Japanese Town Aims to Block View of Mount Fuji to Reduce Tourists
2024-05-10
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1A Japanese town hopes to keep out crowds of visitors by building a large barrier to block views of the country's tallest mountain, Mount Fuji.
2The town is called Fujikawaguchiko.
3It sits on Japan's main island of Honshu, southwest of Tokyo.
4The community is known for having good spots for taking pictures of Mount Fuji.
5But some locals and business owners feel there are too many misbehaving tourists.
6In an effort to reduce the number of visitors, city workers have started building a large black screen to block views of Mount Fuji.
7Michie Motomochi owns a restaurant that serves Japanese sweets near the soon-to-be-blocked photo spot.
8She told The Associated Press that while she welcomes visitors to the area, "there are many things about their manners that are worrying."
9Motomochi said she has seen visitors crossing the road in busy traffic, leaving waste on streets, ignoring stop lights and trespassing onto private property.
10She noted, however, that about 80 percent of her business is driven by foreign visitors.
11Tourist numbers have been rising in Japan since restrictions were lifted after the COVID-19 pandemic.
12Motomochi said her neighborhood suddenly became a popular spot for visitors about two years ago.
13That is when a photo taken in the area went viral on the internet.
14The photo showed Mount Fuji in the background.
15But it appeared as though the mountain was sitting on top of a local store called Lawson.
16Town officials say the photo was widely shared on social media and became known online as "Mt. Fuji Lawson."
17Since then, foreign tourists have crowded the neighborhood.
18The town has tried other methods to limit bad behaviors by tourists.
19The town put up signs in several languages urging visitors not to run into the road.
20It has provided information about crosswalks.
21And it even hired security guards
22The black screen is expected to be completed in the middle of May.
23It will stand 2.5 meters high and 20 meters long.
24Officials say the barrier will almost completely block the view of Mount Fuji.
25French tourist Anthony Hok told the AP he thinks the screen was an overreaction by city officials.
26He said the solution seemed "too big" for the problem the town was facing.
27The 26-year-old visitor suggested setting up road barriers for safety instead of blocking views for pictures.
28But Helen Pull, a 34-year-old visitor from Britain, said she understood the local concerns.
29She said she had seen tourism "really ramped up" in the country.
30"I can see why people who live and work here might want to do something about that," Pull added.
31Yoshihiko Ogawa runs an old rice shop in the Fujikawaguchiko area.
32He said overcrowding there had worsened in recent months, with tourists gathering from around 4 or 5 in the morning and talking loudly.
33Ogawa said crowds in the area also sometimes block his car.
34"We've never thought we'd face a situation like this," Ogawa told the AP.
35But he added that he was unsure what the right solution might be.
36"I suppose we all just need to get used to it," he said.
37I'm Bryan Lynn.
1A Japanese town hopes to keep out crowds of visitors by building a large barrier to block views of the country's tallest mountain, Mount Fuji. 2The town is called Fujikawaguchiko. It sits on Japan's main island of Honshu, southwest of Tokyo. The community is known for having good spots for taking pictures of Mount Fuji. 3But some locals and business owners feel there are too many misbehaving tourists. In an effort to reduce the number of visitors, city workers have started building a large black screen to block views of Mount Fuji. 4Michie Motomochi owns a restaurant that serves Japanese sweets near the soon-to-be-blocked photo spot. She told The Associated Press that while she welcomes visitors to the area, "there are many things about their manners that are worrying." 5Motomochi said she has seen visitors crossing the road in busy traffic, leaving waste on streets, ignoring stop lights and trespassing onto private property. 6She noted, however, that about 80 percent of her business is driven by foreign visitors. Tourist numbers have been rising in Japan since restrictions were lifted after the COVID-19 pandemic. 7Motomochi said her neighborhood suddenly became a popular spot for visitors about two years ago. That is when a photo taken in the area went viral on the internet. The photo showed Mount Fuji in the background. But it appeared as though the mountain was sitting on top of a local store called Lawson. 8Town officials say the photo was widely shared on social media and became known online as "Mt. Fuji Lawson." Since then, foreign tourists have crowded the neighborhood. 9The town has tried other methods to limit bad behaviors by tourists. The town put up signs in several languages urging visitors not to run into the road. It has provided information about crosswalks. And it even hired security guards 10The black screen is expected to be completed in the middle of May. It will stand 2.5 meters high and 20 meters long. Officials say the barrier will almost completely block the view of Mount Fuji. 11French tourist Anthony Hok told the AP he thinks the screen was an overreaction by city officials. He said the solution seemed "too big" for the problem the town was facing. The 26-year-old visitor suggested setting up road barriers for safety instead of blocking views for pictures. 12But Helen Pull, a 34-year-old visitor from Britain, said she understood the local concerns. She said she had seen tourism "really ramped up" in the country. "I can see why people who live and work here might want to do something about that," Pull added. 13Yoshihiko Ogawa runs an old rice shop in the Fujikawaguchiko area. He said overcrowding there had worsened in recent months, with tourists gathering from around 4 or 5 in the morning and talking loudly. Ogawa said crowds in the area also sometimes block his car. 14"We've never thought we'd face a situation like this," Ogawa told the AP. But he added that he was unsure what the right solution might be. "I suppose we all just need to get used to it," he said. 15I'm Bryan Lynn. 16Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English, based on reports from The Associated Press. 17_________________________________________ 18Words in This Story 19tourist - n. someone who visits a place for pleasure and does not live there 20screen - n. a large, flat surface often used to project pictures or video 21manners - n. behaving in a nice and respectful way with other people 22trespass - v. to go onto someone's land without permission 23background - n. parts of a picture that appear behind the main subjectt 24ramp up - v. to increase or grow