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Just before 11am on Tuesday, a small task force of Japanese construction workers completed their mission of erecting the 2.5-metre-high barrier that marred the view of one of the country’s most stunning natural landmarks.
The view of Mount Fuji towering over the front of a convenience store in Kawaguchiko has become a trending topic on social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok in recent months, with thousands of tourists flocking to the narrow road at the base of the mountain to take photos, forcing local authorities to tackle what they see as a traffic hazard.
“Everyone who comes to Japan knows this photo on Facebook and Instagram, so I had to take it too,” said Cristina, a tourist from Panama, who arrived at Lake Kawaguchi the day before the fence was installed and managed to take a photo.
“Everyone comes here to take this photo, so it’s weird to feel like I have to do this,” she said, adding that her two-week Japan tour was organised based on recommendations from a Facebook group.
A convenience store at the foot of Mount Fuji is a popular photo spot for tourists © Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty Images
Local authorities installed a fence blocking views of Mount Fuji at Lake Kawaguchi on Tuesday © Kazuhiro Nogi/AFP/Getty Images
Authorities’ decision to block views of Mount Fuji highlights the friction created by Japan’s sudden wave of tourists. Fueled by the most favorable exchange rate in decades, a record 11.6 million tourists have visited Japan since the start of 2024, but not everyone is ready for it.
“We need to strike a balance between accepting tourists and ensuring the quality of life for local residents,” Ichiro Takahashi, commissioner of the Japan Tourism Agency, said at a recent press conference.
Locals have complained about foreigners cutting into traffic in dangerous ways, littering and entering residents’ yards in search of the perfect social media photo, but some tourists have been baffled by the authorities’ response in a town where most businesses are hoping to boost tourist spending.
“Everything here seems to be related to Mount Fuji – there are restaurants with views of the mountain, places that rent out equipment for climbing it and shops that sell cakes in the shape of Mount Fuji. I don’t understand why they would block the view of Mount Fuji here,” said one French tourist, adding that various websites now suggest other places nearby to take similar photos.
Japan has long sought to attract more tourists, many of whom are hesitant to travel due to language barriers and high prices. Since the pandemic, those efforts have paid off, helped by a weaker yen. The number of tourists visiting Japan in March and April surpassed the 2019 record. Before COVID-19, many visitors came from China, South Korea and Taiwan, but now the country is seeing an influx of tourists from a wider range of countries, including the United States, France and the Philippines.
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But its success has created friction and prompted signs of a backlash in some of the most popular tourist destinations, such as Kyoto, the former imperial palace. The rise in visitor numbers to major destinations has been exacerbated by rising living and travel costs for Japanese households, with international travel recovering much slower after the pandemic and more people spending their holidays domestically.
The surge in international tourists has also exposed severe labor shortages in the hotel and restaurant industries, leading to a surge in foreign workers and government subsidies for the installation of self-check-in kiosks.
The government in October outlined a series of measures to tackle “overtourism” amid concerns that tourists are concentrating in a few cities, putting strain on local communities and infrastructure.
According to government statistics, 72% of foreign tourists stayed in the three major metropolitan areas of Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya last year, compared with 63% in 2019.
The measures range from introducing ride-sharing services to installing security cameras to protect cultural heritage sites. Starting this week, climbers will be required to pay a 2,000 yen ($12) fee and make online reservations to ease congestion on Mount Fuji.
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The pictograms are being used as part of an effort to explain local manners: One Tokyo district created an etiquette leaflet that reads, “We look forward to seeing you at your appointed time. It’s cool to wait in line.”
Another key part of the policy is providing government subsidies to less-popular areas, where many of the UNESCO World Heritage sites are little-visited, in order to attract more-spending tourists.
Analysts say Japan needs to encourage more people to visit and spend in order to boost its economy, but it needs to avoid tourists sparking the kind of backlash from locals against overcrowding and rising rents seen in some European destinations.
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“There is no single, universal solution,” says Norihiko Imaizumi, a senior researcher at the Dai-ichi Life Research Institute.
But Imaizumi pointed out that Japan has a policy to increase the number of foreign tourists to 60 million a year by 2030. “Tourists should not be viewed as enemies, nor should they be seen as a problem,” he said.
In Kawaguchiko, several people said the thin, opaque black screens hastily installed were an extreme but necessary response in a town where infrastructure was suddenly strained.
“at that time [two hours] “They were building that screen and I think we saw over 100 tourist buses going down this narrow street,” said a local woman who works in a restaurant. “The sidewalks are narrow and it’s dangerous. Now people think our town hates foreigners, but that’s not true at all.”
