Japanese town sours on crowds coming to see cherry blossoms and Mount Fuji

FUJIYOSHIDA, Japan, April 9, (AP): The trouble started with a beautiful photo. Social media was soon awash with the lovely view of Japan's snow-capped Mount Fuji looming over a red pagoda and the short-lived cherry blossoms that herald the approach of spring. Tourists wanting a similar shot soon packed this peaceful town at the foot of the mountain.

The complaints were not far behind: chronic traffic jams; piles of litter; ill-mannered foreigners knocking on doors of private homes to borrow toilets; tourists relieving themselves in front yards. It got so bad officials in Fujiyoshida announced in February that they were canceling this year’s annual cherry blossom festival, which started as a way to promote tourism a decade ago.

What locals are calling "tourism pollution” has illuminated a broader problem for Japan: As the country's economic malaise deepens, officials are eager for the economic boost of increased tourism, even as local communities find themselves entirely unprepared for what a small army of foreign visitors means for their communities.

"This area is primarily an ordinary residential neighborhood, where balancing (tourism) with the safety of people's living environment has become difficult,” Masatoshi Hada, manager of the Fujiyoshida Economics and Environment Department, told The Associated Press. "We decided not to promote a festival that would invite more visitors.”

Even without the festival, foreign tourists packed the area on a sunny day in early April when cherry blossoms reached their prime. The narrow streets up to the popular Arakurayama Sengen Park were filled as the visitors lined up for a chance film the world-famous panoramic views. In recent years, foreign tourists have exceeded 10,000 per day in the area, something that has "threatened residents’ daily lives,” the city said in a statement in February.

Overtourism has also been seen in other popular destinations in Japan, like Kyoto and Kamakura. In Kyoto, locals complain of tourists with large suitcases clogging city buses. "Tourism pollution” comes as Japan confronts a rapidly growing population of foreign workers brought in as the country's population dwindles and ages.

The combination has led to xenophobia, and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi ’s nationalistic government has proposed tougher rules on foreigners. Even as it promises to address overtourism concerns, the government wants to boost the current level of 40 million inbound tourists to 60 million visitors by 2030. Beginning April 1, at the start of the region’s cherry blossom season, Fujiyoshida increased its security guards and restricted entry of tour buses and vehicles into the scenic neighborhood, requiring visitors to reach the park on foot.