Tokyo, May 21 (EFE).- A Japanese town that recently announced it would block an iconic view of Mount Fuji completed installing metal barriers and curtains on Tuesday to curb excessive tourist influx at the popular photo spot.
A sidewalk in Fujikawaguchiko town in Yamanashi Prefecture became famous about two years ago for having good spots to photograph Mount Fuji, which lies about 60 kilometers (37.2 miles) away.
A Lawson convenience store on this sidewalk shot to fame after an influencer posted it on social media in 2022, with visitors flocking to the spot ever since.
However, the huge number of tourists at the spot caused traffic inconvenience to both pedestrians and vehicles.
Fujikawaguchiko, which has a population of approximately 25,495, largely depends on tourists, drawn to the town due to its proximity to Mount Fuji.
Despite this reliance on the stream of visitors, some locals have expressed concern about the behavior of tourists, especially foreigners, who crowd at this photo spot and cross the road recklessly to capture a perfect shot of the mountain.
On Tuesday, a black fabric, two and a half meters high and 20 meters long, covered the popular viewpoint where the mountain appears to sit atop the roof of the Lawson store when viewed from outside its front door.
In addition, six three-meter-wide iron bars prevent people from crossing the street to access the photo spot.
Before completely blocking the view, Fujikawaguchiko officials took other measures, such as posting warnings in English, to control the crowd, but they proved to be ineffective.
On Monday, Yamanashi officials opened an online reservation system for those climbing Mount Fuji via its most common route to the summit, the Yoshida Trail.
In March, Japanese officials announced they would charge a fee of 2,000 yen ($12.8) to climb the mountain through the Yoshida route to ease congestion on the volcano. EFE
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