday to also charge 4,000 yen for its three trails, which were previously free, AFP reported.

Thanks in part to the new restrictions, the number of climbers who tackled Mount Fuji declined to 204,316 last year, from 221,322 in 2023, environment ministry data shows.

Although climber numbers continue to be eclipsed by pre-pandemic levels, "200,000 hikers is still huge", Natsuko Sodeyama, a Shizuoka prefecture official, told AFP.

"There is no other mountain in Japan that attracts that many people in the span of just over two months. So some restrictions are necessary to ensure their safety."

Mount Fuji is covered in snow for most of the year, but during the summer hiking season many trudge up its steep, rocky slopes through the night to see the sunrise.

The symmetrical mountain has been immortalized in countless artworks, including Hokusai's "Great Wave". It last erupted around 300 years ago.

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Power Failures Cause Disruption on London Tube

People walk at Waterloo station, after Transport for London (TfL) reported a power failure across the London Underground, London Overground and the Elizabeth line, in London, Britain, May 12, 2025. (Reuters)
People walk at Waterloo station, after Transport for London (TfL) reported a power failure across the London Underground, London Overground and the Elizabeth line, in London, Britain, May 12, 2025. (Reuters)
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Power Failures Cause Disruption on London Tube

People walk at Waterloo station, after Transport for London (TfL) reported a power failure across the London Underground, London Overground and the Elizabeth line, in London, Britain, May 12, 2025. (Reuters)
People walk at Waterloo station, after Transport for London (TfL) reported a power failure across the London Underground, London Overground and the Elizabeth line, in London, Britain, May 12, 2025. (Reuters)

Power failures caused delays and disruption on London's Tube network on Monday, as several of its busiest lines were suspended.

The Bakerloo line was completely suspended as of 1715 local time (1615 GMT), while other services including the Jubilee, Elizabeth and Piccadilly lines were facing severe or minor delays following a power outage more than two hours earlier.

Transport for London (TfL) said it was working to get the whole network back to normal service as quickly as possible.

"Due to a brief interruption of the power supply to our network, several lines lost power for a short period earlier this afternoon," TfL Chief Operating Officer Claire Mann said in a statement.

Britain's National Grid confirmed that a fault on its transmission network had caused a power failure.

"The fault was resolved within seconds and did not interrupt supply from our network, but a consequent voltage dip may have briefly affected power supplies on the low voltage distribution network in the area," a spokesperson said.

The incident also caused a small contained fire which was brought under control, National Grid said.

The potential for power failures to cause major disruption came into sharp focus in March when London's Heathrow Airport was forced to shut for 18 hours due to a fire at a nearby electrical substation, stranding hundreds of thousands of air travelers.

Transport trade union TSSA called for an inquiry into the incident to ensure a similar power outage does not happen again.

"Safety for all is key at this moment, but in due course we will need a proper inquiry into what happened and the lessons to be learned," TSSA General Secretary Maryam Eslamdoust said.