The town has seen a record number of tourists in recent years – but now it’s capping the number of people who can visit
Ginzan Onsen, a stunning Japanese town which is rumoured to have been the muse behind an iconic film, is now dealing with the strains of overtourism and has set a limit on the number of tourists.
Nestled in the scenic Yamagata region, Ginzan Onsen draws approximately 330,000 sightseers annually. Its name, meaning “silver mine hot spring”, lures globetrotters with its idyllic views and historic architecture.
The locale’s historic allure, thought to have influenced Hayao Miyazaki’s successful animated movie ‘Spirited Away’, coupled with its hot springs and Edo-era ryokan façades, is facing a tourist surge leading to overcrowding, confrontations at popular sites, and even locals enduring verbal assaults.
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The influx has become so rampant that it’s damaging critical services – emergency responders are forced to dispatch on foot, abandoning their ambulances.
To tackle these mounting pressures, the Ginzan Onsen association have sprung into action, implementing strict measures from January 7 through to the end of March. During busy periods, they’ll cap the count of day-trippers, reports the Express.
While the early birds can roam freely between 9am and 4pm, those without prior bookings must exit by 5pm. And if you want to visit at night, post-5pm entry will be the exclusive reserve of a mere 100 ticketed day visitors till 8pm.
Come February and parking protocols get a shake-up – daily visitors can only station their vehicles in a remote lot, positioned a 2km hike from the hot springs. A shuttle service will ferry them instead, costing 1,150 yen, or £5.87, transporting them to this coveted destination.
Takayuki Saito, head of commerce and tourism for Obanazawa, told AFP: “Traffic jams have sometimes been caused by cars getting stuck in the snow, because travellers were driving with normal tyres” when they should have been using snow tyres. Furthermore, the town’s official webpage details how “Many guests became angry over good spots for the purpose of taking pictures, leading to traffic rules being broken, cheating, and making people seek better places and easier ways than others.”
This comes after a year that saw Japan hit record tourism figures, with a whopping 33.38 million visitors from January to November 2024, shattering the past record of 31.88 million in 2019.
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