High on a desolate flank of Mount Fuji, two men suddenly appeared through the shifting mists. Methodically inspecting the cracks and creases of a cold lava flow, they dragged white plastic bags, to collect all the litter they could find.

The Japanese have been stung by criticism that their most sacred mountain has been despoiled by the roughly 5,000 tourists and pilgrims who climbed the 12,388-foot peak daily in the summer. When Japan withdrew "Fuji-san" as a candidate for listing as a World Heritage site by Unesco, many felt stung by the omission. Since then, volunteers have spent months scrubbing what was once a symbol of Japanese purity.

"I don't know who they are, there are so many groups doing the cleaning-up campaign," said Ken Noguchi, an environmentalist and climber. "I have been amazed at coming across so many ordinary people picking up garbage" on the slopes of the mountain.

Mount Fuji captures the jarring amalgam of spirituality and commercialism that is central to Japan's modern identity.

There are nearly 2,000 religious organizations registered around Mount Fuji, and the peak's base offers 117 golf courses, each boasting a mountain view. Tourists also can visit a Mount Fuji safari park and ride a Ferris wheel or a roller coaster, the Fuji-yama.

To complete this tableau, a 34-square-mile area on Mount Fuji's eastern flank is used by the Japanese and American militaries for live-fire exercises.

Adept at gaining public attention, Mr. Noguchi had captivated the Japanese public with televised expeditions to Mount Everest to bring down climbing refuse — oxygen bottles, tents and tin cans.

With the trash from Mount Everest on public display in Tokyo, Japanese were soon feeling smug that another victory had been scored for their international reputation for tidiness. Then, with the press and public primed for full reception, Mr. Noguchi turned the spotlight on the nation's icon.

"Our national symbol, Mount Fuji, is a disgrace," he intoned in interview after interview.

As viewers winced, he recounted how a Western climber, disgusted with trash left behind by Japanese expeditions in Nepal, once asked, "Are the Japanese going to turn the Himalayas into another Mount Fuji?"

Litter brigades responded to the challenge by marching up and down the long dormant volcano, many of them led by Mr. Noguchi's nonprofit group, the Fuji-san Club.

"With so many people picking up, garbage now is rare," Mr. Noguchi said. "The other day, I was climbing and met a German climber. He asked, `Is this a special garbage day?' "

But now, the next challenge appears to be sewage.

On one ascent last summer, waves of hikers staggered regularly up to the terraces of mountain huts — rest stops that are operated by families. Many of the climbers marked their feat by having attendants brand the name of a particular hut and its elevation in their walking sticks.

Within a few minutes, however, some of the climbers started exchanging pained glances. The odor wafting from "cozy stations" nearby was overpowering their desire to catch their breath at the huts.

With visitors spending an average of 10 hours on the mountain, Fuji needs a sewage-treatment system comparable to that of a good-size town.

"Toilets are now the biggest problem," Mr. Noguchi said.

At one station on a descending trail of pink pumice gravel, two new "bio-toilets" have been put into operation. But the toilets cost about $40,000 each. Of about 100 toilets on the mountain, only a few are of the new variety.

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