Tourists usually block roads to take photos of the scenic slope which was featured in the 1995 Japanese film Love Letter and has a view of the sea. - Screengrab from YouTube
SINGAPORE: A city in Japan has started deploying security guards ahead of an expected influx of tourists during the Chinese New Year holiday season.
The guards, who have signs in English, Chinese and Korean, will be positioned around Funamizaka in the coastal city of Otaru in Hokkaido till the end of March, reported Japanese news outlet Kyodo News on Tuesday (Jan 28).
The move comes after complaints from locals that tourists were blocking roads to take photos of the scenic slope, which was featured in the 1995 Japanese film Love Letter and has a view of the sea.
Besides guards with signs advising visitors against trespassing on private property or taking photos in the middle of the road, the city has also stepped up police patrols in the area.
A local resident, Hidetoshi Itagaki, 80, told Kyodo News that people had started to trespass in order to get the best shots before the city introduced such measures, which have so far successfully managed to reduce the number of people blocking roads.
Less than a week ago, a Hong Kong tourist was killed by a train in the same city after attempting to take photos on the tracks.
The 61-year-old woman was on holiday with her husband and was in an area out of bounds to the public, trying to take photos of the sea, when the accident occurred on Jan 23.
The location was featured in the 2015 Chinese film Cities In Love, and has resulted in Hokkaido Railway contemplating adding safety announcements in English and Chinese on its trains. - The Straits Times/ANN
