A cluster of white birch trees in the town of Biei, Hokkaido is going under the saw, possibly by the end of the month. The culprit? Overtourism (and angry farmers).
Hokkaido’s Biei only has 9,628 people, but it’s long drawn travelers from far and wide. It’s one of Japan’s “blue water spots,” with the Biei Shirogane Blue Pond a popular winter tourist attraction. Its colorful rolling hills and onsen also pack in tourists year-round.
Another attraction has been a stand of white birch trees near the town’s Seven Stars Tree. The lonely cropping of white birch has made it a very Instagrammable tourist spot.
Unfortunately, the outpouring of tourists has also led to clogged roads and trampled fields for nearby farmers and landowners. In other words, Biei has seen the same issues that other locations, such as Kamakura with its famous train crossing and Shirakawa-go with its traditional gassho-zukuri houses, have seen.
Besides the effects of overtourism, farmers also complain the trees cast shadows on nearby crops, robbing them of sunlight and decreasing yields.
As a result of complaints from local farmers over both this and the impact of tourism on their fields, the town says it’ll cull the stand of trees, putting an end to the ersatz tourist attraction. The trees could be felled as early as the end of this month.
Japanese commenters online expressed anguish at the trees being felled. “To withstand the wind and snow only to be felled by tourism,” one wrote. Others suggested charging for the attraction instead of simply tearing it down. Still others, predictably, blamed “ill-mannered foreign tourists” for why Japan can’t have nice things.
The culling brings to mind another infamous felling project – the decision to remove trees from Jingu Gaien in Tokyo to make way for a massive sports complex. The plan has been vociferously opposed by some Tokyo residents.
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