A Japanese city located near the country's highest mountain, Fuji, will defend itself against crowds of trash-throwing and rule-breaking tourists with a high wire fence, MTI reports.
Located on the shores of Lake Kawaguchi, Fujikawaguchiko offers a stunning panoramic view of the world-famous Mount Fuji, and large numbers of tourists visit the settlement to photograph the volcano from various vantage points.
Many tourists in particular take photos of Mount Fuji from a point where it rises in the background behind one of Japan's ubiquitous Lawson chain stores, presenting a typically Japanese image, which is especially important to foreigners.
Because of the tourists, there is constant crowding on the narrow sidewalk that runs the length of the store, and they also cause a lot of inconvenience to the nearby dental clinic, because its parking lot is constantly filled with tourists obliviously taking pictures – some even climbing to the top of the building.
Residents of the settlement want to put an end to this, because they were satisfied with the influx of visitors who often throw garbage and regularly violate KRESZ rules, and decided to start construction of a building 2.5 meters high and 20 meters long. A tall wire fence spoils the view next week.
“It is unfortunate that we have to resort to such a tool because some tourists are unable to follow the rules.”
– A member of the city administration told AFP on Friday.
The settlement previously tried to put up warning signs and increase police presence, but it did not succeed, so it resorted to more stringent measures.
In defense against mass tourism, the authorities have decided, starting this summer, to limit visits to Mount Fuji and impose fees on it. In March, tourists were banned from entering the narrow streets of Kyoto's geisha district, who often behaved indecently, according to local residents.
More than three million foreign tourists arrived in Japan in March, a monthly record for the country.
