'Mount Fuji convenience store' issues apology for bad tourist manners, adds multilingual signs

We are also planning to install multilingual etiquette warning signs 

Masses of tourists, months of controversy, nation-wide and international news reports, the construction of a barrier wall...

..and Lawsons responds with a sign saying they plan to make a sign.

HQ is lapping up the publicity. If they had any spine they'd close the store. It's not like there's a shortage of combinis.

Many tourists but no tax can collected, that's what they really complain.

Install the usual triplets of trash bins. Litter problem solved.

Second-hand smoke-what to do about that? Another sign installed begging for good manners from smokers?

Just my 2¥.

Mt. Fuji visible from everywhere in that area.

It's a bloody big mountain.

Find another photo spot you silly people.

All because of one stupid Instagram post. Social media really has ruined travelling. Everywhere is busy, and small towns like Kawaguchiko can't handle that number of people, all coming for the same photo in the same spot. In terms of increasing litter, why not put some public bins? The lack of public bins in Japan baffles me. In nearly every other country there are public bins. Lawson must be loving this publicity though

littering is prohibited

Maybe they should put up multilingual signs that the Lawson is the only garbage can for miles.

Here's an idea: setup a pedestrian crossing with lights of all kinds. As for the dentist, well, these things happen. Maybe sell to the city and the city can make it a parking lot or something.

I would argue that it's [bad] local area convenience store manners.

it isn’t as if people are being slaughtered in the street and the store looted.

just put some temporary barricades that are ubiquitous on either side of the sidewalk.

or have employees walk there with a basket full of stuff to buy. lawson chicken, nikuman, drinks, egg salad sandwiches. ;)

This is a random and unwilling tourist attraction that has exploded in popularity due to something beyond its control (Instagram). The devious part of me wonders whether they could sue Instagram for damages. Presumably the site could geoblock photos taken at any location if lawyers forced it to. AI too could easily recognize and autodelete photos.

I wouldn't call this "overtourism". Its more like unwanted notoriety, like that spot on the road where Marc Bolan crashed his car. If Taylor Swift did an album cover like Abbey Road, that spot would be completely mobbed, way worse than Abbey Road itself ever has been.

..and Lawsons responds with a sign saying they plan to make a sign.

and keep reading:

"In the interest of preventing accidents, after consulting with the local police department and government, we are also considering posting private security staff at the site."

This is so bad,

All they have to do is tell the touring guides and companies to stop bringing people to that location or better yet close the roads leading to it where only locals are allowed, or relocate the store and make it a tourist spot. or all of the above.

Locals are making good money of these tourists including LAWSON, only few are not and those are the ones that are complaining.

More tourists = more xenophobia.

If you are really interested in this. ANNnews has done a report and show how the tourist is causing inconvenience to others. It is on YouTube. However, It is in Japanese without subtitles. Below is the link:

https://youtu.be/FEVdN0e10Qw

From the report, tourist has already found another Lawson store for taking photos of Mt. Fuji. It is only a 5 min drive from the old one.

Tourism is off the charts and not everyone is reaping the benefits of it. It takes measures like these from companies to try to quiet the locals who don't really want any tourists there. I get it. They are sick of all tourists, not only those from abroad (not the G-word some of you use here). The Japanese tourists are just as bad at all the major spots around Japan - especially all the suburbanites and big-city dwellers. They litter and have awful manners in public and on the road. Lots of xenophobia is being created as usual.

I don't like the title of this article, it makes international tourists look bad (some are and some aren't); and also, I've been to this spot twice before and most of the "tourists" were Japanese from other prefectures.

We are also planning to install multilingual etiquette warning signs stating that it is dangerous to take photos while standing in the parking lot or road, and that littering is prohibited, as soon as possible.

In the interest of preventing accidents, after consulting with the local police department and government, we are also considering posting private security staff at the site.

Multi-language signs and add'l security. Sounds like a good idea. In fact, I remember seeing someone posting that exact suggestion in a previous article on this topic. He seemed quite intelligent, and I imagine quite good-looking, as well.

I have a feeling that is going have the "Streisand affect"

I can't help but thinking that the locals are overreacting. Give it a few months and the novelty of a convenience store and Mt Fuji will have worn off and the tourists will move on to somewhere else.

Mt. Fuji visible from everywhere in that area.

It's a bloody big mountain.

Find another photo spot you silly people.

Exactly my thought. I fail to get whats all this hype about. Fujisan, and a Lawson. Duh.

¥0 and you can shoot Mt. Fuji + sunflower gardens, european style buildings, lakes, flags, towers, temples, swings, toriis, roller coasters, city lights....

I saw the news last night: crowds of geniuses not only blocking the narrow street but literally knocking each other and falling onto the pavement. Gross.

https://youtu.be/FEVdN0e10Qw

From the report, tourist has already found another Lawson store for taking photos of Mt. Fuji. It is only a 5 min drive from the old one.

Haha, its like whack a mole. Stop em at one and the turn up at another.

If you watch the video, you'll understand why the dentist has had enough. There's also a great shot of some lingering tourists getting in the way of a heavy revving "yankii" styled kei truck with green alloys.

I don't like the title of this article, it makes international tourists look bad (some are and some aren't); and also, I've been to this spot twice before and most of the "tourists" were Japanese from other prefectures.

I dont believe you. Just watch the video provided above. For 1 or 2 japanese looking for that "insta-bae" shot, there are dozens of obnoxious people with the main character syndrome that seem to be unable to perceive other human beings, and they all happen to be from the same country

Is this store not benefiting from the extra customers, though?

Would it be different if the tourists were mainly Japanese?

Is this confirmation bias based on the belief that foreign tourists are trouble?

I can't help but thinking that the locals are overreacting. Give it a few months and the novelty of a convenience store and Mt Fuji will have worn off and the tourists will move on to somewhere else.

Not sure about this. It seems this Lawson is located just across Kawaguchiko Station, hence the hordes of people with huge suitcases causing trouble to everyone, it was turning into some sort of welcome sign to the area.

The blocking screens was a great move! You drive 1～2.5 hours every other weekend to these places to stay the heck away from the car-less self-centered hordes and enjoy your peaceful holidays just to get the same headache as if you were driving around Asakusa or Ueno.

Thank you for your continued patronage of Lawson.

They are there because of Mt Fuji and not because of the franchise of Lawson- which by the way is a foreign name brand

Japanese think way too highly of thier convenience shops

Is this store not benefiting from the extra customers, though?

Absolutely, they are making a killing. So busy they closed the toilets and removed the hot water pots.

From the report, tourist has already found another Lawson store for taking photos of Mt. Fuji. It is only a 5 min drive from the old one.

They found it many months ago. Locals refer to it as 'Fake Lawson'. It's got a big car park so buses can park there.

All they have to do is tell the touring guides and companies to stop bringing people to that location or better yet close the roads leading to it where only locals are allowed, or relocate the store and make it a tourist spot. or all of the above.

It's not companies bringing them here, they just walk from the station. The rest of your ideas are impractical I'm afraid. The road is a main thoroughfare for every bus that goes to the station.

Other countries would capitalize on the situation and put up a toll booth or something like a portable staircase so money and photos could be had

Opportunity missed i think

No linear thought in japan

Other countries would capitalize on the situation and put up a toll booth or something like a portable staircase so money and photos could be had

There is talk of doing that. But it would take quite some time and that road is very tight.

This might just be a stopgap measure until the fad fades or they find a permamnent solution.

This screen will have limited effect. People can still take pics if they raise their camera above their heads or use a selfie stick. You'll also get people walking in the road in front of the screen. We'll still be talking about this next month.

Other countries would capitalize on the situation and put up a toll booth or something like a portable staircase so money and photos could be had

Opportunity missed i think

No linear thought in japan

I kind of get sick of this kind of criticism since nobody who puts forward these "brilliant" ideas (/s) seems to have even taken a cursory look at the location in question to see if any of them make sense.

You can't put in a toll booth or even a portable staircase on the street this is located on without massively inconveniencing the local community and disrupting the lives of residents and businesses.

Why would any town in its right mind do that solely to try to attract social media content producers - the worst scourge humanity has ever created - into their midst to take a few photos, litter, make a lot of noise, buy nothing except maybe a drink from a vending machine, and then move on?

Would it be different if the tourists were mainly Japanese?

Is this confirmation bias based on the belief that foreign tourists are trouble?

I don't think so here. I feel sorry for the locals after seeing the video.

There is confirmation bias about foreigners and some things though, like tabe-aruki. Loads of Japanese people, basically everybody, does it on the approach to Ise-Jingu. That's Japanese holiest site. If other places don't welcome it and can't be bothered to set up gomi bins, that's fine, but they don't get a "tabe-aruki is not Japanese culture" excuse because there are places in Japan where millions of Japanese do it. Japan's holiest site! And Takeshita-dori last time I was there. Any many festivals. And no doubt other places I'd know about if I got to get out more.

Here's a "12 best tabearuki foods at Ise Jingu!" article to back me up.

https://www.jalan.net/news/article/387591/

To all the people calling it Lawson’s, it’s actually Lawson as my g/f likes to point out.

Looking again at that photo though, it seems that Lawson has sensibly built another storey in concrete above it. Problem solved already!

How about building a second Lawson nearby just for the locals to use? That way, the Lawson in question can still benefit from the high number of tourists, and the locals can shop in peace.

Surely, the locals have started to go elsewhere anyway.

As yoshisan88 pointed out above there is another Lawson five minutes away, but they have the same problem with an even better view of Mt Fuji behind, and just as many tourists.

(Hate to mention this, but the Japanese press is having a field-day with this news, actually adding to the local confusion with their own staff and cameras.

If I was running that store I would have a pre-fabricated building on its roof called Fujimi Cafe selling premium coffee, champagne and cakes ............

The roof is not strong enough to have a second floor and anything changed would have to be agreed upon by Lawson.

If they were clogging my spot, like the dentist's, I'd do like they do in front of many stations and have someone standing there with a megaphone belting out some inane nonsense. That would get rid of them. Maybe even put some barricades and install pay parking like at the Lawson on the main drag from Kamakura station to the beach.

Maybe even put some barricades and install pay parking like at the Lawson on the main drag from Kamakura station to the beach.

That was one

Or do like the Seven's store owner in the same city, install a pay parking 20min free for customers and 500yen/10min to scare the crowd away. But as this is right in front of the station I'd still believe there would be crowds of clueless ppl standing right in the middle of the parking and even having the nerve to think they're doing nothing wrong!

all the effort to do nothing but take money away from the area. The dentist private property? I believe everyone who wants private property would put up a fence. Even construction sites do it. So befsuse the dentist doesn’t want people in the sidewalk and the city doesn’t put in a proper crosswalk in a location that makes sense, going to a convenience store and a few cars on a sparsely populated area of the town, need to pay attention when they drive. All this is just dumb. Showing Japan in a bad unplanned light.

We want the tourists' money, just not the tourists! Same in Kyoto.

Yet equally popular Hiroshima seems to have no problem with tourists there, it's very welcoming, and organised.

Other countries would capitalize on the situation and put up a toll booth or something like a portable staircase so money and photos could be had

Opportunity missed i think

No linear thought in japan

I kind of get sick of this kind of criticism since nobody who puts forward these "brilliant" ideas (/s) seems to have even taken a cursory look at the location in question to see if any of them make sense.

You can't put in a toll booth or even a portable staircase on the street this is located on without massively inconveniencing the local community and disrupting the lives of residents and businesses.

Why would any town in its right mind do that solely to try to attract social media content producers - the worst scourge humanity has ever created - into their midst to take a few photos, litter, make a lot of noise, buy nothing except maybe a drink from a vending machine, and then move on?

Well...excuse me !

Apparently your so sick of criticism and others brilliant ideas that all you have to offer is negative criticism

Nobody is talking about blocking the street

Establishing a small fee for small staircase to go up and take a photo is definitely doable if you know the location and are open minded enough to visualize a solution that pleases everyone

Good luck !

Well done..

Their country, their rules..

Foreigners, behave well..

Apparently your so sick of criticism and others brilliant ideas that all you have to offer is negative criticism

Well, bad ideas deserve negative criticism do they not?

Nobody is talking about blocking the street

You literally said they should put a toll booth on the street. Toll booths block streets - its what they do.

Establishing a small fee for small staircase to go up and take a photo is definitely doable if you know the location and are open minded enough to visualize a solution that pleases everyone

Here is the street in question:

https://www.google.com/maps/@35.4988135,138.7672662,3a,75y,207.14h,102.42t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1se3dorZBK-fHb7RqULCA26g!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu

Take a look at that street. Swivel the view to get several angles of it. Move the viewpoint a few metres up and down its length. Doing so it becomes blatantly obvious that there are problems with your staircase suggestion which render it completely nonsensical.

First, the photo opp only makes sense from ground level. Put the viewer up a level and they won't get the same angle that juxtaposes the Lawson sign and Mount Fujii the way everyone wants. Also the power lines would obstruct the view if the viewpoint was elevated above ground level, further spoiling the photo opp. So all you'd be building is a viewing platform that nobody would use since the best shots would still be found from ground level and that is where all the tourists would continue to flock to.

Second, even if we wave away the first point and assume that there are good photo opps to be had up there the staircase idea makes no sense since its the number of people that is the problem and merely providing an elevated space to accommodate some of them isn't going to solve that. If you've got a small staircase with a small viewing platform then there is going to be a lineup for it and all the people waiting are still going to be on the street, so its not a solution at all to the concerns that locals have.

Third, where is this staircase going to be built? There is only one spot where the alignment works to get the perfect shot that everyone wants and that is exactly where that dentist's office is. Move even just a few metres either side of it and the alignment of the Lawson with Mt. Fujii disappears from view. The sidewalk is only about 2 metres wide in that exact "perfect photo" spot and there is simply no way of building anything there without it completely blocking the sidewalk, blocking the dentist office's entrance and forcing passersby onto the roadway. Its just completely and totally impractical.

Maybe Lawson chose that spot with the view behind in the first place.

How long before Japan bans tourism again like during lockdown?

Japan wants our money, but not us as tourists.

Could be worse - you could be in Glencoe, lapping up the solitude when a busload of Japanese tourists pulls up and it becomes a click fest of cameras and smart phones... works both ways.

Tourists with no imagination who all herd to the same spot to take the same photo. Thank the kami that I am not among them. My best times in Japan are spent far from the crazy crowds, in places I hope they will never discover.

Add in tourists jaywalking back and forth 

Does Japan have the same ridiculous laws as the US on crossing the street. I didn’t think any other country was as daft.

As for the Dentist, he is entitled to peaceful occupation of his property, he would be sensible in the circumstances to block it off and charge say ¥3000 per photograph. That should discourage them.

Lawson’s car park is also presumably private property, charge them for entry a hefty sum repayable in the store if you are a local.

The street is the police/local authorities problem.

How long before Japan bans tourism again like during lockdown?

Japan wants our money, but not us as tourists.

Japan is very tourist friendly, maybe even too friendly. In the last thirty years, Japan spent so much effort and money in revamping its infrastructure to accommodating non-Japanese speaking people. What other country has train systems that make announcements or have signs in Japanese, English, Chinese and Korean. And you go to the tourist hot spots like the Odaiba, and a lot of the shop staff are able to speak some degree of English. So to say Japan doesn't want tourists is completely wrong. Japan puts a lot of effort into attracting and accommodating tourists

Over on YouTube, some Japanese commenters are saying that the country has no choice but to blow up Mt. Fuji.

https://www.google.com/maps/@35.4988135,138.7672662,3a,75y,207.14h,102.42t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1se3dorZBK-fHb7RqULCA26g!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu

Take a look at that street. Swivel the view to get several angles of it. Move the viewpoint a few metres up and down its length. Doing so it becomes blatantly obvious that there are problems with your staircase suggestion which render it completely nonsensical

All the way to the right between the buildings a skinny little staircase with a ramp to the left above the Lawson sign - only wide enough for two at a time

Not nonsense !

Not even in a parking spot or blocking any entrance.

What's your issues ?

Goodbye !

The dentist wouldn't complain if they're getting some of those tourists money. If I were the dentist, I'd put a sign of a human being slashed with a Katana and a giant sign "no trespassing!". I'd then complain to the local community association and push Lawson to do something about the loitering and trashing.

The dentist could just charge 5000¥ for 30 minutes of parking, per person. That would solve the problem and pay for the parking attendant collecting the fee.

The local tow company could also be helped with this.

Police could ticket people for parking illegally on the street and littering.

win-win-win for everyone but the people who can't drive down the road to find a better spot. Of course, locals could be exempt. That happens lots in of small towns.

All the way to the right between the buildings a skinny little staircase with a ramp to the left above the Lawson sign - only wide enough for two at a time

Of all the useless solutions proposed on here this has to be the worst.

Do you have any other wobbly portable ideas? Maybe hand out stilts to the visitors? A wormhole for the cars to pass by?

I literally didn't say -'they should put a toll booth on the street'

You literally said:

Other countries would capitalize on the situation and put up a toll booth

If that isn’t you suggesting that they should build a toll booth on that street then I don’t know what is.

I said portable staircase !

How does the distinction between a “portable” staircase and a permanent one in any way overcome the problems I raised with your idea in my previous post, all of which would apply to any staircase regardless of whether it was portable or not? Staircases of any kind are just an idiotic way of trying to solve this problem, I’m sorry if this obvious fact upsets you but its the truth.

All the way to the right between the buildings a skinny little staircase with a ramp to the left above the Lawson sign - only wide enough for two at a time

Not nonsense !

Sorry, this is nonsense and your idea is getting more and more ridiculous the further you try to elaborate it. Put the portable staircase there and the view will not be the same as what people are trying to see and get pics of. Nobody will use it and the problem would just persist.

What's your issues ?

A dislike for bad ideas that make no sense.

There's a lot more ad hoc tourists now. Last year we took a trip there and hired a driver with a big van since we had a modest sized group. The Chureito Pagoda was mobbed. People were parking in all sorts of places they weren't supposed to and the police had to be called. The driver commented he'd never seen it this bad. A lot of tourists renting cars and parking all over the place. Not using the designated parking lot areas.

They could have built a viewing platform on the roof of their store.

Countries will soon be banning foreign tourists, so all of these problems will soon go away.

It’s very difficult to manage tourists on the public highway. Only the Police can enforce no stopping on the road and they can’t be there all the time. There’s no real resolution to the issue unless the barriers are made permanent or a building goes up to spoil the view. That spoils it for the locals too who no doubt love their view. Of course if people are climbing on private property that’s trespass and a job for the plod. The Lawson franchisee, or the HQ management aren’t going to want to pay for private security forever.

If you encourage tourism to the area you must also provide facilities too. Maybe some of the tourist taxes can be diverted to provide some public parking and a viewing area?

Sales must be down, forcing the apology!

Some here think the tourist actually want the Lawson in the photo which is ridiculous - rainy day moronic nonsense

Some here think the tourist actually want the Lawson in the photo which is ridiculous - rainy day moronic nonsense

Lol, poor you. You have completely failed to grasp this entire matter.

The Lawson factor is rather important.

Some here think the tourist actually want the Lawson in the photo which is ridiculous - rainy day moronic nonsense

Ah, now I see where the confusion lies. I agree that it is ridiculous but sadly it is the truth. This article doesn’t do a particularly good job of explaining the point, but this story has been in the news here for weeks now and that is exactly what is happening- tourists are lining up at that exact spot specifically to get a picture with the Lawson in it. Taken from the exact correct angle you can get a photo where it appears that Mount Fujii is sitting directly atop the Lawson, which looks kind of neat. Since pictures of it started going viral on social media tourists have been swarming that one exact spot directly in front of the dentist to get the properly aligned photo.

You can get a nice picture of Mount Fujii by itself in endless locations in that area, but only a picture of Fujii sitting on the Lawson from a very exact spot.

It is explained a bit more in this article:

https://japantoday.com/category/national/to-fend-off-tourists-a-town-in-japan-is-building-a-big-screen-blocking-the-view-of-mount-fuji

A quote:

Her neighborhood suddenly became a popular spot about two years ago, apparently after a photo taken in a particular angle showing Mount Fuji in the background, as if sitting atop a local convenience store, became a social media sensation known as “Mt Fuji Lawson,” town officials say.

Definitely on my to-do list, to go take a picture at this spot.

Part of the problem is fools follow fools.

“富士山コンビニ”別の場所でも迷惑撮影　黒幕工事の中... https://youtu.be/BQvSjq4Z8h4?si=5U8k5XlnAjsXwdHB @YouTubeより

Seems like a lot of people get distracted by their friends on the other side and cross the street without looking at the cars.