Japanese town Fujikawaguchiko officials announced Friday that construction of an eight-foot-tall barrier behind a popular convenience store will begin next week to prevent “badly behaved tourists” from taking photographs of Mt. Fuji, The Guardian reported.
The screen is a last resort, officials say, because the tourists are ignoring traffic signs and continued warnings from security guards, according to The Guardian. The tourists are also leaving trash behind, causing some locals to nickname Mt. Fuji “trash mountain,” CNN reported. (RELATED: Chinese Tourists Apparently Break Yellowstone, Grand Teton Toilets By Doing Their Business In Very Un-American Way)
“It’s regrettable we have to do this, because of some tourists who can’t respect rules,” the Fujikawaguchiko town official told Agence France-Presse, The Guardian reports.
As you may have already heard, the famous Lawson in Kawaguchiko with the view of Mt. Fuji will be implementing measures to block all vantage points of the ever-photogenic peak.
Unfortunately, the attention that the spot has garnered with tourists has led to a sharp increase in… pic.twitter.com/UAndmQvRZn
— A Different Side of Japan (@donnyjkimball) April 26, 2024
Overseas tourists have reportedly been traveling to Japan in record-breaking numbers since the country lifted its pandemic restrictions in 2022. Over 3 million tourists visited the area in March 2024, the most the country has ever experienced in one month, CNN reported.
Because Lawson is a popular convenience store in Japan, “a reputation has spread on social media that this spot is very Japanese, making it a popular photo location,” the town official stated, according to The Japan Times.
A dental clinic nearby has also suffered from tourists using its parking lot without permission and climbing on its roof to take photographs, according to The Guardian.
The barrier may come down if conditions improve, the official stated, as the town “wished it had not been forced to take action,” The Guardian reported.
Austrian town Hallstatt, which allegedly modeled the look for Disney’s movie “Frozen,” resorted to constructing a wooden barrier in May 2023 to deter selfie-taking tourists, which peak at 10,000 per day in peak season for the 800-resident town, CNN reported.