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April 21, 2025 | 06:33 pm
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Otaru, a picturesque city in Japan’s Hokkaido Prefecture, lies along the coast of Ishikari Bay and is known for its preserved canal district.
A steep street rising from the coastline offers breathtaking views of the city and sea, particularly from Funamizaka, also known as Ship Viewing Hill.
Its scenic charm has made Otaru a popular photo spot for tourists. However, like many tourist hotspots in Japan, the city is now grappling with overtourism.
Many international visitors, knowingly or not, often disregard local etiquette.
Common issues include blocking public roads for photos, trespassing on private property, or taking unauthorized shortcuts to reach attractions.
Otaru, a city in Japan, uses ninja posters to show local etiquette to tourists (otaru-canal.jp)
This growing concern has sparked widespread discussion among local residents. In response, the city of Otaru has taken a creative approach by introducing "ninjas" to help manage the situation.
However, these ninjas don’t wield shurikens or traditional shinobi weapons. They’re part of an initiative called Ninja Next 100, a group made up of local residents in their 20s.
Their mission is to guide tourist behavior in a friendly and engaging way by using informative posters and social media videos to deliver clear yet respectful reminders.
Noriaki Ikeda, one of the members of Otaru Next 100, stated that this issue is only due to foreign tourists' lack of knowledge about the rules, not because they intentionally violate them.
"I think it’s simply a matter of [foreign tourists] not knowing the rules, and not that they’re intentionally choosing to break them," said Noriaki Ikeda, as quoted by Soranews24.
"What we need is to have them enjoy sightseeing while understanding [what is and isn’t OK]."
Three Warnings for Tourists
Otaru Next 100 has already created three posters containing warnings for tourists to stay away from private properties, not walk in the middle of the road, and not stand in the middle of the road for photos.
The posters feature images of ninjas with tourists violating etiquette and warnings in written form. For example, one poster states "Local residents are in trouble," which means that the local residents feel disturbed by tourists' behavior.Therefore, tourists are asked not to do what is depicted in the posters.
However, they are also encouraged to remain friendly. Each poster contains the phrase "Thank you for coming" and includes hopes that visitors will enjoy Otaru, meaning that the city does not have a problem with foreign tourists. They simply aim to discourage unsafe or disrespectful behavio
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