Fujikawaguchiko, Japan — There are too many tourists in the town of Fujikawaguchiko.
The town, known for several scenic spots that offer near-perfect shots of Japan's iconic Mount Fuji, began installing large black screens on sidewalks on Tuesday to block views of the mountain. The reason is the wrong behavior of foreign tourists.
Michie Motomochi, who runs the Japanese snack cafe 'Ohagi', said, “Kawaguchiko is a village built on tourism, so we receive many visitors and are welcomed by the village, but there are many concerns about manners.” ” Near a photo spot that will soon be blocked.
Motomochi cited littering, crossing the street in heavy traffic, ignoring signals and trespassing on private property. She is not unhappy. Eighty percent of her clients are foreign visitors, whose numbers have surged since the pandemic shut down Japan for about two years.
Her neighborhood suddenly became a hot spot about two years ago. She was named 'Mt. Fuji Lawson,' a city official said.
Since then, residents have been inundated with concerns and complaints about visitors, mainly foreign tourists, crowding the small area, blocking narrow sidewalks, taking photos on busy roads or entering neighbors' homes, officials said.
In Europe, concerns about tourists overcrowding the historic city led Venice last week to launch a pilot program charging day-trippers a 5 euro ($5.35) entrance fee. Authorities hope the move will deter visitors from arriving during the peak season and make the city a more livable place for its dwindling residents.
Fujikawaguchiko tried other methods as well. From signs in English, Chinese, Thai and Korean urging visitors to use designated crosswalks and not run into the road, to the hiring of security guards for crowd control. None of them worked.
When completed in mid-May, the black netting will be more than 8 feet high and 65 feet long, almost completely blocking the view of Mount Fuji, officials said.
Dozens of tourists gathered to take photos Tuesday, even though cloudy weather prevented Mount Fuji from being visible.
Anthony Hok from France thought the screen was an overreaction. “Even if tourists cause a problem, the solution to a subject that is not that big is too big,” he said. “I don’t think it’s for me,” he said. The 26-year-old suggested putting up road barriers for safety rather than blocking the view for photo ops.
But Helen Pull, a 34-year-old visitor from the UK, echoed local concerns. During her trip to Japan over the past few weeks, she has seen “tourism really increase here in Japan more than we've ever seen.”
“I can see why people who live and work here would want to do something about it,” she said, noting that many people were taking photos of the mountain even when they couldn’t see it. “This is the power of social media.”
Foreign tourists have flocked to Japan since border restrictions were lifted due to the weak yen.
According to the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), the number of tourists visiting Japan last year exceeded 25 million, and this year is expected to surpass 32 million, the record set in 2019. And the government wants more tourists.
While the tourism boom helped the economy, residents were very dissatisfied with popular tourist destinations such as Kyoto and Kamakura. Kyoto's famous geisha district recently decided to close some of its private alleys.
Local residents are unsure what to do.
Motomachi said he couldn't imagine how a black screen could help control the flow of people in narrow pedestrian passages and the roads next to them.
Yoshihiko Ogawa, who runs a rice shop in the Fujikawaguchiko area that has been around for more than half a century, said overcrowding has become worse over the past few months, with tourists gathering around 4 or 5 a.m. and talking loudly. He sometimes has trouble getting his car in and out of the garage.
“We never thought we would face a situation like this,” Ogawa said, adding that he was not sure what the solution would be. “I guess we’ll all have to get used to it.”