Japanese town overrun with tourists puts up view-blocking barrier near Mount Fuji | CNN
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The Japanese town of Fujikawaguchiko has erected a giant black net to block views of Mount Fuji, a reaction to the town’s huge popularity on Instagram and other social media platforms.

The Japanese town of Fujikawaguchiko has erected a giant black net to block views of Mount Fuji, a reaction to the town’s huge popularity on Instagram and other social media platforms.

“It is regrettable that we had to take such measures,” a local official told CNN last month, when the town’s council decided to block the most popular Fuji views with a 66-foot-long (20-meter) black screen, which was erected on May 21.

The small town in Yamanashi prefecture has become the center of an international controversy in recent weeks. A specific viewpoint in Fujikawaguchiko, which is at the foot of Mount Fuji and near the starting point for one of the most-used trails up the mountain, became so popular with visitors that it was causing problems for locals.

  • tigeruppercut@lemmy.zipEnglish
    582·
    5 months ago

    Most visitors do not spend the night in Fujikawaguchiko, preferring to come in for a day trip but stay in busier Tokyo – just 62 miles (100 kilometers) away – at night.

    This means that there’s no money coming in – from entry tickets, museum passes, or hotel fees – to balance out the damage caused by thousands of visitors or the erosion, trash and traffic issues they bring with them. As a result, the town of just 10,000 people has struggled to cope.

    • xmunk@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
      61·
      5 months ago

      This still feels like a misallocation on Japan’s side, though - either provincial or federal funding for trash pickup should be provided given the popularity of the site.

      • Sir_Kevin@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
        161·
        5 months ago

        Japanese culture just doesn’t operate like that. They’re not used to needing trash cans everywhere because the Japanese take their trash with them. They take pride in not leaving a mess behind.

        • xmunk@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
          13·
          5 months ago

          That’s fair, and there is no obligation for Japan to have a tourism industry… but if they’re going to have a tourism industry there are externalities that should be accounted for (even if it’d be awesome if people were less slobbish).