FUJIKAWAGUCHIKO, Japan (AP) — The town of Fujikawaguchiko has had enough of tourists.
Known for a number of scenic photo spots that offer a near-perfect shot of Japan’s iconic Mount Fuji, the town on Tuesday began constructing a large black screen on a stretch of a sidewalk to block the view of the mountain. The reason: misbehaving foreign tourists.
“Kawaguchiko is a town built on tourism, and I welcome many visitors, and the town welcomes them too, but there are many things about their manners that are worrying,” said Michie Motomochi, owner of a cafe serving Japanese sweets “ohagi,” near the soon-to-be-blocked photo spot.
Motomochi mentioned littering, crossing the road with busy traffic, ignoring traffic lights, trespassing into private properties. She isn’t unhappy though — 80% of her customers are foreign visitors whose numbers have surged after a pandemic hiatus that kept Japan closed for about two years.
Closing prices for crude oil, gold and other commodities
Annie Kilner steps out in Cheshire with her baby son just seven days after giving birth
Vick Hope wows in a plunging white swimsuit and flashes her leg in a thigh
Indonesia declares Prabowo Subianto president
Seoul AI summit opens with companies including Google, Meta, OpenAI pledging to develop AI safely
A Russian priest who held Navalny's memorial service is suspended by Moscow church
Arrests follow barricades and encampments as college students nationwide protest Gaza war
Vanessa Hudgens the Coachella queen explains why she skipped the festival this year
Trump says he is open to restrictions on contraception before backing away from the statement
Brian Tobin, former president of the International Tennis Federation, dies at age 93
Hundreds of hostages, mostly women and children, are rescued from Boko Haram extremists in Nigeria
Gilbert has stellar start for Mariners and JRod goes deep in 4