Japan’s Mount Fuji: Icon, Garbage Dump
Travel Blog • Jim Benning • 06.13.07 | 2:07 PM ET
At least we have Hokusai’s 36 Views of Mount Fuji, including the one pictured here, to remember what the iconic Japanese mountain used to look like. According to an AP report, the forests at the base of Mount Fuji are strewn with rubbish these days. “We’ve found everything from household trash to broken TV sets and other appliances,” observed one environmentalist. “Sometimes we find hazardous materials like leaky old car batteries.”
The source of much of the trash seems to be locals who don’t want to pay Japanese garbage collection fees. Efforts are underway to clean up the base of the mountain, and some are working to arrange patrols to keep an eye out for polluters.
The good news, if there is any, for the thousands of visitors who climb the footpaths up the mountain each year: According to the AP, “Government officials and activists agree the [trash] problems along the paths are now largely under control.”
Related on World Hum:
* Tokyo: ‘Where Yesterday’s Tomorrow is Constantly Being Replaced’
* Japan Unmasked
* Hokusai Exhibition Draws Wave of Enthusiasm
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Jim Benning is the editor and co-founder of World Hum.
