Enough is Enough. The Japan town of Fujikawaguchiko with its perfect view of Mount Fuji, has had its fill of tourists.
‘Tis the season to remember……there is more to life than Trump, courts, crime and stultifying errands and chores. Yesterday was May Day–the harbinger of Spring. We encounter nature in all kinds of ways; lately, the stories have been about misbehaving tourists and attempts to control them (see Japan and Fuji’s new cloaking device; read about the drunk kicking a couple of tons worth of bison), see flowers planted, birds, bees, flowers and trees, see sweeping clean the gray of Winter, and if we play our cards right, we leave the season of Trump in the rear view; we look ahead to what’s new. Spring, 2024……
The crowds have led to complaints of litter, danger to road traffic and illegal parking. The 20-meter-wide black barrier to obscure the mountain is due for completion in the middle of this month.
The barrier is the latest sign of Japan’s struggle to accommodate an unprecedented surge in visitors to the country amid a slump in the nation’s currency to a 34-year low.
The weak yen has made Japan an irresistible bargain for travellers, which is good news for the economy, but the cost has been frictions with locals and concerns of “overtourism” in major cities and at popular locales. (Reuters)
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Mt. Fuji, a 3,776-metre volcanic mountain worshipped as sacred by the Japanese, has long been a popular site for domestic and foreign visitors. But locals and officials decried a surge in pollution, accidents, and environmental damage during an overcrowded climbing season last summer.
To cope, prefectural officials this year announced a series of hiking restrictions around Mt. Fuji and a new 2,000 yen ($12.83) trail fee. Hotels and resorts around the country are also having trouble keeping up with demand after many workers left the sector during the COVID-19 pandemic (Reuters)
Japan is not the only destination suffering from the onslaught of bad mannered tourists. A man was just arrested for kicking a bison in the process of harassing the herd This was reported yesterday though the suspect and his accomplice were detained April 22.
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We see you, Donald and your fakery is tired. It’s Spring and we’re turning back to what’s real. A new season 🙂
