A Japanese tourist’s patience was put to the test as he ended up stuck in what appeared to be the most crowded time of the year on Mount Fuji this weekend.
Mikio Kiura, who goes by the username @kur on Twitter, took a snap of the seventh station of his trail on Sunday.
The sight does not exactly promise moments of solitude on the country’s most iconic natural beauty.
Kiura updated his status after a while, saying that he was finally moving “a few steps every few minutes.”
Climbing Mount Fuji — the highest peak in Japan — is restricted to specific seasons of the year, which means hopefuls all year round are expected to mark target dates on their calendar.
This year, visitors are allowed between July 1 or 10 and Sept. 10, the period that coincides with the safest weather conditions, as per the Council for the Promotion of the Proper Use of Mt. Fuji.
Unfortunately, Kiura’s visit was also the beginning of the obon holiday, a Buddhist custom celebrated to honor ancestors. This time, students and workers in the country take a week off.
To make matters more challenging, he was also on the Yoshida Trail — the most popular route to the summit.
Hence, Kiura was on the most crowded trail at what possibly was the most crowded weekend, according to SoraNews24.
Kiura, however, managed to find tranquility at the sixth station.
Still, netizens could not believe how crowded the mountain can actually be.
“A picture of hell.”
“So there’s a traffic jam on mountains now?”
“Is this Day 4 of Comiket? The queue for general admission looks long.”
“There should be restrictions on the number of tourists.”
“It’s so crowded. I came up when I was a child, but it was nothing like this.”
