Work has begun in a small town in Japan to erect a barrier blocking views of Mount Fuji, the country’s most famous sight, after locals complained about the bad behavior of photo-hungry tourists. Fujikawaguchiko city began construction of lattice mesh panels at a location where most foreign tourists come daily to take photos of the majestic mountain that sits behind the Lawson convenience store.
The photos, taken from a narrow stretch of sidewalk across a busy street from the Lawson store – which is ubiquitous in Japan – are shared widely online. Local officials and residents say the city welcomes visitors, but they need to stop tourists from repeatedly crossing the street, ignoring red lights, littering, illegal parking and smoking outside designated areas .
A dentist’s office located across from Lawson’s shop said in a statement, “When we asked people to move their cars, and they threw their lit cigarettes (on the ground), it was not uncommon for them to yell at us. Was.” , By the middle of this month, the city plans to complete the barrier, which will be 2.5 meters (8 feet) high and more than 20 meters long to block the view of the mountain, with the hope that it will deter tourists. Will discourage you from visiting there. ,
The city’s move made national and international headlines, as Japan faces growing problems of overtourism, particularly at popular destinations like Kyoto’s narrow private streets and even the trails of Mount Fuji, where tourists Likes to take pictures of himself and post them on social media.
Fujikawaguchiko Town Hall has been inundated with telephone calls from Japanese people, many of them non-local residents, who have criticized the move to block the view. “It’s not that we don’t want people to see Mount Fuji. The point is that there are a lot of people who are not able to follow basic rules,” a city official told AFP.
‘Basic etiquette’
Area residents say the presence of the net barrier is unfortunate but perhaps necessary. “We welcome foreigners to revive the community, but there are a lot of violations of basic etiquette like crossing the road, throwing garbage and trespassing into people’s properties,” a 60-year-old resident told AFP.
“After all, they’re here for Mount Fuji, so it’s very unfortunate to have that barrier,” said the woman, who identified herself as Watanabe. “There may be other ways to deal with this, but at the moment I think it can’t be helped,” he said. Some tourists expressed understanding and hoped that the city would create a designated photo spot.
But others speculated that the disruption could only make matters worse. “Stop people? I don’t think so because when there’s a will there’s a way. People will be on the left or right side of it,” said Australian tourist Trinity Robinson, 29. “There will definitely still be a way to get the shot. It will actually be more dangerous.”
As a possible solution, a 37-year-old local man, who gave his name only as Ama, called on visitors to check out other sights in the area. “Mount Fuji is spectacular from here (near the Lawson Shop). But there are a lot of other places around here you can go and see beautiful views,” he said.
