'Kyoto is not a theme park': Tourists to be banned from city's famous geisha district

[Eugene]

Source: Sky News

'Kyoto is not a theme park': Tourists to be banned from city's famous geisha district

Tourists face a fine for entering the geisha district in Japan's ancient capital.

Friday 8 March 2024 11:53, UK

Tourists are to be banned from parts of Japan's famous geisha district in Kyoto following complaints of "overtourism".

"Kyoto is not a theme park," said the local council amid discontent about over-zealous visitors with cameras hoping to snap a glimpse of the famous geishas.

Geishas are professional entertainers who are trained in various traditional arts including dance and music and are an iconic part of Japanese culture.

Visitors crowd the narrow, quaint streets of the area called Gion in Japan's ancient capital city, often following tour guides who show people around and lecture for long hours, according to local district official Isokazu Ota.

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Read more: https://news.sky.com/story/kyoto-is-not-a-theme-park-tourists-to-be-banned-from-citys-famous-geisha-district-13089781

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Source: The Guardian

Kyoto bans tourists from parts of geisha district amid reports of bad behaviour

Gion residents asked city council to crack down after rise in tourist numbers leads to increased harassment of traditional entertainers

Justin McCurry in Tokyo
Fri 8 Mar 2024 04.26 GMT
Last modified on Fri 8 Mar 2024 09.26 GMT

Visitors to the geisha district of Gion – one of Kyoto’s most popular sightseeing spots – will be banned from entering its picturesque alleyways as authorities in Japan attempt to tackle a dramatic rise in tourism.

Residents of Japan’s ancient capital have struggled to reconcile the financial boost from a return to pre-pandemic visitor numbers with overcrowding and incidents of bad behaviour among tourists.

Gion, where geiko and maiko traditional entertainers can be spotted on their way to evening teahouse appointments, is regularly targeted by smartphone-wielding visitors, some of whom ignore signs requesting that they keep their distance and refrain from touching the women’s expensive kimonos. There have also been complaints about people trespassing on private property.

In December, a council of Gion residents urged the city’s government to take action against unruly tourists, complaining that their neighbourhood was “not a theme park”.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/08/kyoto-geisha-district-tourist-ban-gion

[Kali]

1. Tourists vs travelers

Try to be a traveler. Ugh, the excerpt didn't mention origins of the ugly tourists and I know th US isn't the only producer of such idiots, but I still feel ashamed of them.