Guards at Funamizaka slope in Otaru will help regulate visitor flow to popular tourist spot featured in 1995 Japanese film ‘Love Letter’

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A Japanese city has hired security guards to oversee a scenic vista after it became inundated with tourists.

The Government was sent to administer the overflow of tourists the New Year’s lunar holidays on Funamizaka’s slope in Otaru of the Hokkaido Prefecture. The place, presented in the love letter of the 1995 Japanese film, is popular among tourists for their sea view.

A Chinese tourist hit an exercise and killed while taking photos on the slopes near the previous slope this month. Her husband said she was looking to photograph a prominent place in Chinese cities in 2015 Love and did not realize the approximate exercise.

There have been a growing number of complaints by residents about visitors blocking roads and trespassing on private property. “The road is lined with houses and has heavy traffic. Tourists standing on the street or walking side by side often make it impossible for vehicles to pass. The impact on residents has been significant and this fiscal year has been particularly severe,” a city official told the Mainichi Shimbun.

On Tuesday, the guards were parked in 3 places with symptoms in English, Chinese and Korean urging visitors to transfer personal assets or take photos in the middle of the road, Kyodo News reported.

The guards will remain deployed until the end of March and local police will step up patrols in the area.

“People even entered a personal asset the authorization to take photos,” the media of 80 years old -old, 80 years old -dold.

Japan welcomed a record of 36 million tourists in 2024, according to official figures published this month. Etaru saw more than 90,000 foreign tourists remain in the city in the first part of fiscal year 2024, the highest number since the records began in 1997, local officials said, said local officials, local officials said, said local officials, they said local officials. .

The record surge in tourists has been attributed in major part to a weaker yen which has made Japan more attractive to international visitors. The soaring numbers, however, have sparked concerns about “overtourism” at popular destinations, leading to challenges in managing visitor flow and preserving local environments.

Last year, the Japan Tourism Agency introduced a label, a series of rules that promote a greater habit of tourists, such as the Gentile and “taking care of their paths. “

It also produced 22 pictograms designed to be reproducible without problems for hotels, guest houses and local establishments, with messages such as “prohibited selfie sticks. “

The Japanese government has established the ambitious purpose of attracting 60 million visitors year until 2030.

Meanwhile, after the death of Chinese tourist near the Asari station, Hokkaido Railway Co plans to raise protection ads in English and Chinese to his trains.

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