Mount Fuji is not an expedition peak. It is a non-technical hike that around 200,000 people do every short summer, and its near-perfect cone is one of the most recognizable mountains on earth. What makes it worth a status page is how much the access rules have changed, and how much stale information is still circulating. This page covers the current 2026 picture: fees, reservations, season dates, the four trails, and the safety rules. For the history, the deeper route detail, and the evergreen how-to, see our Mount Fuji climb guide.

Fuji’s access rules have tightened for three years running, in response to overtourism, litter, and unprepared hikers. The 2026 season is the point where those changes line up across all four trails. The headline is that the 4,000-yen fee, which started on the Yoshida trail, now applies to the three Shizuoka trails as well, and every route requires an online permit. If you read an older guide that says climbing Fuji is free, or that only the Yoshida side charges, or that you can simply turn up and walk, that information is out of date.

The fee is the same everywhere, but the way you book differs by side of the mountain, and this trips people up. The Yoshida trail, on the Yamanashi side, uses the prefecture’s online reservation system and enforces a daily cap of 4,000 climbers, so it can sell out on busy dates. The three Shizuoka trails, Subashiri, Fujinomiya, and Gotemba, use the FUJI NAVI smartphone app, which walks you through a short mandatory safety course before it issues your permit. Either way you end up with a QR code that becomes your entry pass at the trailhead.

The official 2026 season has the Yoshida and Subashiri trails opening July 1 and the Fujinomiya and Gotemba trails opening July 10, with all four closing September 10. Subashiri moved earlier this year, to July 1, to line up with Yoshida. These dates can shift if late snow or poor conditions delay the opening, so treat them as scheduled rather than guaranteed and confirm before booking flights. The busiest stretch is the Japanese school holidays from late July through August, and the Obon week in mid-August is the peak of the peak.

Trailhead gates are open from 3 AM to 2 PM. Between 2 PM and 3 AM, entry is restricted to climbers who hold a mountain hut reservation. The target is bullet climbing, the practice of racing up and down through the night without resting, which leaves people exhausted, cold, and prone to altitude illness and accidents near the summit in the dark. The rule effectively means that if you want to be on the summit for sunrise, the safe and now the required way to do it is to climb partway, sleep in a hut, and finish in the early morning.

Mountain huts sit at intervals up all four trails, offering a shared dorm space, dinner, and a simple breakfast, usually for 14,000 to 17,000 yen a person. They are basic and crowded at peak times, and wake-up calls come as early as 1:30 AM so climbers can reach the summit for the sunrise, known as the goraiko. Booking a hut is close to essential in 2026: it is what lets you climb through the restricted overnight hours, and it turns a punishing single push into a paced, safer two-day trip. Reserve early, because the best dates around Obon sell out well ahead.

Fuji’s weather changes fast, and the summit can be in cloud, rain, or strong wind while the base is clear and warm. Only a portion of climbers get a clear sunrise on any given morning. The live map below shows current conditions; use it as background and rely on the hut staff and the official forecast on the day for the real picture.