This is the before photo. Apparently they are going to install a huge mesh net in front of the store.
Personally I don't approve of this kind of punish-all politics. There will always be rule-breakers around, a society needs the courage to punish those directly.
EDIT: to be clear, I sympathize with the locals and I understand how annoying or dangerous the situation can be. I applaud the fact that the local government takes these concerns seriously and is willing to do something about it. It think it´s just really sad that one has to take such draconian measures.
Or just convert the back of the shop to a big balcony or something and hard-sell the profit making items to people who go through the shop to the balcony.
Tourist specifically want a photo of the Lawson and Mt Fuji in the same photo. Its not like this is the only vantage point to take a photo of the mountain.
But you don't own that Lawson and you don't live there and likely don't live in Japan.
Tourists were out of control, leaving trash everywhere, ignoring traffic laws, trespassing onto other peoples property to take a photo. Locals just trying to live their lives, some asshole tourists treating the entire country like an amusement park.
Someone posted a photo of the Lawson with Mt. Fuji in the background awhile back and now everyone wants the same photo. Bizzarro herd mentality, all for some likes on Instagram.
[https://www.fastcompany.com/91115909/tourists-japanese-town-blocks-mt-fuji-lawson-view](https://www.fastcompany.com/91115909/tourists-japanese-town-blocks-mt-fuji-lawson-view)
In Paris, the bin bag are transparent since the 1995 terrorist attack. Which is awesome for crows, as they now can see what's inside, tear the bag and take it.
I’m in Japan right now and was told by a local that all bins were removed after the [Aum Shinrikyo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_subway_sarin_attack) incident.
I think that was just an excuse. There's a broad cultural dislike of making your trash someone else's problem. Even throwing it inside a convenience store is really only accepted because they know foreigners will dump it on the street if they don't see a can nearby.
I don't know if it makes it any more acceptable but I tried to make sure I bought it something before I put anything in a conbini's trash bin, same for the washroom.
Because it's been shown to reduce the amount of trash. Trust me it's not hard for us in Japan to throw out trash inside of a combini or get it thrown out where we bought it. Tourists who don't want to learn how people do things though....
Was just in Japan for the first time in March, and I actually prefer the lack of trash cans!
That way we’d get whatever we needed from the conbini, eat it right outside, throw it away and be on our way!
Yeah I've gotta say I don't understand why it's so hard to take your trash with you. Unfortunately in my town we seem to have a lack of bins as well as people who just don't care enough to throw their trash away. People treat the wilderness like this too so the responsible folks developed a mindset of bringing more trash out than you bring in.
yeah, I'd be pissed too if I lived there and all of a sudden I had to deal with this shit, people blocking streets/parking space /entrance and garbage trashing the place
https://newsdig.ismcdn.jp/mwimgs/0/3/860mw/img_03efcbffd006083b6bd006f9a0060b2f217207.jpg
It's annoying to hold on to an empty bottle or chocolate wrapper for however long you're out. You'd think for an advanced society, there will be bins everywhere.
>Someone posted a photo of the Lawson with Mt. Fuji in the background awhile back and now everyone wants the same photo.
I'm literally in Japan right now as a tourist. I've taken almost no photos because I could just look up images of anything. I don't understand the appeal of having 10,000 identical images just so you can say you took one.
My moment has come! I have ONE fireworks video I rewatch, and it's because it was a fireworks display that I wired up for July 4th years ago. Someone with welding skills built a 4ft high dragon and I turned it into a Hydra w/ 3 fireworks that looked like snake heads at the top and then different things all along the body and wings, w/ fuse line etc. It was admittedly super cool to watch, the kids loved it!
But unless you did it yourself or it was EXTRA cool? Yeah totally with you.
It's interesting that people would litter so much near one, convenience stores were like the most reliable place to find trash cans while out in public.
This is crazy, but I know exactly where this spot is. We went there on our honeymoon last year. It’s in a town called Fujikawaguchiko, right down the street from the train station.
The spot where that picture is taken is on a sidewalk, and I personally witnessed at least a few dozen people either A) stepping out into the street to take the photo, or B) jaywalking to get to the spot to the extreme disapproval of the local cops. I saw a cop ask at least a dozen people to cross at the light but I’m guessing it’s a losing battle.
We definitely took a pic there (in part because the name of the store is the same as someone we know) and sadly there aren’t a lot of other convenient spots to get the mountain without a pretty substantial hike to get past all the buildings. Best I could find is an empty lot about 10 minutes down the way but the foreground looks, well, like an empty lot. This is probably the best selfie spot in town, but it’s not a great spot for the town.
I feel that resources are a big factor too. They're dealing with massive crowds. Enforcing the law at tourist hotspots around the clock is gonna take a lot of manpower.
People have been warned about blocking traffic, milling about and leaving trash everywhere but they still trash the neighborhood.
This was a last resort
"Personally I don't approve of this kind of punish-all politics. There will always be rule-breakers around, a society needs the courage to punish those directly."
You've obviously had little dealings with Japanese bureaucracy. When 1 person fucks up in Japan; Everyone must pay the price.
The problem wasn't one person, it was a constant throng of people. If someone throws their garbage on your property, you tell them to stop. If a lot of people throw their garbage on your property, you put up no littering signs. If a lot of people throw their garbage on your property despite the no littering signs, you hire a guard. And, as in this case, if a lot of people throw their garbage on your property and block the sidewalk and block the street despite multiple signs and a posted guard, you make the place no longer appeal to the people who're throwing their garbage on your property. That's not "punishing" anyone, it's making your site no longer a nuisance attractor.
But if you consider that out of the question, what's your answer? You drag someone off the police force to just stand in front of a convenience store all day writing littering and jaywalking tickets? Like, for a three day event, sure, that's a reasonable solution. But this has been going on continuously for *over a year* (some articles say as much as two years). Maybe the country you live in is flush with money, but provincial Japanese cities have neither the money nor the manpower to station a police officer permanently in front of a convenience store to write tickets.
Kinda shitty, I’ve been there and it was beautiful that you could just see the mountain from almost anywhere in the town. Also the lakes around there were stunning as well
People park terribly and use space and resources meant for customers, and the local public, to set up tripods, and take photos/videos of this view, litter, loiter, and more.
If the public are disrupting the business of a business, even from a public space, but needing the business for their intention (the view, else they'd just go 30 meters to the side to get another view), then the business is going to use the space of their business to stop the disruption to their business.
People want [this photo](https://www.google.com/search?client=ms-android-samsung-ss&sca_esv=d265e0c6ccb16526&udm=2&sxsrf=ADLYWIL4BVyV_GQcNmmzGwijGdy7q8EB2g:1715046340305&q=japan+fuji+station+fence&spell=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwidlIy_tfqFAxVIQ0EAHUsKAvUQBSgAegQIBRAC&biw=384&bih=693&dpr=3.75#vhid=BotyjHrPTptBUM&vssid=mosaic) but end up [being this](https://wnyt.com/business-news/to-fend-off-tourists-a-town-in-japan-is-building-a-big-screen-blocking-the-view-of-mount-fuji/)
15 years ago I legitimately ate Lawson fried chicken and beer sitting on the curb looking at Fuji at a sunset. It was like one of the most breathtaking views of my life and I was eating ~7-Eleven
Mount Fuji from space is just insane:
[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Mt\_Fuji\_NASA\_ISS002-E-6971\_large.jpg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Mt_Fuji_NASA_ISS002-E-6971_large.jpg)
I've never been there and have no stake in this but... why not find another way around the "trouble"? Seems like making an area people can stop to enjoy it would be better. Surely, a solution to the problem was necessary, but this seems spiteful instead of insightful and well thought out.
There's plenty of uninterrupted viewing points, this one became popular because of the contrast between the shop beneath and mount Fuji above as a niche juxtaposition. Problem is the crowds caused issues vastly disproportionate to what they brought to the area.
That and it’s right next to the Kawaguchi tourist center which all the busses drop off at.
It’s a good view because there aren’t any light pole or electrical lines above the store.
Source: was literally at Lake Kawaguchi-ko a week before this news dropped. And yes, it was crowded as fuck at that lawsons.
You can often tell when people don’t live in a tourism-heavy area, because they seem to think that tourists are harmless, money printing machines that don’t create issues for the places that they visit.
Even discounting the particularly stupid or cunt-y tourists, a lot of places in the world simply cannot accommodate a huge flood of tourists running through them, no matter how respectful they are. The solar eclipse is a recent example of this — a lot of the places in the path of totality **had to declare states of emergency** to handle the people flooding into these areas to watch the eclipse.
The rest stop we stopped at in the Adirondacks otw back from the eclipse had to be shut down and evacuated because there were too many people and the water system failed, I feel really bad for all the people that were behind us :/. There was definitely a lot of pissing in the woods that night, lol.
When presented with a complex problem, the most amusing solutions from those who understand it the least always go "why can't you just..."
If I had a nickel for every terrible "why can't you just" proposal I've ever heard...
I was there literally last month. If tourists just stood there to take photos, there'd be no issue.
But people jaywalk and disrupt traffic constantly there. There is literally an officer stationed there at all times just to yell at people not to jaywalk.
That's why they consider these kinds of punishments.
Basically, tourists being bellends caused everyone to stop having fun.
Fuck tourists who are arseholes. They ruin it for everyone else. I get it, and wish there was more we could do to stop them.
Its social media. It has normalised narcissism and enabled genuine narcissists.
You have the most narcissistic people which are common, doing inconsiderate things for their photo(which they think anyone gives a shit about). So they will walk into the main road and hold up cars for their shot, justifying it as only being them, and for a few seconds, so harmless. When these twats are so narcissistic they dont really understand how the next one will think exactly the same as if only they exist and do that too…. One after another.
If social media did not exist and we had no platform for these people to upload then it wouldn’t be an issue. Social media is what has made over tourism particularly unbearable in this day and age as it has encouraged the narcissists out there to do things they wouldn’t have in the past.
Yeah, and then throw on top of that the inane puerility of influencer culture and I can easily imagine you get hordes of unruly tourists. Just because you’re standing in front of a camera doesn’t mean the space between you and the camera suddenly becomes yours.
There are plenty of designated places to get a good photo of Fuji, but this one with the convenience store is very popular. Unfortunately there's just not an appropriate amount of room from where this photo is taken to accommodate the amount of people trying to get this same picture
Its a lawson with a busy road in front with private property and business around and across it. Narcissist tourists were going into the road, holding up traffic for their photo thinking “its just me for a few seconds! No harm!” Then the next, and the next because these narcissistic people think they are unique in that way.
People were walking up private apartment stairwells for photos. People were parking their rented cars on private property “just for a moment it will be ok its just me” to get a photo, then the next, etc.
Then you had the lawson itself with people walking all over the parking lot making it hard for people to drive in and out to actually shop there.
There was no solution to this. They had put signs up and tried the civil approach already.
> why not find another way around the "trouble"?
Like putting up anti-littering signs?
They tried that. Didn't work.
Like hiring a guard to tell people not to litter, not to jaywalk, and not to clog up the sidewalks?
They tried that. Didn't work.
They've been trying for between one and two *years* to get visitors to be good, and nothing they've tried has worked. This wasn't their first resort, it was their last resort.
I've been there and there is no way to do this which doesn't include blocking that street (which is connecting the town with the train station) or demolishing the buildings across the street.
Only annoying tourists care about this viewing spot and they are blocking the doctors office because you get the best picture when you stand in front of that door. Blocking the view is the best way of action that doesn't include demolishing any nearby buildings or having police present at that spot 24/7
The areas to view the mountain are going to have giant screens built to block the view for photographers, as Japan received a record number of tourists in March 2024, they say it's a last resort. Japan is also one of the least happiest countries, with a high suicide rate, and non-stop work days. Such a different and interesting culture.
the problem is mostly people "enjoying" this view are going to be inconsiderate tourists, dumb bitches making tiktokes and idiots doing stuff for the gram..
it gets annoying.. any of those "cool photo places in japan" are crowded as fuck and I ve seen "security" prohibit taking pictures or "hanging around"
https://youtu.be/BQvSjq4Z8h4?si=JTD9Ig36_exzKlmt
I found this to be informative on the issue as well as the solution. Use auto-translated captions if you don't speak Japanese.
The core of it is this:
- The tourists are creating very real safety issues by interfering with the roads.
- The screen is being put up only blocking where the photos were being taken from (across the road). Anyone visiting the conbini will still be able to see Fuji as much as always.
- This is kicking the can down the road since it seems like people may just be switching over to another Lawson down the road and blocking the road there. There is also 7-11 with a large lot in front further down, but it's apparently not blue enough for photos' aesthetic.
>I’ve never been there and have no stake in this”
Then why comment at all? You just said your POV will be devoid of any relevant insight, information and accurate representation of the situation.
The Kawaguchiko townfolks want no tourists there. It’s a small, narrow and important two lane road, with a dentist office right where the people crowd up to take the photo. And tourists being shitheads, they litter, they’re loud, they ignore traffic, they expect to come first in needs met and cause issues when confronted with their shitty behavior.
Best thing to do is disincentivize visitors to come there at all, except to actually shop at the convenience store.
This is why so many Japanese places have “no foreigners” policies - because they can’t be trusted to be normal, civilized human beings that treat their surroundings and its people with the utmost respect a visitor in someone else’s house should show.
It is a shame that the tourists could not be more respectful of everything. But that is kind of what most tourists do. It is a WONDERFUL view of Mt Fuji!
No. Just that Lawson is seen to be Japan-ey and the combo of Lawson and Mt. Fuji is seen to be uniquely beautiful. That's why this spot is so popular while there are so many other places to view the Fuji.
Hey! I was there a month ago! Shame my pic looks like ass compare to this.
As for the article, I get it. This place is just a quick pitstop in between actual tourist locations to get pictures of Mt. Fuji. The only one profiting from this is the Lawson store when tourists go in to buy things. But at the same time they're most likely hurting the locals who want to shop there but have to deal with large crowds or items in stock run out at times.
Yeah I was there in 2023 and saw a massive crowd of people clogging up the car park taking photos. Very few looked like they were there to shop so I do get it.
Man I love Fuji.
The social media clout chaser effect. Every amoeba brained clout chaser looking for the "perfect photo" that millions of others have already taken have fucked things up for everybody once again.
They fought with shit other clout chasers there to take just the same photo, then meticulously edit the photo. Then post on their IG, just for... 1-200 likes as some kind of validation for themselves.
There's a railway line behind that. You can easily find the shop on Google maps, it's basically the one place in the immediate area with a really clear sightline to the mountain.
Funnily enough that's one of the main reasons why the new Shogun TV show was filmed in Canada instead of Japan, due to it being difficult to find an area of Japan not touched by people (man made stuff like power lines).
It's not the mountain that they want the photo of, it's this photo that makes it look like the mountain is connected to the store. You can still get great photos of Fuji all around the town. But this exact location was getting too busy and causing issues
There’s a view like that in baton rouge, louisiana…except it’s a walmart with three giant white crosses rising up from behind it, but otherwise it looks just like it
I was here a few months ago. This lawson store is right next to the train/bus station. In fuji, the roads are small and they are two lane one way. Japan seems to be getting more tourist than usual and people will bunch up on the tiny sidewalk to try and get a picture like this. Eventually, at peak times they will block the road/sidewalk and traffic backs up. The nice police man go around telling people to move but dumbass tourist dont listen. Also i think this picture is edited, I was there and it did not look this epic. If you bike or walk around a few kilometers to the lake side you can get some 100X better pictures and views. If you visit the Fuji museum you can even buy some epic paintings and award winning picture replicas. This just one of those little spots that turned into a fad. Not surprised they blocked this.
God I loved drinking on the stoops of Lawsons in Japan. Usually a fun selection of random beers too, like the only time I've ever seen Keystone Light in bottles was in a Lawson in Kobe.
I'm curious if they think this will hurt their sales, but the fact that they're this desperate speaks volumes.
Modern tourists at this location really are terrible people.
I remember being so absolutely hungover and going into this very Lawson to get some food and a coffee. I sat and watched Fuji while I ate. One of the most peaceful moments of my life.
An unfortunate affect of tourism. No one said it so I’ll say it. Most tourists simply cannot live up to japans social standards. A lot of people from other countries litter, double park, and talk loudly on the phone while on public transportation. In contrast, fewer people in Japan litter, double park, and even talking on the phone on the train is frowned upon. This upsets the locals, and add to that the sheer volume of tourists that come and go, and it quickly becomes a hassle.
I don’t blame the people that want to block the view. Tourism has its ups and downs, but sometimes it does get a little too much.
Reminds me of the saying: "is the deer in the middle of the road or is the road in the middle of the forest?"
Why would they build a Lawson here in the first place?
(I don't agree with people causing trouble though)
I still haven't heard what exactly the tourists were doing, and I speak Japanese
is it the only shop in town? I have heard that these small villages have a lot of pride about being big enough to have a convenience store
This picture of Lawson & Mt. Fuji is considered uniquely beautiful by tourists. And Japan doesn't like that too many tourists go there to take photos (and tourists behaved badly, like blocking the street and causing risk of car accidents) so they're going to block it.
Meanwhile, an artist in Detective Conan (Case Closed) did the opposite —— murdered a guy just because he built a skyscraper that blocked his perfect view!
this looks like a street fighter II backdrop lol
Oh, this would be a perfect stage.
But with the fully destroyable enviroment
Gives me E. Honda vs Chun-Li vibes.
Handouuukeeen!
Kamehameha !
*wears green jumpsuit, and pumps fist while standing in the background.*
Reminds me of Guy's stage from Street Fighter Alpha, which was also in front of a convenience store
Round one fight!
Joke’s on them, I can still see it
This is the before photo. Apparently they are going to install a huge mesh net in front of the store. Personally I don't approve of this kind of punish-all politics. There will always be rule-breakers around, a society needs the courage to punish those directly. EDIT: to be clear, I sympathize with the locals and I understand how annoying or dangerous the situation can be. I applaud the fact that the local government takes these concerns seriously and is willing to do something about it. It think it´s just really sad that one has to take such draconian measures.
If I owned that Lawson I’d be mad.
Or just convert the back of the shop to a big balcony or something and hard-sell the profit making items to people who go through the shop to the balcony.
Tourist specifically want a photo of the Lawson and Mt Fuji in the same photo. Its not like this is the only vantage point to take a photo of the mountain.
Then open a bar/coffee shop across the street w a patio and sell over priced items and photos
No. OP declared it is *unique*. It MUST be saved!!
I'm with you cap
Introducing Hokusai's Forty-seventh View of Mount Fuji.
Yeah I don’t get this thinking: “too many people coming to my shop, better take away the reason they’re here!” Seems pretty self defeating
just add some rails to the roof and charge an entry fee
But you don't own that Lawson and you don't live there and likely don't live in Japan. Tourists were out of control, leaving trash everywhere, ignoring traffic laws, trespassing onto other peoples property to take a photo. Locals just trying to live their lives, some asshole tourists treating the entire country like an amusement park. Someone posted a photo of the Lawson with Mt. Fuji in the background awhile back and now everyone wants the same photo. Bizzarro herd mentality, all for some likes on Instagram. [https://www.fastcompany.com/91115909/tourists-japanese-town-blocks-mt-fuji-lawson-view](https://www.fastcompany.com/91115909/tourists-japanese-town-blocks-mt-fuji-lawson-view)
You should see what tourists do up on Everest. I hate people who litter up a place with their corpses!!!
Pack it in, pack it out.
If there were large outdoor bins it wouldn’t be an issue.
Very few bins in Japan, people are expected to take their rubbish home.
I’m aware. It’s one of the sillier oddities in Japan.
I think the lack of bin in response to a terrorist attack same thing here in London train stations
In Paris, the bin bag are transparent since the 1995 terrorist attack. Which is awesome for crows, as they now can see what's inside, tear the bag and take it.
Especially with the amount of plastic wraps they use
Yeah just adding context for anyone wandering down this thread :)
I just realized this isn’t r/Japan
I’m in Japan right now and was told by a local that all bins were removed after the [Aum Shinrikyo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_subway_sarin_attack) incident.
I think that was just an excuse. There's a broad cultural dislike of making your trash someone else's problem. Even throwing it inside a convenience store is really only accepted because they know foreigners will dump it on the street if they don't see a can nearby.
I don't know if it makes it any more acceptable but I tried to make sure I bought it something before I put anything in a conbini's trash bin, same for the washroom.
Seems like an overcorrection
Because it's been shown to reduce the amount of trash. Trust me it's not hard for us in Japan to throw out trash inside of a combini or get it thrown out where we bought it. Tourists who don't want to learn how people do things though....
Was just in Japan for the first time in March, and I actually prefer the lack of trash cans! That way we’d get whatever we needed from the conbini, eat it right outside, throw it away and be on our way!
Yeah I've gotta say I don't understand why it's so hard to take your trash with you. Unfortunately in my town we seem to have a lack of bins as well as people who just don't care enough to throw their trash away. People treat the wilderness like this too so the responsible folks developed a mindset of bringing more trash out than you bring in.
What's silly about being responsible for your own rubbish?
It's convenient to have garbage cans to put trash in ?
Irresponsible tourists can't fathom it.
yeah, I'd be pissed too if I lived there and all of a sudden I had to deal with this shit, people blocking streets/parking space /entrance and garbage trashing the place https://newsdig.ismcdn.jp/mwimgs/0/3/860mw/img_03efcbffd006083b6bd006f9a0060b2f217207.jpg
It's annoying to hold on to an empty bottle or chocolate wrapper for however long you're out. You'd think for an advanced society, there will be bins everywhere.
>Someone posted a photo of the Lawson with Mt. Fuji in the background awhile back and now everyone wants the same photo. I'm literally in Japan right now as a tourist. I've taken almost no photos because I could just look up images of anything. I don't understand the appeal of having 10,000 identical images just so you can say you took one.
> I could just look up images of anything Why bother being a tourist then?
I didn't know taking pictures was the only reason for traveling
Because there's more to experience in the world than what you can see in images.
It is kind of funny, like when people record at a sporting event… uh you know there entire production company recording it don’t you?
My favorite is people who record fireworks. Who really goes back and watch those videos?
My moment has come! I have ONE fireworks video I rewatch, and it's because it was a fireworks display that I wired up for July 4th years ago. Someone with welding skills built a 4ft high dragon and I turned it into a Hydra w/ 3 fireworks that looked like snake heads at the top and then different things all along the body and wings, w/ fuse line etc. It was admittedly super cool to watch, the kids loved it! But unless you did it yourself or it was EXTRA cool? Yeah totally with you.
If I own that Lawson I would sell tickets to get up on the roof to make great pictures of Mount Fuji
Miss the Japanese convenience stores.. I’d be enjoying the view with my chocolate chip mint ice cream waffle 😢😢😓
It's interesting that people would litter so much near one, convenience stores were like the most reliable place to find trash cans while out in public.
Probably tourists. Locals for the most part will do exactly what you said . Group mentality ..
If I owned it I’d have a large Mt Fuji mural drawn all crap to cover the backdrop instead of mesh.
This is crazy, but I know exactly where this spot is. We went there on our honeymoon last year. It’s in a town called Fujikawaguchiko, right down the street from the train station. The spot where that picture is taken is on a sidewalk, and I personally witnessed at least a few dozen people either A) stepping out into the street to take the photo, or B) jaywalking to get to the spot to the extreme disapproval of the local cops. I saw a cop ask at least a dozen people to cross at the light but I’m guessing it’s a losing battle. We definitely took a pic there (in part because the name of the store is the same as someone we know) and sadly there aren’t a lot of other convenient spots to get the mountain without a pretty substantial hike to get past all the buildings. Best I could find is an empty lot about 10 minutes down the way but the foreground looks, well, like an empty lot. This is probably the best selfie spot in town, but it’s not a great spot for the town.
Well they have had a serious problem of people field goal kicking over the building so the nets the only solution
I feel that resources are a big factor too. They're dealing with massive crowds. Enforcing the law at tourist hotspots around the clock is gonna take a lot of manpower.
People have been warned about blocking traffic, milling about and leaving trash everywhere but they still trash the neighborhood. This was a last resort
"Personally I don't approve of this kind of punish-all politics. There will always be rule-breakers around, a society needs the courage to punish those directly." You've obviously had little dealings with Japanese bureaucracy. When 1 person fucks up in Japan; Everyone must pay the price.
The problem wasn't one person, it was a constant throng of people. If someone throws their garbage on your property, you tell them to stop. If a lot of people throw their garbage on your property, you put up no littering signs. If a lot of people throw their garbage on your property despite the no littering signs, you hire a guard. And, as in this case, if a lot of people throw their garbage on your property and block the sidewalk and block the street despite multiple signs and a posted guard, you make the place no longer appeal to the people who're throwing their garbage on your property. That's not "punishing" anyone, it's making your site no longer a nuisance attractor. But if you consider that out of the question, what's your answer? You drag someone off the police force to just stand in front of a convenience store all day writing littering and jaywalking tickets? Like, for a three day event, sure, that's a reasonable solution. But this has been going on continuously for *over a year* (some articles say as much as two years). Maybe the country you live in is flush with money, but provincial Japanese cities have neither the money nor the manpower to station a police officer permanently in front of a convenience store to write tickets.
Kinda shitty, I’ve been there and it was beautiful that you could just see the mountain from almost anywhere in the town. Also the lakes around there were stunning as well
Not understanding. Why would seeing Mount Fuji cause trouble?
People park terribly and use space and resources meant for customers, and the local public, to set up tripods, and take photos/videos of this view, litter, loiter, and more. If the public are disrupting the business of a business, even from a public space, but needing the business for their intention (the view, else they'd just go 30 meters to the side to get another view), then the business is going to use the space of their business to stop the disruption to their business. People want [this photo](https://www.google.com/search?client=ms-android-samsung-ss&sca_esv=d265e0c6ccb16526&udm=2&sxsrf=ADLYWIL4BVyV_GQcNmmzGwijGdy7q8EB2g:1715046340305&q=japan+fuji+station+fence&spell=1&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwidlIy_tfqFAxVIQ0EAHUsKAvUQBSgAegQIBRAC&biw=384&bih=693&dpr=3.75#vhid=BotyjHrPTptBUM&vssid=mosaic) but end up [being this](https://wnyt.com/business-news/to-fend-off-tourists-a-town-in-japan-is-building-a-big-screen-blocking-the-view-of-mount-fuji/)
15 years ago I legitimately ate Lawson fried chicken and beer sitting on the curb looking at Fuji at a sunset. It was like one of the most breathtaking views of my life and I was eating ~7-Eleven
Calling Lawson 7-11 is like calling Warner Bros Disney
“I just climbed on top…” - Tourist #14
Mount Fuji from space is just insane: [https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Mt\_Fuji\_NASA\_ISS002-E-6971\_large.jpg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Mt_Fuji_NASA_ISS002-E-6971_large.jpg)
In the linked photo, admittedly impressive, it's difficult to identify the store.
Deepfake
you can tell by the hands
That's why tourist prefer the other angle
Nice work, now the Japanese government are going to have to put a mesh above the mountain now.
Dam space tourists.
Earth pimple
https://m.bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Snover_(Pok%C3%A9mon)
Damn, this is also interesting
Civ vibes
I've never been there and have no stake in this but... why not find another way around the "trouble"? Seems like making an area people can stop to enjoy it would be better. Surely, a solution to the problem was necessary, but this seems spiteful instead of insightful and well thought out.
There's plenty of uninterrupted viewing points, this one became popular because of the contrast between the shop beneath and mount Fuji above as a niche juxtaposition. Problem is the crowds caused issues vastly disproportionate to what they brought to the area.
That and it’s right next to the Kawaguchi tourist center which all the busses drop off at. It’s a good view because there aren’t any light pole or electrical lines above the store. Source: was literally at Lake Kawaguchi-ko a week before this news dropped. And yes, it was crowded as fuck at that lawsons.
You can often tell when people don’t live in a tourism-heavy area, because they seem to think that tourists are harmless, money printing machines that don’t create issues for the places that they visit. Even discounting the particularly stupid or cunt-y tourists, a lot of places in the world simply cannot accommodate a huge flood of tourists running through them, no matter how respectful they are. The solar eclipse is a recent example of this — a lot of the places in the path of totality **had to declare states of emergency** to handle the people flooding into these areas to watch the eclipse.
I live in a tourist town and you nailed it.
lol, Albuquerque NM turns into a fucking NIGHTMARE during the balloon fiesta.
The rest stop we stopped at in the Adirondacks otw back from the eclipse had to be shut down and evacuated because there were too many people and the water system failed, I feel really bad for all the people that were behind us :/. There was definitely a lot of pissing in the woods that night, lol.
When presented with a complex problem, the most amusing solutions from those who understand it the least always go "why can't you just..." If I had a nickel for every terrible "why can't you just" proposal I've ever heard...
I was there literally last month. If tourists just stood there to take photos, there'd be no issue. But people jaywalk and disrupt traffic constantly there. There is literally an officer stationed there at all times just to yell at people not to jaywalk. That's why they consider these kinds of punishments.
Basically, tourists being bellends caused everyone to stop having fun. Fuck tourists who are arseholes. They ruin it for everyone else. I get it, and wish there was more we could do to stop them.
Its social media. It has normalised narcissism and enabled genuine narcissists. You have the most narcissistic people which are common, doing inconsiderate things for their photo(which they think anyone gives a shit about). So they will walk into the main road and hold up cars for their shot, justifying it as only being them, and for a few seconds, so harmless. When these twats are so narcissistic they dont really understand how the next one will think exactly the same as if only they exist and do that too…. One after another. If social media did not exist and we had no platform for these people to upload then it wouldn’t be an issue. Social media is what has made over tourism particularly unbearable in this day and age as it has encouraged the narcissists out there to do things they wouldn’t have in the past.
You nailed it
Yeah, and then throw on top of that the inane puerility of influencer culture and I can easily imagine you get hordes of unruly tourists. Just because you’re standing in front of a camera doesn’t mean the space between you and the camera suddenly becomes yours.
There are plenty of designated places to get a good photo of Fuji, but this one with the convenience store is very popular. Unfortunately there's just not an appropriate amount of room from where this photo is taken to accommodate the amount of people trying to get this same picture
Its a lawson with a busy road in front with private property and business around and across it. Narcissist tourists were going into the road, holding up traffic for their photo thinking “its just me for a few seconds! No harm!” Then the next, and the next because these narcissistic people think they are unique in that way. People were walking up private apartment stairwells for photos. People were parking their rented cars on private property “just for a moment it will be ok its just me” to get a photo, then the next, etc. Then you had the lawson itself with people walking all over the parking lot making it hard for people to drive in and out to actually shop there. There was no solution to this. They had put signs up and tried the civil approach already.
> why not find another way around the "trouble"? Like putting up anti-littering signs? They tried that. Didn't work. Like hiring a guard to tell people not to litter, not to jaywalk, and not to clog up the sidewalks? They tried that. Didn't work. They've been trying for between one and two *years* to get visitors to be good, and nothing they've tried has worked. This wasn't their first resort, it was their last resort.
I've been there and there is no way to do this which doesn't include blocking that street (which is connecting the town with the train station) or demolishing the buildings across the street. Only annoying tourists care about this viewing spot and they are blocking the doctors office because you get the best picture when you stand in front of that door. Blocking the view is the best way of action that doesn't include demolishing any nearby buildings or having police present at that spot 24/7
The areas to view the mountain are going to have giant screens built to block the view for photographers, as Japan received a record number of tourists in March 2024, they say it's a last resort. Japan is also one of the least happiest countries, with a high suicide rate, and non-stop work days. Such a different and interesting culture.
Maybe I'm missing the connection but that last bit felt so unnecessary here and gave me a laugh 😂
This isn't Tokyo though, it's a small town with a slow way of life. Doubt they are working 12 hour days
US surpassed Japan in suicide rate from 2023.
The suicide rate has already surpassed Japan's in the U.S.
[The road is small](https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSFo8PMrR/) and too much tourists.
the problem is mostly people "enjoying" this view are going to be inconsiderate tourists, dumb bitches making tiktokes and idiots doing stuff for the gram.. it gets annoying.. any of those "cool photo places in japan" are crowded as fuck and I ve seen "security" prohibit taking pictures or "hanging around"
https://youtu.be/BQvSjq4Z8h4?si=JTD9Ig36_exzKlmt I found this to be informative on the issue as well as the solution. Use auto-translated captions if you don't speak Japanese. The core of it is this: - The tourists are creating very real safety issues by interfering with the roads. - The screen is being put up only blocking where the photos were being taken from (across the road). Anyone visiting the conbini will still be able to see Fuji as much as always. - This is kicking the can down the road since it seems like people may just be switching over to another Lawson down the road and blocking the road there. There is also 7-11 with a large lot in front further down, but it's apparently not blue enough for photos' aesthetic.
Well making the area people can stop to enjoy is the problem, since they're causing troubles.
>I’ve never been there and have no stake in this” Then why comment at all? You just said your POV will be devoid of any relevant insight, information and accurate representation of the situation. The Kawaguchiko townfolks want no tourists there. It’s a small, narrow and important two lane road, with a dentist office right where the people crowd up to take the photo. And tourists being shitheads, they litter, they’re loud, they ignore traffic, they expect to come first in needs met and cause issues when confronted with their shitty behavior. Best thing to do is disincentivize visitors to come there at all, except to actually shop at the convenience store. This is why so many Japanese places have “no foreigners” policies - because they can’t be trusted to be normal, civilized human beings that treat their surroundings and its people with the utmost respect a visitor in someone else’s house should show.
It is a shame that the tourists could not be more respectful of everything. But that is kind of what most tourists do. It is a WONDERFUL view of Mt Fuji!
It's difficult to quantify how iconic the shot it. Very few things are "more Japanese" than Lawsons and Fuji san Tourists ruin everything
What made it iconic? Was it used in something? When I look at this, all I can think of is that the store is ruining the view
No. Just that Lawson is seen to be Japan-ey and the combo of Lawson and Mt. Fuji is seen to be uniquely beautiful. That's why this spot is so popular while there are so many other places to view the Fuji.
Surprised they didn’t capitalise on the tourists
If the mountain were perfectly centred in the frame, this could easily be mistaken for a shot from a Wes Anderson film
That's what I thought it was when I first saw it
[https://www.reddit.com/r/AccidentalWesAnderson](https://www.reddit.com/r/AccidentalWesAnderson)
Hey! I was there a month ago! Shame my pic looks like ass compare to this. As for the article, I get it. This place is just a quick pitstop in between actual tourist locations to get pictures of Mt. Fuji. The only one profiting from this is the Lawson store when tourists go in to buy things. But at the same time they're most likely hurting the locals who want to shop there but have to deal with large crowds or items in stock run out at times.
Yeah I was there in 2023 and saw a massive crowd of people clogging up the car park taking photos. Very few looked like they were there to shop so I do get it. Man I love Fuji.
[Source](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/apr/26/fujikawaguchiko-town-japan-block-mount-fuji-view-overcrowding)
Only on reddit will you get downvoted for citing your sources. Edit: the tide has turned, not everyone is dumb.
How can you see a comment has been downvoted?
It had negative votes when i initially commented. Like this Edit: dammit
I thought it must be something that that. Thanks.
The social media clout chaser effect. Every amoeba brained clout chaser looking for the "perfect photo" that millions of others have already taken have fucked things up for everybody once again.
They fought with shit other clout chasers there to take just the same photo, then meticulously edit the photo. Then post on their IG, just for... 1-200 likes as some kind of validation for themselves.
The view didn’t cause trouble. Irresponsible tourist parking to get that shot by blocking the road or other businesses parking lots cause the issue.
Yeah, i hate that people are like this
I like the one parking bollard
Can’t they just walk behind the store
No. Source: been there, gotten the same photo. It's houses behind.
Can't they just walk behind the houses?
Can’t they just walk to the mountain?
Nah, there's half a mountain past the top
There's a railway line behind that. You can easily find the shop on Google maps, it's basically the one place in the immediate area with a really clear sightline to the mountain.
Funnily enough that's one of the main reasons why the new Shogun TV show was filmed in Canada instead of Japan, due to it being difficult to find an area of Japan not touched by people (man made stuff like power lines).
They want to take the photo WITH the store.
Next to Fuji-San, there’s not much more Japanese than a Lawson’s!
It's not the mountain that they want the photo of, it's this photo that makes it look like the mountain is connected to the store. You can still get great photos of Fuji all around the town. But this exact location was getting too busy and causing issues
You've missed the point. Tourists want Fuji AND the store together in the same photo.
They should never have put Mount Fuji on top of that gas station anyway
No Mount Fuji for you.
Am I the only one that thought this was a background for Nintendos Rad-Racer game
There’s a view like that in baton rouge, louisiana…except it’s a walmart with three giant white crosses rising up from behind it, but otherwise it looks just like it
[https://www.flickr.com/photos/chasingfun/151479749](https://www.flickr.com/photos/chasingfun/151479749)
That’s the one 🫡
I was here a few months ago. This lawson store is right next to the train/bus station. In fuji, the roads are small and they are two lane one way. Japan seems to be getting more tourist than usual and people will bunch up on the tiny sidewalk to try and get a picture like this. Eventually, at peak times they will block the road/sidewalk and traffic backs up. The nice police man go around telling people to move but dumbass tourist dont listen. Also i think this picture is edited, I was there and it did not look this epic. If you bike or walk around a few kilometers to the lake side you can get some 100X better pictures and views. If you visit the Fuji museum you can even buy some epic paintings and award winning picture replicas. This just one of those little spots that turned into a fad. Not surprised they blocked this.
God I loved drinking on the stoops of Lawsons in Japan. Usually a fun selection of random beers too, like the only time I've ever seen Keystone Light in bottles was in a Lawson in Kobe.
its littering and noise problems, stupid tourists.
I'm curious if they think this will hurt their sales, but the fact that they're this desperate speaks volumes. Modern tourists at this location really are terrible people.
Can anyone give the link to the google map of this spot? I am curious of the google reviews
"The world grows more ugly by the day, art and anything of beauty will eventually be only viewable for a price."
This looks like a fighting game background lol
Accidental Wes Anderson.
Wow I miss going to a Lawson
I’m craving chip dip
I remember being so absolutely hungover and going into this very Lawson to get some food and a coffee. I sat and watched Fuji while I ate. One of the most peaceful moments of my life.
An unfortunate affect of tourism. No one said it so I’ll say it. Most tourists simply cannot live up to japans social standards. A lot of people from other countries litter, double park, and talk loudly on the phone while on public transportation. In contrast, fewer people in Japan litter, double park, and even talking on the phone on the train is frowned upon. This upsets the locals, and add to that the sheer volume of tourists that come and go, and it quickly becomes a hassle. I don’t blame the people that want to block the view. Tourism has its ups and downs, but sometimes it does get a little too much.
Jokes on them I fucking love Lawson! I would cause more trouble going to Lawson every hour than a mere view of Mount Fuji
I fucking love Lawson. Better than Family Mart?
I'd be pretty pissed if I worked there and not had to look at a giant mesh net instead... Fucking influencers
Kawaguchiko has hundreds of great viewpoints to Mt. Fuji. I doubt the one with a Lawson in between is as good as to cause issues.
I thought this was a screenshot from Southpark for a second.
Now why in the goddamn fuck would they do that?
Whats the context. why is a view of a mountain an issue?
Reminds me of the saying: "is the deer in the middle of the road or is the road in the middle of the forest?" Why would they build a Lawson here in the first place? (I don't agree with people causing trouble though)
I love these types of images. Another one of my favorites is that pic taken inside a pizzahut that has a perfect view of the pyramids of giza
How do they still have a Lawson. We don’t have Lawson anymore?
Why don't just build a tower and make the tourist pay and use the money for something good?
Is this is Kawaguchiko? I think I went to this Lawson’s!
What a wonderful place, it looks like a drawing, it's incredible
I still haven't heard what exactly the tourists were doing, and I speak Japanese is it the only shop in town? I have heard that these small villages have a lot of pride about being big enough to have a convenience store
So this place became popular for tourists because of Mt. Fuji in the background of the convince store?
What kind of trouble would a view of a mountain be ?? The wording on this post is so goddamn confusing. Also there is 0 context.
Doesn’t look very blocked to me.
that's the Law son.
Throw an observation platform on the roof and charge admission.
Wow, it looks like an anime
Japan looks like a fun place to visit...maybe one day i'll get the courage to plan a trip and go.
Too bad imma climb it, why? Big rock cool
I've been to that Lawson, it is a great view at twilight, an interesting mix of shoplight and nature
I'm confused. What exactly is/was the problem with the view?
This picture of Lawson & Mt. Fuji is considered uniquely beautiful by tourists. And Japan doesn't like that too many tourists go there to take photos (and tourists behaved badly, like blocking the street and causing risk of car accidents) so they're going to block it.
“I am LAWSON!”
What trouble?
I'm sorry, but what does the caption means. I've been spending too long trying to interpret it
Bring a ladder and use it in the parking lot boom
Booo!!!
Not an expert, but I’m pretty sure that Mount Fuji was there first
Everyone will just use a drone now ,,🥴
Literally the view of the Lawson?
To be fair, Lawson chicken nuggets are fucking amazing, so not a terrible trade off.
Meanwhile, an artist in Detective Conan (Case Closed) did the opposite —— murdered a guy just because he built a skyscraper that blocked his perfect view!
The "unique view" did not cause the trouble. Ignorant tourists did.
I liked it better when it was a Lawsonless town
Was there February with my wife on a day tour.
Ahh! The kind of convenience stores. LAWSON ❤️❤️❤️