Mount Fuji springs scarred
Oshino Hakkai’s sacred ponds near Mount Fuji are showing ecological strain after tourists tossed roughly 50,000 coins into the springs, with corrosion and habitat damage reported by local authorities. (travelandtourworld.com) Reporting links the problem to overtourism patterns that local managers say the new taxes and infrastructure projects aim to mitigate. (travelandtourworld.com)
Tourists have dumped so many coins into Oshino Hakkai’s sacred ponds near Mount Fuji that local divers have pulled out about 50,000 pieces of money. (japannews.yomiuri.co.jp) The site is in Oshino, Yamanashi Prefecture, where eight spring-fed ponds form part of the Mount Fuji World Heritage property. The Yomiuri Shimbun reported on April 8 that officials now worry about water quality as coins pile up on pond beds. (whc.unesco.org) (japannews.yomiuri.co.jp) Oshino Hakkai’s water comes from snowmelt that filters through Mount Fuji’s lava layers before emerging underground in the village. Japan’s government says the ponds have long been used for drinking, daily life and pilgrimage rituals tied to Fuji worship. (gov-online.go.jp) (www.mlit.go.jp) Those ponds were protected as a Japanese Natural Monument in 1934 and were included in the Mount Fuji World Cultural Heritage inscription in 2013. Yamanashi’s tourism guide says pilgrims once purified themselves there before climbing the mountain. (en.kawaguchiko.net) (www.yamanashi-kankou.jp) The coin problem grew after the 2013 World Heritage listing drew heavier visitor traffic, according to Japanese and international reports. Local authorities have posted warnings in multiple languages asking visitors not to throw coins into the water. (japannews.yomiuri.co.jp) (www.newsbreak.com) Officials say the practice is not a traditional Japanese custom at Oshino Hakkai, even if visitors treat the ponds like wish fountains elsewhere. Reports say managers are considering or installing offertory boxes so people have somewhere else to leave coins. (www.newsbreak.com) (unseen-japan.com) The ponds sit inside a wider Mount Fuji tourism zone that has added new controls as crowds rise. Fuji-Kawaguchiko and Fujiyoshida said they planned accommodation taxes from 2026, and the official Mount Fuji climbing site lists a 2026 season with reservations and regulated access on the Yoshida Trail. (www.asahi.com) (www.fujisan-climb.jp) At Oshino Hakkai, the damage is smaller in scale than a crowded trailhead but harder to hide: the coins sit on the bottom of water that was prized for being clear enough to see straight through. (gov-online.go.jp) (japannews.yomiuri.co.jp)
