The fee is supposed to be used for environmental protection and infrastructure improvements including installation of bathrooms, creating of pathways and general maintenance within the respective parks' premises.
For example, the entrance fee to Mount Fiju, a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site, since 2014, after a year long trial period, is now JPY1,000 (about USD9). The payments are collected during climbing season only, from July through September, at the start of each trail around the mountain, which lies in Shizuoka and Yamanashi prefectures.
Similarly, you need to pay for entering Yakushima, an island in Kagoshima Prefecture. Famous for its wildlife and cedar forests, Yakushima is now JPY1,000 if you visit within a day or JPY2,000 if you stay overnight. Mount Ibuki, in Shiga and Gifu prefectures, comes cheaper at JPY 300 with a collection box set near its peak. Besides, local governments on some of the remote islands in Okinawa Prefecture, collect payments as special-purpose taxes.
Currently there are 34 national parks and 57 quasi-national parks in Japan with the latest addition of Amari Gunto National Park confirmed in March 2017.
How Much Would You Pay for Visiting National Parks in Japan?
News in Asia
The number of national parks and places of scenic beauty in Japan which adopt voluntary payment program is increasing. The park authorities are now starting to ask visitors to pay an entry fee.