Hot spot: Mount Fuji, seen from Lake Kawaguchiko in Fujikawaguchiko. It continues to attract local and foreign tourists. — Reuters
Japanese authorities seeking to reduce the carbon footprint and overcrowding at Mount Fuji will propose a trackless, rubber-tyred tram system made by China’s CRRC to transport climbers, a person with direct knowledge of the plan said.
The new proposal would replace the original plan to build a light-rail system connecting the base to the fifth hiking station of the popular Yoshida Trail, which goes to the top, after a local city and other parties voiced concern over its environmental and cost impact.
Yamanashi Prefecture, home of the most popular route used by climbers of the 3,776m volcano, is set to announce the plan soon.
Mount Fuji, which straddles Yamanashi and Shizuoka prefectures, is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Japan, whose numbers have surged in recent years.
Pollution from the constant stream of tourist buses and cars arriving at the fifth station, as well as overcrowding on the trails, have become headaches for authorities seeking to clean up the site, which Japanese people hold sacred.
Mount Fuji was listed as a Unesco World Heritage site in 2013, further boosting its appeal. But the distinction came on the condition that Japan reduce overcrowding, environmental harm from visitors and fix the artificial landscape, such as the large parking lots constructed to accommodate tourists.
Shanghai-listed CRRC’s “Autonomous Rapid Transit” is a new-generation tram that uses magnetic road markings and can be operated unmanned.
Yamanashi prefecture plans to use locally-produced hydrogen to power the tram, the source said.
The transit system is expected to slash the project’s cost by as much as 40% from the roughly ¥140bil (RM4.03bil) estimated at the start, it added. — Reuters
