Back in the spring, a branch of convenience store chain Lawson in the town of Fujikawaguchiko in Yamanashi Prefecture became Japan’s most unexpected attraction for foreign tourists in recent memory. Tourists were there for the view, and so many of them that the town eventually put up a screen to block the desired line of sight.
Specifically, foreign tourists were descending in droves on the area to see the unique view of Mount Fuji which appears to rising right out of Lawson’s roof from certain angles. Unfortunately, tourists’ manners weren’t as nice as the scenery, with many leaving litter behind and jaywalking and blocking traffic as they scurried across and into the street to line up the photos they wanted to take. Making the whole thing doubly troublesome is that the most popular position to take photos of the Lawson and Mount Fuji was from across the street from the store, with tourists blocking the sidewalk and access to a dental office, whose lot isn’t set up to handle huge numbers of people hanging out in front of the building’s entrance.
When repeated requests to stop throwing trash on the ground, running into the street, and making life difficult for the dental clinic staff and their patients did nothing, the city took the dramatic measure of putting up a large black screen, 20 meters in length and 2.5 meters tall between the dental clinic and the street, completely blocking the view of Mount Fuji, in order to discourage tourists from trying to take pictures from there.
The screen was installed on May 21, but now it’s finally been taken down. Late summer is typhoon season in Japan, and last Friday a powerful storm was forecast to blow through the Fujikawaguchiko area. A 20-meter screen could easily turn into a dangerous, violently whipping mass of material if it were to become unsecured in the gale-force winds, and so last Thursday city officials made the decision to take down the screen ahead of the typhoon’s arrival.
But then they left the screen down for a few more days, and since they haven’t had any problems with ill-mannered tourists since, the city is now saying that they’re keeping the screen down permanently, or at least indefinitely, with a city spokesperson saying: “As long as tourists continue to display good manners] we will not be putting the screen back up.”
Of course, it’s possible that Fujikawaguchiko didn’t see a huge influx in bad-mannered tourists after taking the screen down last Thursday simply because most people thought the screen was still up and didn’t have any impetus to head to a neighborhood that doesn’t have much else for travelers to do. It’s also possible that social media shutterbugs have moved on to the next trend, and with smaller groups of visitors come smaller chances of an ultra-inconsiderate person being among that day’s tourists. Or maybe, just maybe, Yamanashi’s screen has been a reminder that not being considerate of others can lead to ruining things for everybody, and so visitors are being more aware of and respectful to the neighborhood’s local community.
Regardless of the reason, though, it’s good to know that the people of Fujikawaguchiko have this view of Mount Fuji back, and hopefully they’ll get to keep it.
Source: Jiji
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© SoraNews24
20 Comments
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finally rich
Fujisan behind a convenience store.
What's next? :
A park toilet with skytree as background
Daninthepan
A nice end to an embarrassing story - I hope.
Nice to see some faith in humanity. (I'm a little more pessimistic).
ClippetyClop
Probably because Fuji hasn't been visible since then. It's rarely been seen for months, nobody is going there to photograph it.
Wait until the temperature drops and the sky clears. They'll be back to blaming tourists for local drivers not letting them cross the road again.
Tomichan
It wont last.
TokyoLiving
Want the screen removed??..
Behave guys, behave..
GuruMick
I dont remember that particular store but I do remember Mt. Fuji being VISIBLE everywhere in the area.
It's a bloody big mountain.
Alan Bogglesworth
This is Japan at its finest. We all know we can do better.
Kaowaiinekochanknaw
Thank goodness.
That screen has been in my thoughts daily, often keeping me awake at night pondering if I should go and photograph it.
kohakuebisu
By the sounds, at least two foreign bus companies were taking people here and to the other Lawson with a Fuji view. That's two dozen or more people turning up at the same time and milling about until they all get their photo taken. It's a recipe for annoying locals
Stop the tours and you probably solve half the problem
Fighto!
There are foreign pages on FB with photos of Japanese public toilets- close ups of the bowl, washlet, etc, with stunned reactions from posters.
Others focussing on elevators and vending machines. I guess many of these people have simply never seen or used these things. "Japan is living in 2100!" is a frequent comment.
There are a million better vistas of Fuji-san than one with a convenience store in the forefront. Just my opinion, however.
wolfshine
Using the storm as an excuse to change policy is a classic example of people here not having the courage to admit they were wrong so they can save face.
WoodyLee
Who ever decided to put up the screen I hope he gets the honor of taking it down on his own, better yet he or she pays for it out of their own money.
Speed
Honestly, if I were a tourist, I'd never go all the way to Fujikawaguchiko just to take a picture of a convenient store w/ Fuji in the back. What a hassle and a waste of time and money.
Antiquesaving
Why not?
Plenty of photos of the toilets in Paris by Japanese tourists in Japanese social media.
Seems like self cleaning toilets are a strange fascination to some Japanese.
Not sure why what others find interesting or are interested in is of anyone else's business.
So you don't see anything interesting in the view/idea but I imagine there are plenty of things you find interesting that other find strange.
nandakandamanda
Or maybe it's just too hot in the summer for tourists to spend time hanging out there as back in the spring.
kaimycahl
The inconsiderate tourist have been screened out!
Nibek32
Screens down?!
YES! I know where I’m going tomorrow. Going to live stream the whole thing on my YouTube channel.
GBR48
If you kept putting it off, you only have yourself to blame that you have now missed getting a photo of the Great Wall of Fujikawaguchiko.
njca4
I was there today and Fuji was blocked out by clouds haha
Maybe some bright spark will try cloud seeding next time and then really shoot themselves in the foot
tora
This is too much. I should have taken the blue pill.