The residents of the Japanese town of Fujikawaguchiko, at the foot of Mount Fuji, are fed up with tourists who gather every day for the perfect photo of the view of the mountain in front of the Lawson supermarket. They leave trash behind, do not obey traffic rules. Next week the construction of a mesh screen of 2.5 meters high and 20 meters long will start. This will be placed behind the store to block the view. “It is regrettable that we are forced to do this,” an employee of the city government told the AFP news agency on Friday. “Just because some tourists don’t follow the rules.”
Fujikawaguchiko previously made attempts to curb tourism. Signs were placed on the road to the supermarket, and officers were deployed to control the crowds. The mesh screen is a last resort. Such an emergency solution is also necessary to protect a dental clinic near the supermarket; Tourists sometimes climb onto the roof of the building to take photos of Mount Fuji. The screen will only be removed again if the situation improves, the city council says.
Japan has received a record number of tourists in recent months. In March, the month in which the cherry blossom season begins, more than three million foreign visitors arrived in the country. Hikers who want to climb Mount Fuji will soon have to pay an entrance fee, the Japanese government announced this spring. Accidents happen too often because people start the climb unprepared. And they leave too much waste behind. Since the beginning of this month, it has also been no longer possible for tourists to visit the geisha district in Kyoto: it became too busy.
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Tags: Japanese town installs screen view Mount Fuji tourist nuisance
