Pack your selfie stick and open up Instagram, Mount Fuji will be providing free WiFi… at least for those overly-eager to posts their experience on Japan’s icon mountain. Recent reports have stated that beginning tomorrow, on 10th of July, tourists and locals alike will have internet access when venturing up 12,000 feet above sea level.
Japan is one of the third biggest internet consumers worldwide, so it’s probably not unexpected that they would wish to advertise its existence everywhere. With no apparent exceptions.
Due to the partnership of national telecom company NTT Docomo and local Japanese government prefectures of Yamanashi and Shizouka, free WiFi is set to be available very soon for hikers who visit the famous landmark in the Land of the Rising Sun.
The decision is the direct result of tourism skyrocketing around Mount Fuji, which has recently seen a significant raise in the popularity. This is set to boost the numbers of tourists even further and it is the hope of the Japanese government that this will also help further spread the beauty of their mountain through social media. A very reasonable expectation as live apps such as Twitter have seen an increase during the last few years.
A total of eight hotspots are set to be installed across the mountain’s highest areas, including three cottages that can be found around its peak. Advertising to the location of the WiFi hotspots is reported to be made through the spreading of 70,000 brochures, along with cabins at the bottom of the mountain providing the information.
The process will be relatively simple, requiring tourists or locals to acquire a card with the password and login information before beginning their climb. It sounds more effortless than the procedures of some establishments found on the ground of even technologically advanced cities put you through for free internet.
On a more practical note, the government has also stated that the addition of free WiFi on Mount Fuji is also meant to be used by hiking enthusiasts for weather reports or by lost tourists through using GPS systems to find their way back. Among advertising the mountain’s attractions, it could help prevent injuries or loss of life.
And it will not be available forever. The internet hotspots are said to last only during the summer, to be taken down mid-September of this year. So the window is only temporarily open, but this could perhaps encourage others to make WiFi available for the riskier landmarks in their countries.
For now though, Mount Fuji remains the first, standing at nearly 12,400 feet. So if the information card is lost along the way in harsh winds, let us hope the password won’t be too tricky to memorize by the time you get to the top.
Image source: amazonaws.com
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