Bouncers hired to control crowds in Japanese city after tourist is killed while taking a photo
Otaru is stepping up measures to handle vacationers as overcrowding continues in Japan.
A small and picturesque port metropolis in Japan has employed safety guards to police selfie-taking vacationers.
Recognized for its fairly canal lined with well-preserved nineteenth and Twentieth-century warehouses, Otaru is bracing for extra guests arriving for the lunar new 12 months. Positioned on the island of Hokkaido, town has many steep slopes, providing vantage factors for sea views and Instagram-worthy photographs.
With vacationers anticipated to assemble on the well-known Funamizaka slope for the Lunar New Yr Spring Pageant, Otaru is stepping up efforts towards overtourism. Guards will forestall guests from flocking to take coveted footage of the ocean and the port and clogging up the realm.
Funamizaka, one in all Otaru’s steepest slopes, is known as a location in a number of movies, together with the 1995 Japanese movie ‘Love Letter’ and the 2015 Chinese language movie ‘Cities in Love’, fuelling its reputation.
Locals in Japan are rising more and more pissed off because the nation grapples with overtourism and disruptive vacationer behaviour, corresponding to blocking roads for pictures and disregarding native customs.
Knowledge from the Japan Nationwide Tourism Organisation reveals that 33.38 million folks visited Japan between January and November of 2024 alone, outpacing the earlier report of 31.88 million set in 2019.
A vacationer was killed whereas taking a photograph
Otaru’s safety strikes come after a 61-year-old vacationer reportedly made her approach onto the tracks of an area practice line to get a photograph when she was struck and killed by a practice. In line with the South China Morning Submit, the feminine vacationer stood on the tracks for a photograph alternative and didn’t discover the oncoming practice.
The dying prompted locals to specific concern over vacationers as they tried to recreate scenes from their favorite films, with near-death incidents occurring as guests engaged in dangerous behaviours to get the perfect pictures.
As reported within the West Australian, a resident advised an area TV station that the incident was “an accident ready to occur”.
“Vacationers usually take pictures between the crossing gates. Trains have been stopped a number of instances in consequence.”
What’s going to the guards do?
In response to the rising pressures of overtourism and poor customer behaviour in Japan, safety guards have been deployed at key spots in Otaru earlier to handle the inflow of abroad guests and stop additional accidents.
Earlier this week, guards stationed at three common places held English, Chinese language, and Korean indicators, urging curious vacationers to respect non-public property and keep away from blocking roads whereas taking selfies. The safety measures will keep in place till the top of March, with native police growing patrols.
The drastic transfer comes amid considerations about growing vacationer numbers’ environmental and social affect, particularly throughout peak seasons just like the Lunar New Yr.
How Japan is tackling overtourism
This isn’t the primary time Japan has taken uncommon measures to handle guests. Kawaguchiko has additionally seen an inflow of vacationers, all vying for the proper shot of Mount Fuji. Now, native officers have cracked down on misbehaving vacationers.
Fujikawaguchiko, within the northern foothills of the mountain, has a number of scenic picture spots common with guests and photographers, who flock there for picture-perfect photographs.
Pissed off with the inflow of vacationers, the city has constructed a big, black display on a stretch of sidewalk to dam the view of the well-known mountain and curb crowds, litter, and trespassing.
Japan can be rolling out etiquette steerage for international vacationers to handle over-tourism and enhance customer behaviour.
Indicators in busy areas will remind guests to watch native customs, to not cease instantly or block walkways, to remain conscious of their environment when taking pictures, and to keep away from queue-jumping.
These measures are a part of a broader marketing campaign to deal with rising considerations over disruptive vacationer behaviour, with native authorities additionally distributing informational leaflets and utilizing digital signage in a number of languages to advertise respectful journey practices.
