FUJI-YOSHIDA, Yamanashi Prefecture—The city government here will introduce fees at normally free parking lots and double the charges in certain areas to ease congestion caused by foreign tourists flocking to see Mount Fuji.
The city proposed an ordinance for the parking-fee plan on Feb. 5. The changes will take effect in April.
Residents, suffering from overtourism, have called on officials to force visitors to cover more of the city’s tourism-related expenses.
Two photo spots in Fuji-Yoshida are especially popular among foreign tourists.
One is Arakurayama Sengen Park, where visitors can capture shots of the striking red Chureito Pagoda with Mount Fuji in the background.
The parking lots near the park are on narrow residential streets. Cars waiting for spots to open up have caused traffic jams, which have made it difficult for residents to get around their neighborhood.
The other popular spot is near the Honcho 2-chome intersection, where tourists can take photos of Japan’s highest mountain as it “rises” at the end of a one-lane national road running through a nostalgic shopping street.
Many tourists have been seen crouching on the centerline of the busy road to take photos. Littering has also become a problem in the area.
To prevent accidents, the city has deployed traffic attendants and installed additional public restrooms.
However, the costs of hiring attendants and maintaining the restrooms total about 100 million yen ($652,000) annually.
WEALTHY TOURISTS
Starting in April, all four free parking lots for Arakurayama Sengen Park―including two built this fiscal year―will charge fees.
Located within a few hundred meters of the park, these lots can accommodate around 200 vehicles.
The two parking lots closest to the park will charge 1,500 yen for up to six hours, while the two other ones slightly farther away will cost 1,000 yen for the same duration.
The city also aims to encourage visitors to avoid parking on residential streets.
For the Honcho 2-chome intersection, the rates for three city-run parking lots near the shopping street will be doubled from the current 100 yen to 200 yen for the first hour, and from 50 yen to 100 yen for every additional 30 minutes.
Revenue from these fees will be used to cover essential tourism-related expenses, such as maintaining public restrooms and paying for traffic attendants.
According to the city, around 240,000 tourists visited Arakurayama Sengen Park in 2016. However, the number surged to 1.15 million in 2023―about triple the previous year’s figure―and reached roughly 1.51 million in 2024.
Many affluent tourists arrive in rental cars, taxis or chauffeured vehicles from Tokyo and the Kansai region, the city said.
In July last year, the city set up an overtourism countermeasures committee comprising three internal departments.
After hearing opinions from relevant organizations and local community associations, the city formed a special task force in early January this year to move forward with the paid parking plan.
“We are truly grateful for visitors from abroad, but the reality is that they are causing inconvenience to local residents,” Fuji-Yoshida Mayor Shigeru Horiuchi said at a regular news conference in January.
“Our goal is to reduce friction with local residents while ensuring a pleasant experience for tourists,” he said. “We are identifying the challenges and implementing measures.”
The city is also considering charging an entrance fee for Arakurayama Sengen Park.
BALANCING VISITOR NUMBERS
In addition, the city plans to end the free use of a parking lot for tour buses.
The lot, operated by the Fuji-Yoshida tourism promotion service led by mayor, will begin charging 3,000 yen to 5,000 yen per vehicle in April. It can accommodate up to nine buses.
Most of the passengers are foreign tourists, many of whom stop briefly in the city just to take photos and do not contribute much to the local economy.
The city expects some tour groups to stop visiting due to the parking fees. Officials hope this will help bring tourist numbers closer to an appropriate level.
AloJapan.com