Japan town to block Mt. Fuji view from ‘menacing’ tourists
Tourists take pictures with Mount Fuji in the backdrop in the town of Fujikawaguchiko, Japan on Friday.
Work has begun in a small Japanese town to erect a barrier blocking views of the country’s most famous sight, Mount Fuji, after local people complained of bad behaviour by photo-hungry tourists.
Fujikawaguchiko town began building panels of mesh netting at a spot where unending ows of mostly foreign tourists visit daily to take photos of the majestic mountain sitting behind a Lawson convenience store. Photos taken from a narrow stretch of pavement across a busy road from the Lawson store — which are ubiquitous in Japan — are widely shared online.
Local ocials and residents say while the town welcomes visitors, they need to stop tourists from continuously crossing the street, ignoring red lights, littering, trespassing, illegally parking and smoking outside of designated areas.
“It became not uncommon for people to yell at us when we asked them to move their cars, and for them to throw their lit cigarettes (on the ground),” a dentist’s oce located across the street from the Lawson shop said in a statement.
By the middle of this month, the town plans to complete the barrier with hopes that it will discourage tourists from loitering there.
The move has prompted national and international headlines, as Japan experiences growing problems of over-tourism, particularly at popular sites where tourists love to photograph themselves and post on social media. “It is not that we do not want people to see Mount Fuji. The issue is that there are so many people who are not able to observe basic rules,” a town ocial said.