Japanese Town Decides To Block Mount Fuji View With Huge Black Barrier Due To Misbehaving Tourists

Exasperated by the unruly foreign tourists, Japan’s Fujikawaguchiko has decided to put up a barrier to block Mount Fuji’s view from the town! This massive barrier will be made of black mesh and is likely to be placed as early as next week. Fujikawaguchiko is known for providing unparalleled views of Mount Fuji and this step will discourage tourists from travelling to this town.

Black Mesh Barriers To Block Mount Fuji View

Japan’s Fujikawaguchiko town has decided to block Mount Fuji’s view with a black barrier. The reason for this step is unruly tourists who have been causing trouble to the locals in this town. According to reports, construction of a massive mesh net is underway and it will be placed as the decided location by next week. They have decided to place this barrier behind a Lawson convenience store where tourists stop by to click pictures of Mount Fuji.

This barrier is reportedly 2.5 metres (8 feet) high and 20 metres (65.6 feet) in length, which is roughly the length of a cricket pitch! As per reports, Fujikawaguchiko officials were forced to take this step because of “tourists who don’t respect rules, misbehave with locals, leave litter behind, and ignore traffic regulations.”

Also Read: Japan’s Mount Fuji Grapples With Overtourism & Pollution; Here’s How Authorities Plan To Tackle This

Another Step By Japan Against Overtoursim

The tourist influx in Fujikawaguchiko has grown tremendously over the past few years due to social media exposure. Many tourists, especially foreigners, flood the area and even trespass onto nearby properties for better views. Locals have tried putting up signage and warnings but the tourists often ignore them. This overtourism and unruly behaviour of tourists have caused Japanese authorities to take this step.

Seeing record numbers of overseas tourists, where monthly visitors exceeded three million in March, Japan is seeing a tourist boom. And this isn’t the first time Japan had to take up steps to counter overtoursim and stop unruly tourists. Earlier this year, residents of Kyoto’s Geisha district banned visitors from small private alleys. They have also started charging $13 (₹1,083) per individual for hikers using the most popular route to climb Mount Fuji. They believe this will help ease congestion on the mountain.

Can this step by Japanese authorities actually help reduce overtoursim? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

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