A Japanese city has hired security guards to oversee a scenic vista after it became inundated with tourists.
Officials have been stationed to manage the overflow of tourists during the lunar new year holidays at the Funamizaka slope in Otaru of Hokkaido prefecture. The spot, featured in the 1995 Japanese film Love Letter, is popular with tourists for its views of the sea.
A Chinese tourist was struck by a train and killed while taking pictures on the tracks near the slope earlier this month. Her husband said she was trying to photograph a location featured in the 2015 Chinese film Cities in Love and did not notice the oncoming train.
There have been a growing number of complaints by residents about visitors blocking roads and trespassing on private property. “The road is lined with houses and has heavy traffic. Tourists standing on the street or walking side by side often make it impossible for vehicles to pass. The impact on residents has been significant and this fiscal year has been particularly severe,” a city official told the Mainichi Shimbun.
On Tuesday, guards were stationed at three places carrying signs in English, Chinese and Korean urging visitors not to trespass on private property or take photos in the middle of the road, Kyodo News reported.
The guards will remain deployed until the end of March and local police will step up patrols in the area.
“People are even entering private property without permission to take photos,” local resident Hidetoshi Itagaki, 80, told the Japanese media outlet.
Japan welcomed a record 36 million tourists in 2024, according to official numbers released this month. Otaru saw over 90,000 foreign tourists staying in the city during the first half of fiscal 2024, the highest number since records began in 1997, local officials said.
The record surge in tourists has been attributed in major part to a weaker yen which has made Japan more attractive to international visitors. The soaring numbers, however, have sparked concerns about “overtourism” at popular destinations, leading to challenges in managing visitor flow and preserving local environments.
Last year the Japan Tourism Agency launched a travel etiquette – a series of guidelines encouraging better behaviour from tourists, such as travelling light and “minding your manners”.
It also produced 22 pictograms designed to be easily replicable for hotels, guesthouses and other local establishments, with messages like “Selfie sticks prohibited”.
The Japanese government has an ambitious target of attracting 60 million visitors each year by 2030.
Meanwhile, following the death of the Chinese tourist near the Asari station, Hokkaido Railway Co is considering adding safety announcements in English and Chinese on its trains.
