(Tokyo) A tarp erected to block a popular view of Mount Fuji has been removed – on a trial basis – after it successfully deterred unruly tourists, an official in the Japanese city of Fujikawaguchiko said Tuesday.
The city, known on social media for its view of Mount Fuji, installed a 20m long and 2.5m high black tarpaulin on a sidewalk at the end of May.
This was in response to requests from locals who complained about hordes of disrespectful visitors trying to take pictures of the famous Japanese volcano.
The city removed the blackout on August 15 ahead of a typhoon and decided not to put it back up.
“We wanted to see what would happen,” the city official told AFP.
“There are still people coming to this place. But we don’t see many people suddenly rushing into traffic to cross the road anymore,” he said.
PHOTO PHILIP FONG, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE ARCHIVES
Tourists pose in front of a convenience store, which obscures the base of Mount Fuji behind, before the barrier was installed.
The photographs, taken from the narrow sidewalk along a busy road, became extremely popular on social media because they combined a view of the majestic volcano with a Lawson convenience store in the foreground, a kind of symbol of contemporary Japan.
The city’s fight against unruly tourists had made international headlines.
Fujikawaguchiko’s official said the town might decide to put the screen back up if tourists return in droves and cause trouble again.