Fujikawaguchiko: A city in Japan erected a large barrier at a popular Mount Fuji viewing area on Tuesday to prevent the daily influx of tourists from taking pictures.
Japan’s most famous sight can be seen from miles away, but Fujikawaguchiko locals are fed up with the influx of foreign visitors littering, vandalizing and breaking traffic rules as they search for photos to share on social media.
Ignoring the illegal parking and smoking ban, they will open the cable car to photograph the snow-capped mountain that rises photogenically into the sky from behind a shop.
Workers began laying the 2.5 to 20 meters (eight to 65 feet) of black netting on Tuesday and finished the job into the early hours of the morning, an AFP reporter at the scene said.
“I hope the net will prevent dangerous activities,” resident Michi Motomochi, 41, who runs a traditional Japanese sweets shop, told AFP.
Christina Royce, 36, a tourist from New Zealand, said: “I think it’s disappointing that they’re leaving.
“But it’s completely clear. We managed to get the last bullet in before we put up the wall here last night and there were a lot of people,” he said.
It is very dangerous because it comes from a vehicle. There are other places where you can shoot from the mountain. “
The number of foreign tourists exceeded three million for the first time in March and then again in April.
But like other tourist destinations such as Venice, which recently experimented with entrance fees for day visitors, the move has not been universally welcomed.
In Kyoto, Japan’s ancient capital, locals complain that tourists are disturbing the city’s famous geisha.
Tourists using the most popular route to climb Mount Fuji this summer will be charged 2,000 yen ($13) each to relieve congestion.
A new online reservation system for the mountain’s Yoshida Trail opened Monday to ensure tourists can enter through the new gate, but 1,000 spots will be reserved for daily entry.
Mount Fuji is covered in snow most of the year, but more than 220,000 visitors climb its steep and rocky slopes during the July-September hiking season.
Many climbed overnight to see the sunrise, while others attempted to reach the 3,776-meter (12,388 ft) peak, risking illness or injury.
Regional officials have raised safety and environmental concerns over the presence of an active volcano, a symbol of Japan and a peaceful pilgrimage site.
Residents near a popular photo spot in the area, known as the Fuji Bridge of Dreams, have also reportedly complained about tourism in recent weeks.
A tour operator offering day trips to Mount Fuji from Tokyo told AFP they were taking guests to a nearby Lawson store where they could see the same view, but few people live nearby.
