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.
The district’s public streets will remain open to tourists, so the area and the rest of Kyoto will still be teeming with visitors, both from Japan and around the world.
Complaints about “overtourism” began years ago, but cooled somewhat when the COVID-19 pandemic brought numbers of visitors down.
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