Residents in Fujikawaguchiko have had enough of nuisance foreign tourists who flock to the town in order to marvel at its magnificent view of Mount Fuji, prompting officials to act
A town with a near perfect view of one of the world’s most famous mountains has decided to block it off.
Residents in Fujikawaguchiko have had enough of tourists. The Japanese town is known for a number of scenic photo spots that offer a near-perfect shot of the iconic Mount Fuji. It is so well known that coach loads of tourists head to Fujikawaguchiko specifically to marvel at the geological wonder.
On Tuesday work began on a large black screen on a stretch of a sidewalk to block the view of the mountain. The reason it is being put up is misbehaving foreign tourists.
“Kawaguchiko is a town built on tourism, and I welcome many visitors, and the town welcomes them too, but there are many things about their manners that are worrying,” said Michie Motomochi, owner of a cafe near the soon-to-be-blocked photo spot.
Motomochi mentioned littering, crossing the road with busy traffic, ignoring traffic lights and trespassing into private properties among the social ills that tourists are bringing to the town. However, she isn’t against their presence as 80% of her customers are foreign visitors whose numbers have surged after a pandemic hiatus that kept Japan closed for about two years.
Her neighborhood suddenly became a popular spot about two years ago – apparently after a photo taken in a particular angle showing Mount Fuji in the background, as if sitting atop a local convenience store – became a social media sensation known as “Mt. Fuji Lawson,” town officials say.
The mostly foreign tourists have since crowded the small area, triggering a wave of concerns and complaints from residents about visitors blocking the narrow sidewalk, taking photos on the busy road or walking into neighbours’ properties.
Fujikawaguchiko has tried other methods before this point. Signs urging visitors not to run into the road and to use the designated crosswalk in English, Chinese, Thai and Korean have been put up, and a security guard has been hired to do crowd control. None of these measures has worked.
The black mesh net, when completed in mid-May, will be 2.5 meters (8.2 feet) high and 20 meters (65.6 feet) long, and will almost completely block the view of Mount Fuji.
Anthony Hok, from France, thought the screen was an overreaction. “Too big solution for subject not as big, even if tourists are making trouble. Doesn’t look right to me,” he said. The 26-year-old suggested setting up road barriers for safety instead of blocking views for pictures.
But Helen Pull, a 34-year-old visitor from the UK,, was sympathetic to the local concern. She said: “I can see why people who live and work here might want to do something about that,” she said, noting many were taking pictures even when the mountain was not in the view. “That’s the power of the social media.”
The Japanese town is not the first to struggle with the consequences of having a famous view. The tiny Alpine settlement of Hallstatt in north Austria has become a huge destination on the tourist map in recent years, for one specific reason. It is widely believed to have been the inspiration for the kingdom of Arendelle in Frozen, providing a backdrop that will be recognised by Disney loving children the world over.
The much-photographed spire of the lakeside Pfarrkirche has also appeared on computer screensavers as well as in South Korean TV dramas and more than a million Instagram posts, making it one of the best known places in the country. It seems that not all publicity is good publicity however, at least in the minds of some of the 700 or so people who live in Hallstatt. Every day tens of thousands of visitors arrive in the village to check out the famous view, which causes chaos in the small settlement.
Last year, in a bid to protect everything that makes the town good, the mayor had two fences erected in the middle of Hallstatt to obstruct the most famous vistas.
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