Another barrier to Mount Fuji photo taking is going up as tourists disturb residents

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Despite its name, the structure is an ordinary bridge over a river, with a narrow pavement separated from the road by a waist-high concrete wall.

A foreign tourist poses for a photo in front of the Lawson Kawaguchiko Ekimae convenience store, which was famous for its views of Mount Fuji before a screen was put up there last month. Photo: EPA

But people have been jaywalking across the road to reach a vacant area between the two lanes of traffic, says Haruhito Yoshizaki, a tourism official in Fuji.

There, they pose for photos, twirl for videos or just chill out – some even take their suitcases with them.

Foreign tourists take pictures of Mount Fuji at the Lawson Fujikawaguchiko Ekimae convenience store in May, 2024 – before a black screen was erected there to obscure the famous view. Photo: EPA

To deter this risky behaviour, authorities have already put up low metal scaffolding and signs telling people to keep away from the stretch of tarmac. Next, authorities say they plan to erect a 1.8 metre (6 feet) high metal mesh fence around the area by the end of June.

Residents “welcome visitors as long as basic rules are observed”, Yoshizaki says, adding the move is meant to ease the “frustration of local residents”.

“Maybe we can build a sightseeing course” instead to encourage more considerate exploration, he adds.

A pedestrian staircase to the bridge also appears in countless photos on Instagram and other platforms, and in wedding pictures – because, from a certain angle, it appears to lead to Mount Fuji.

Residents have also grumbled about tourists parking illegally in the quiet neighbourhood, or shouting to one another when taking wide shots from afar.

The Dream Bridge has existed for about a decade but photo-hungry visitors began to congregate there in November, Yoshizaki says.

Record numbers of overseas tourists are coming to Japan, and as photos taken at the spot spread on social media, the crowds have grown sharply in recent weeks.

This week, the city set up a parking area and a bathroom facility at the bridge to ease the burden on locals.

A worker installs a black net at the Lawson Kawaguchiko Ekimae convenience store in Fujikawaguchiko to obscure the view of Mount Fuji and deter photography. Photo: EPA

Meanwhile, the nearby town of Fujikawaguchiko plans to rebuild a black mesh barrier, already in place next to the convenience store, with stronger material.

Several small holes have been poked in the screen, which is meant to stop people littering, trespassing and breaking traffic rules.

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