First Snowfall on Mount Fuji

　Yesterday, the Japan Meteorological Agency announced the first snowfall on Mount Fuji. Whilst visual observations have been carried out since records began in 1894, it is reported that, from this year onwards, the announcement will be based on data analysis using AMeDAS, rain cloud radar and satellite imagery. As a result, the first snowfall occurred nearly a month later than the average.

　The photograph was taken before the COVID-19 pandemic at Nikurayama Sengen Park in Fujiyoshida City, a famous spot for viewing Mount Fuji. Featured in Thai school textbooks and on the cover of the ‘Michelin Green Guide Japan’, the park suddenly became a hotspot teeming with foreign tourists; unfortunately, it has since become a prime example of the negative effects of mass tourism. Due to the excessive crowds, it has now been excluded from the itineraries of the group tours we organise.

　Striking the right balance between promoting tourism and imposing restrictions is a very difficult issue.