A Japanese hot spring town popular for its photogenic snowy scenes began limiting entry to day-trippers on Monday in a trial to tackle overtourism during winter. Ginzan Onsen, a remote town in northern Yamagata Prefecture, draws around 330,000 visitors each year. Many share photos online of its old-fashioned buildings blanketed in snow and illuminated by lamplight that create a nostalgic atmosphere.
However, authorities in Ginzan Onsen, as in more famous destinations such as Kyoto and Mount Fuji, have become fed up with a rise in road problems, quarrels and other nuisances. From Monday, only people staying at local hotels will be allowed to enter the town after 8 p.m.
, while those wishing to visit between 5 p.m. and 8 p.
m. will need a reservation. Japan has seen a record influx of foreign tourists this year as the weak yen swells a post-pandemic travel boom.
"Traffic jams have sometimes been caused by cars getting stuck in the snow, because travelers were driving with normal tires" instead of with snow tires, said Takayuki Saito, head of commerce and tourism for the city of Obanazawa, where the town is located. "We've also heard of cases of emergency vehicles not being able to reach" Ginzan Onsen due to congestion, Saito said. Driving there "can be dangerous with poor visibility in snowstorms" in winter, he said.
Until the end of February, day-trippers will be asked to park at a tourism center 2 kilometers away and pay for a shuttle bus. The official website for Ginzan Onsen .