(Fujikawaguchiko) A small town in Japan has started to install a large net on a site famous for the view it offers of Mount Fuji, to hide this panorama from tourists deemed too uncivil by local residents.
The city of Fujikawaguchiko undertook to erect these 2.5 meter high and 20 meter long mesh panels at a location popular with visitors wishing to photograph the mythical mountain in central Japan.
Photographs taken of a narrow sidewalk, behind a busy road, are very popular on social networks.
Residents and city authorities complain of numerous incivilities and violations of the Highway Code by tourists, who leave litter, smoke outside authorized areas, ignore red traffic lights, etc.
According to a resident, some tourists shout when asked to move a badly parked vehicle, others throw their cigarette butts on the ground.
PHOTO PHILIP FONG, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
The net, whose construction should be completed in mid-May, aims to discourage them from going there.
The city’s decision made national and international headlines.
Japan is trying to combat the effects of overtourism, with the recent closure of certain alleys in the geisha district in Kyoto (west), or paid and limited access to Mount Fuji from this summer.
More than three million foreign visitors entered Japan in March, an all-time monthly record for the country, which had long been closed to international tourism during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mount Fuji, the highest peak in Japan (3776 m), can be photographed from many places in Fujikawaguchiko or elsewhere.
Fujikawaguchiko town hall has been inundated with calls from Japanese, many of whom do not live there, who criticize it for its decision.
“It’s not that we don’t want people to see Mount Fuji. The problem is that there are so many people who are not able to respect the basic rules,” a city official told AFP.
PHOTO PHILIP FONG, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
The net is regrettable, but perhaps necessary, residents of the region told AFP.
“We welcome foreigners to revitalize the community, but there are so many basic rules that are broken, like crossing the road, throwing garbage and entering people’s properties,” a 60-year-old resident told AFP. who introduced herself, under the name Watanabe.
“After all, they are here for Mount Fuji, so having this obstacle in front of them is very unfortunate,” she said.
“There might have been other ways to deal with this situation, but right now I feel like there’s nothing we can do about it,” she added.
Some tourists said they understood the city’s decision while expressing hope that it would create a place for people to take photos.
Others believe that this barrier will only make the situation worse.
“Stop people? I don’t think so, people who want it always find a way; they will go to the left or right of the barrier,” estimates Trinity Robinson, 29, an Australian tourist.
“There will definitely be a way to take the photo. It’ll just be more dangerous, really.”
A resident of the region calls for discovering other picturesque places in the region: “Mount Fuji, seen from here (near a supermarket), is fantastic. But there are so many other places in the area to visit where you have magnificent views,” the 37-year-old man, who gave his name as Ama, told AFP.