Kyoto bans rude tourists from taking photos, introduces $92 fine

Kyoto's Gion district has reportedly banned tourists from taking photos after repeated incidents of misbehavior from tourists involving trespassing on the photographing private property or grabbing Geisha and Maiko of streets to forcibly take photos of or with them. According to Japnese media, the local resident group has voted to ban photography in the community's private streets and homes.

$92 fine introduced

They have also introduced $92 fine for those who break the rules. The rule came after the visitors started heading to the private streets and properties nearby and taking photos without the owner's permission especially in the vicinity of Hanamikoji. The residents have been printing and circulating fliers and posters to warn them to keep off private streets and property and also behave appropriately with a Geisha or maiko. The head association of local residents and shop owners told an international media outlet that the ban has been introduced to preserve Gion's traditional atmosphere. CCTV has also been installed on private roads to ensure that the visitors are not breaking the photography ban, however, it is not clear how the bans and fines will be enforced. 

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This is not the first time that Japan has issued warning for tourists as earlier the authorities had released an 'etiquette guide' for visitors to help them navigate through the local customs and behave in a way that's deemed appropriate. The tourist authority had also launched a multilingual app earlier this year in which foreign visitors were given instructions on etiquette in the traditional geisha quarter. The Kyoto residents have increasingly felt the pressures of overtourism encroaching. Approximately 7.4 million foreign tourists visited Kyoto back in 2017.

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Geisha and Maiko

Geisha is a woman who is educated in the traditional Japanese arts, such as music, dance, singing, and games. The word geisha literally means a person of the arts. They are women who entertain with their skills in the traditional arts. They are widely known as 'geisha' but in the Kyoto dialect, they're also known as 'geiko'. Maiko, on the other hand, is an apprentice to the geisha. The term maiko means, a dancing child. The maiko goes through about 5 years of apprenticeship while learning about the traditional arts. 

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