With overseas tourist numbers hitting record highs, Japan is considering charging foreigners up to six times the entrance fees to famous World Heritage sites.
Japan has become a particularly popular travel destination for Australians, with Japan being one of the top three travel destinations in Asia for Australians.
The number of first-time monthly visitors to Japan surpassed 3 million in March, a figure that was hit again in April and May.
The number of people visiting Australia between January and March was 46.3 per cent higher than the same period in 2019, with March alone seeing a staggering 87.4 per cent increase compared to March 2019.
In response, the mayor of the western city of Himeji announced he was considering a two-tiered pricing system that would charge six times as much for tourists visiting Himeji Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
“Foreign tourists come here once in their lifetime, but locals enjoy the place on a regular basis,” he told a news conference late last month.
Mayor Kiyomoto said tourists who visit the castle pay the equivalent of $45, but local residents pay only $7.
According to broadcaster FNN, Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura supports the idea and has said he would like to see a similar system introduced at Osaka Castle.
These sites are not the first to implement a two-tiered pricing system for tourists and locals.
An all-you-can-eat seafood restaurant in Tokyo’s downtown Shibuya charges customers 8,778 yen ($83) but offers it to locals for a 1,000 yen ($9.50) discount, making it 7,678 yen ($73).
Masago Yonemitsu, owner of Tamatebako Restaurant, said: A.B.C. He has had to hire English-speaking staff at slightly higher wages to accommodate the growing number of tourists.
A new challenge to climbing Mt. Fuji
This follows the introduction of a 2,000 yen ($19) climbing fee in May as part of new congestion management measures to tackle excess tourism on Mount Fuji.
Online booking has also been introduced and the number of visitors per day is limited to 4,000 at the site, which attracts more than 220,000 tourists during the climbing season from July to September each year.
“I think this is a really good idea because if we respect the mountains we have to limit the number of people,” hiker Chetna Joshi told AFP.
The 47-year-old, from India, likened the crowds seen at Mount Fuji in recent years to a “traffic jam” of climbers at the top of Mount Everest.
A block overlooking Mt. Fuji
In May, towns near Mount Fuji erected large fences at popular viewing spots in an attempt to stop a growing number of tourists from taking photographs of the mountain.
Residents of the town of Fujikawaguchiko were fed up with a constant stream of tourists littering, trespassing and breaking traffic rules in an effort to get the perfect photo to share on social media.
Tourists have reportedly parked illegally, ignored smoking bans and clogged sidewalks.
“I hope the internet will prevent dangerous behaviour,” Michie Motomochi, 41, a resident who runs a traditional Japanese sweets shop, told AFP.
Similar incidents have occurred in Japan’s ancient capital, Kyoto, where locals have complained that tourists are harassing the city’s famous geisha.
Australians head to Japan
Flight Centre said travel bookings for March were up 56% compared to last year, bookings for February were up 54% and bookings for January were up 65%.
The airline’s global managing director Andrew Stark told news.com.au it was a “seasonal boom” as more Australians flew to the country amid falling airfares.
“This interest follows significant reductions in airfares to many international destinations, with tickets from Australia to Japan sold through Flight Centre in February and March being up to 21 per cent cheaper this year than last year,” he said.
–AFP