Mount Fuji: Why More People Will Be Pulling Out Their Smartphones When Climbing
How Japan plans to turn Mount Fuji into a high-tech peak.
— -- It will soon be possible for climbers to send Snapchats, FaceTime or call home while they scale Japan's Mount Fuji.
Eight Wi-Fi hot spots will be activated around Mount Fuji beginning on Friday, officials said.
The free Internet will be available at several trail heads and at the 12,388-foot summit, giving climbers who reach the peak a chance to immediately share their achievement with their friends and family.
The project is the result of a partnership between Japan's Yamanashi and Shizuoka prefectures and NTT Docomo, a telecommunications company. The free Internet service will only be available for use on a device for three days before it expires.
The telecommunications company said in a news release it hopes the initiative will encourage more overseas climbers to visit Mount Fuji. Last year, 285,000 people visited the peak during climbing season.
Mount Fuji is one of the latest unlikely tourist hot spots to get online. Last month, the Taj Mahal began offering visitors free Internet access.