CNN
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The town of Fujikawaguchiko has installed a giant black net to block views of Mt. Fuji in response to the town’s huge popularity on Instagram and other social media platforms.
“It’s unfortunate that we had to take this step.” local officials told CNN. Last month, the town council decided to block the most popular view of Mount Fuji with a 66-foot-long (20 meter) black screen, which was installed on May 21.
A small town in Yamanashi Prefecture has become the center of an international controversy in recent weeks. A particular observation deck in the town of Fujikawaguchiko, at the foot of Mount Fuji and close to the starting point of one of the most used trails for mountain climbing, had become popular with tourists and caused problems for local residents.
The situation has gotten so bad that even companies unrelated to tourism are entering the market. Ibishi Dental Clinic, located in the building next to the photo spot, is one of them. The clinic said its employees and patients have had to deal with harassment from tourists.
“Police have been called to our offices frequently for illegal and nuisance activities, including littering, trespassing on the premises, smoking, eating and drinking in the parking lot and under private roofs, and trespassing on rooftops,” read a statement from the clinic. “It has also become common for people to shout abuse at us or throw lit cigarettes at us when we ask them to move their cars.”
The statement said, “There are always foreigners at this photo spot from early in the morning until late at night, and even local residents are unable to communicate with each other despite warnings in Japanese.”
Ibishi Dental Clinic confirmed that it was one of the companies that had asked Fujikawaguchiko Town officials to address the issue.
Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty Images
This photo was taken in front of Mt. Fuji in Fujikawaguchiko Town on May 20, the day before the black net was set up.
Since Japan resumed accepting foreign tourists after the pandemic,traveler of revenge” have flocked to the country and its most popular tourist attractions. With more than 3 million visitors per month in March and April 2024, this record-breaking trend looks set to continue as North American and European tourists plan their summer vacations.
While overtourism is becoming a problem around the world, Paris to HawaiiThe story of Fujikawaguchiko is remarkable for a number of reasons. In this case, it’s not a specific attraction that draws hordes of tourists, but a viewpoint where people love to take photos of Mount Fuji. The vantage point is in front of a convenience store, with people standing on the road trying to get the best shot.
Most tourists do not stay overnight at Fujikawaguchiko, preferring to take a day trip, but spend the night in bustling Tokyo, just 100 kilometers away.
That means no money comes in to cover the damage caused by thousands of visitors — admission tickets, museum passes, hotel fees and the erosion, trash and traffic problems they bring. As a result, the town of just 10,000 people is struggling to cope.
“We’ve seen people out on the streets, we’ve seen people using electronic devices. [scooters] “There’s no end to people who don’t follow traffic rules and cause accidents. Recently there have been a lot of accidents involving foreign tourists,” Haruto Tsuchiya, 49, a local who works in the tourism industry, told Reuters.
Lawson, the convenience store in front of Mount Fuji, where photos of the mountain are often featured on social media, also said the following. will take measures The aim is to stem the flow of misbehaving tourists.
On the 5th, the company released a comment saying, “We sincerely apologize for causing a great deal of inconvenience and concern to local residents and customers of each store as the Lawson Kawaguchiko Station store becomes more popular.”
Lawson added that it will hire private security guards at its Kawaguchiko store and will post signs in multiple languages to discourage tourists from littering and blocking roads.
