Warning: Photography Banned in Almost All of Kyoto, Japan Thanks to Disrespectful Tourists
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Photo by Han Min T on Unsplash
It's been a dream of mine since childhood to visit the cobblestone streets of Kyoto, Japan to snap photos of geishas, temples, and a beautiful mishmash of culture and religion. As of the 25th of last month, this dream was crushed because most of the Gion District, the most famous and historic district in Kyoto, is banning photography.
While Gion's public streets will still have photography access, most of Gion's streets are privately-owned by businesses and citizens, and these same citizens have started an organization with the main goal of banning photography. This ban began on October 25th and comes with a 10,000 yen fine. This is around $91 USD.
It is unclear who will be enforcing the ban, although video surveillance will be used to catch perpetrators outside of crowded hours.
If you were to visit Gion today, you'd see flyers lining the streets warning visitors and residents of the newly enacted ban.
The ban comes after years of problems with disrespectful tourists to Kyoto. These tourists have trespassed on private property, grabbed geishas, and been generally awful in the search for a photo.
This ban comes amongst other bans in popular tourist attractions, like the Church of Bones outside of Prague. The question is: when will it stop, if ever?
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Via Japan Today