The Japanese town of Fujikawaguchiko has erected a giant black net to block views of Mount Fuji, a reaction to the town’s huge popularity on Instagram and other social media platforms.

“It is regrettable that we had to take such measures,” a local official told CNN last month, when the town’s council decided to block the most popular Fuji views with a 66-foot-long (20-meter) black screen, which was erected on May 21.

The small town in Yamanashi prefecture has become the center of an international controversy in recent weeks. A specific viewpoint in Fujikawaguchiko, which is at the foot of Mount Fuji and near the starting point for one of the most-used trails up the mountain, became so popular with visitors that it was causing problems for locals.

  • Shirasho
    link
    fedilink
    English
    776 months ago

    I don’t understand how it is so hard for people to clean up after themselves. Our parks and trails in the US are filthy. There is trash on the ground and garbage cans 10 feet away.

    It is really sad that they had to erect this barrier, but it is laughable that people can’t respect nature when the entire purpose of their visit is to admire it.

    • warm
      link
      fedilink
      31
      edit-2
      6 months ago

      Poor upbringings. It’s easy to become a parent, but it isn’t easy to be a parent.

    • @NOT_RICK
      link
      English
      266 months ago

      I have a trash grabber arm. I go to my local park to pick up trash every couple of months. I most recently did it on Earth day; the park was covered in trash again within 3 days. It drives me insane. I will say, some of it is due to open top garbage cans throughout the park, the wind can blow stuff right out of those which reminds me that I need to call the Parks and Rec department. I expect they’ll tell me they have no budget for closed cans.

      • @Chee_Koala
        link
        English
        66 months ago

        I was looking for retractable grabbers, I’d like to do a bit of trash picking but not my full 18km walk. Normal grabbers are a bit awkward to stow away. My own local searches (NL) came up 🫗 empty

        • @NOT_RICK
          link
          English
          46 months ago

          Yeah mine is definitely awkward. I had a plastic grabber that broke very quickly so now I have a sturdier metal one that doesn’t stow away well, but I know it will last a while at a minimum.

        • RubberDuck
          link
          English
          1
          edit-2
          6 months ago

          I have (and love) this one: https://www.afvalgrijper.com/webshop/flora-afvalgrijpers/24813,flora-afvalgrijper-105-cm-met-metalen-bekken.html.

          Don’t go for the cheap plastic ones they break. But I have also been informed that a lot of municipalities will give you one if you ask. Contact your afvalstoffen dienst.

          Just attach a sling and carry it on your back… or attach it to the side of your backpack. Retractable just breaks unfortunately.

    • Flying SquidM
      link
      English
      76 months ago

      It’s always nice when you can find a park most people don’t know about. The only disadvantage is sometimes the trails aren’t really well-maintained, so you come out with your legs covered in ticks.

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        English
        26 months ago

        I live in an area infested with ticks. Going out with into fields/woods with no protection means pulling dozens at a minimum, though my neighbor pulled over 100 off a couple weeks ago.

        My solution is elastic gaiters and using permetharin as bug spray. I don’t get ticks anymore.

        I’m also kind of allergic to ticks, and if I get bit, it itches so bad for about two weeks that topical lidocaine is the only way I’ve found to get some relief.

        • Flying SquidM
          link
          English
          16 months ago

          Ticks have been really bad here this year. I have found one on either me or my small dog (never the large one) every day for the last week or so. The dogs are on Trifexis, which prevents ticks from biting amongst other things, but it doesn’t prevent them from hiding out in a dog’s fur until something better comes along.

          • @Sylos
            link
            English
            26 months ago

            If the winter seasons don’t get cold enough for long enough, the ticks don’t really die out so their numbers are going to be much worse

      • @[email protected]
        link
        fedilink
        English
        26 months ago

        I live in an area infested with ticks. Going out with into fields/woods with no protection means pulling dozens at a minimum, though my neighbor pulled over 100 off a couple weeks ago.

        My solution is elastic gaiters and using permetharin as bug spray. I don’t get ticks anymore.

        I’m also kind of allergic to ticks, and if I get bit, it itches so bad for about two weeks that topical lidocaine is the only way I’ve found to get some relief.

    • Jin
      link
      English
      06 months ago
      • Lack of trash cans.
      • The ones they have are full.
      • @Passerby6497
        link
        English
        10
        edit-2
        6 months ago

        Lack of trash cans.

        Which they tell you about before you ever step on the trail, and tell you to take everything you bring in back out. It’s not hard in the slightest to put your garbage in your pack/pockets till you leave, but people are selfish, lazy fucks who can’t even do the minimum and respect the space.

        The ones they have are full.

        Which is why they don’t have them in a lot of places. Because being there and full is worse than not having them at all, since people just keep throwing shit on the pile.

        /rant

        • Jin
          link
          English
          -3
          edit-2
          6 months ago

          They got rid of trashcans because of a terror incident and they saved a lot money by doing so (less workers).

          Who wouldn’t pile their trash? Who knows where&when the next empty trashcan comes along in Japan.

          So the fix is to have people changing them more often + even having more available, but that would require more work and money… blaming foreigners are just easier @

          Mini rant Japan also has a lot of unnecessary packaging and the birds can be very aggressive when trash is exposed, which doesn’t help.

          • @Passerby6497
            link
            English
            56 months ago

            So the fix is to have people changing them more often + even having more available, but that would require more work and money… blaming foreigners are just easier

            It has nothing to do with blaming foreigners, my local parks here in the US are all carry in/carry out parks with lots of signs posted stating as such, and it’s not a massive problem.

            I’m absolutely going to blame lazy fucks who can’t hold onto a bit of trash long enough to get to a trashcan or who can’t be bothered to clean up after themselves. Blaming it on lack of trash cans merely offsets responsibility and ignores that park cams are a magnet for wildlife and lead to trash blowing out of them

            So the fix is to clean up your own goddamned trash and take it with you when you leave.

            Not a hard concept…

            • RubberDuck
              link
              English
              36 months ago

              Anyone caught littering is convicted to 200 hours of community service in which they have to pickup trash wearing a bright orange coverall that says litterbug while wearing a helmet with a signal light on top.

              This should be a very humiliating experience.

            • Jin
              link
              English
              16 months ago

              The concept isn’t hard I agree, but it’s clearly a on going problem so, have more options is more convenient and could solve the issue.

              Long enough to get a trashcan? Well see that’s one of problems. A) finding one. B) an empty one.

          • @pHr34kY
            link
            English
            26 months ago

            I visited last year. The way they handle trash is just black magic. There are almost no bins on the street. Everything is in disposable packaging. Yet, there is absolutely no litter.

            The craziest example was Asakusa. I was walking around for 30 mins.holding about 10 food wrappers in my hand. Eventually a nice merchant offered me a plastic bag to put it all in when I purchased a drink.

            • Jin
              link
              English
              26 months ago

              Yeah things can get bit tricky 😂 Especially when you buy a lot food & drinks. The average japanese person doesn’t buy a lot.

          • @[email protected]B
            link
            fedilink
            English
            16 months ago

            Here is an alternative Piped link(s):

            😂

            Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.

            I’m open-source; check me out at GitHub.

      • tiredofsametab
        link
        fedilink
        16 months ago

        Which all of us who live in Japan have no issue handling, including when we travel. This is a shit excuse.

        • Jin
          link
          English
          16 months ago

          Yeah Japanese are known to be the best tourists abroad. It something someone learns by their society/culture (though I see odd balls here and there)

          Tourists are not going to learn over short term and some are pigs aure. By having more available transcans will improve the situation.

          What’s your solution then? Just telling them?

          • tiredofsametab
            link
            fedilink
            16 months ago

            I mean, littering is illegal basically everywhere. If there are no trashcans, just hold the thing until you get to one. At least during festivals and such, you will see people piling trash next to full trashcans as neatly as possible, to cover your other case. “Don’t litter” doesn’t sound like a huge ask. As stated in the article, many of these people aren’t even staying in town and I know that station has (or at least had every time I went there) trashcans on the train platform. Convenience stores also have trashcans in front of and/or in the store that customers are welcome to use.

            • Jin
              link
              English
              1
              edit-2
              6 months ago

              Yeah You would think people had better manners.

              Sadly only a few convenient store has them. And I haven’t seen any trashcans at stations for a long time.

              If you are in Japan and up for a challenge. I’ll buy you an ice cream, then you have find transcan before it melts and creates a mess.

              • tiredofsametab
                link
                fedilink
                16 months ago

                Convenience stores nearly all have trashcans in my experience. I guess maybe not a street vendor? But, in most cases, what you buy is going to come in some bag that you can use or, in the case of certain parks, will actually have trashcans. I do live in Japan, but rural northern Japan as of a few months ago.

                • Jin
                  link
                  English
                  16 months ago

                  Okay let me know when you come to Tokyo. I’ll buy an ice cream 😂