One of the most beautiful spots in Japan is the bamboo grove in Kyoto’s Arashiyama. Sadly, tourists have been defacing the natural beauty by carving their names on the stalks.
Screenshot: ANN
Photo: Aeron
If you don’t know how beautiful Arashiyama’s bamboo grove is, check out this photo Kotaku reader Aeron sent us a few years back.
Or this one (below) reader Shaun sent.
Photo: Shaun
Nature at its best, right?
竹林に落書きめちゃめちゃ増えてます。
竹傷付けて何が楽しいのかわからんけどこれ書く事で風情も何も無くなるし、働いててもこれ見るたびにムカつく。
せめて最低限のマナーは守ってください。 pic.twitter.com/4exOQfBXMp— 福田龍彌 (@rickshawmonkey) May 16, 2018
According to Mainichi, tourists have been carved their names into at least 100 bamboo stalks. Names and initials are written in English, Korean and Chinese.
ANN reports that the cravings increased this past February.
“The visitors might have carved their names to commemorate their trips, but we can’t accept such behaviour which could disappoint many other tourists who are looking forward to enjoying the scenery of the forests,” a Kyoto city official told Mainichi.
To deal with the damage, Kyoto has been putting green tape over the unsightly engravings, which damage otherwise healthy bamboo, causing it to rot. One official in charge of the area told ANN that there is no other choice but to chop down the defaced bamboo.
This is why we cannot have nice things.
京都嵐山の竹林で落書き被害。竹はこれ以上太くならないので、自然に消えることはないそうです。 pic.twitter.com/8AdgsPj08Z
— fmhmay (@fjthrkmay) May 17, 2018
嵐山の竹にも被害
垣が無い方の、人が写らず自分たちだけが撮れる新しい道で増えてる落書き。
一部日本語もあるが、英語、中国語、韓国語等ほとんど外国語…インスタグラムにのせるため?
インスタのために旅行してるのかと言う話も…(¯―¯٥) pic.twitter.com/XhlN05HdHK— 奈良漬 (@qQcvWJZyzjcSnKl) May 17, 2018
Do not carve graffiti with a knife in the bamboo forest of Arashiyama in Kyoto.
When bamboo hurts it corrodes from scratches. As a result, bamboo can only be cut off. About 100 bamboos were damaged, and the landscape was impaired.
Please observe the sightseeing manner. pic.twitter.com/b42sKuSBiC— remi aruga (@hana_neko_san) May 17, 2018
Comments
4 responses to “Tourists Are Ruining Kyoto’s Scenic Beauty ”
Not really sure why this is even a problem? After all bamboo grows at a ridiculous rate. Surely it’s a non-event.
Because it is a famous tourist spot and it is being vandalised? Sure it grows at a ridiculous rate but with constant damage to the bamboo, you will forever see words on the bamboo.
EDIT:
Didn’t notice the last image, apparently bamboo will corrode with those scratches and they have to cut off the bamboo. If this keeps happening, there will be no bamboo left 🙁
Only for 2 months ans then it stops growing altogether.
So cut down the stalk and let another grow?
I was under the impression it grew and died, grew and died – seasonally.
It’s a problem because no matter how beautiful and pristine something is, some idiot decides it’s more important to deface or destroy it so they can literally leave their name on something. Nothing more – just the face they wanted the personalised equivalent of “i waz ‘ere”, and to hell with whatever the consequences might be.
It’s not just an issue there. Alot of bamboo in tourist spots all over the world have the same problem 🙁