Rescue workers want to recover bodies from Mount Fuji in Japan

It is unclear whether the three people climbed the 3,776-meter-high mountain together, as the bodies were found several meters apart.

The official climbing season had not yet begun when climbers entered the mountain from the Shizuoka Prefecture side.

Japanese media reports showed a vehicle carrying one of the bodies driving into a police station in Shizuoka Prefecture. The rescue team had been searching for a 53-year-old man who had been reported missing.

Kyodo news service also reported that 38-year-old professional mountaineer Keita Kurakami died in a hospital after being found by police while climbing Mount Fuji from the Yamanashi Prefecture side.

Mount Fuji can be climbed from both Yamanashi Prefecture and Shizuoka Prefecture. The climbing season in Yamanashi begins on July 1st.

Mount Fuji, made famous by the ukiyoe (woodblock prints) of 18th and 19th century Edo era masters Katsushika Hokusai and Utagawa Hiroshige, is a popular tourist destination.

Experts warn that even in summer it can get extremely cold and that the right equipment, hiking boots and clothing are essential. Hikers also run the risk of developing altitude sickness if they ascend too quickly.

Picturesque Mount Fuji has long been a symbol of Japan, with its gracefully curved slopes and white ice cap standing out among tranquil lakes and rice fields.

Up to 300,000 people climb Mount Fuji every year. Watching the sunrise from the summit is considered a spiritual experience. But recently there have been growing concerns about overcrowding due to the influx of tourists.

The city of Fujikawaguchiko in Yamanashi has erected a large black screen along a sidewalk to block the view of Mount Fuji and deter crowds of people taking photographs.

Yuri Kageyama is on X: https://twitter.com/yurikageyama