Tourism Hokkaido continues to face overtourism

The small town of Biei (美瑛町 Biei-chō), located in Kamikawa Subprefecture, Hokkaidō, drew national attention in January last year after it cut down a row of much-photographed white birch trees to curb overtourism. The measure, however, has done little to slow the influx. Tour buses continue to arrive in large numbers, prompting residents to describe the situation as an endless game of pursuit and evasion.


Pressures linked to tourism had been building for years around the trees in the town of roughly 9,000 people, famed for its quilt-like landscape of rolling farmland. Visitors frequently strayed into working fields for photographs, while the narrow roads were at times clogged by a dozen or more tour buses, overwhelming the area's limited capacity.

Local stakeholders eventually felled the trees with the town's approval and the flow of visitors around the area initially dropped to some extent, town officials said. At around lunchtime on 6 December, tourists arriving by bus at a nearby parking lot paid little attention to the snow-covered stumps of the felled trees. They were headed instead to the Seven Stars Tree, a famous tree featured on the packaging of a cigarette brand, to snap photos and left the area after about ten minutes. In another part of town on the same day, a popular tourist spot featuring the Christmas Tree was just as crowded as before, with the sound of whistles piercing the air as security guards tried to control traffic. Many tourists walk from the closest station to get there, often trampling farmland along the way and causing damage, according to the Biei Tourism Association.

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Biei welcomed about 2.68 million visitors in 2024, including many from overseas, with foreign tourism rising sharply in recent years. Ishimura Shigekazu, who runs a café in the town, has benefited from the increase in visitors from China. He has also pointed out that the farmers who created the landscape should find ways to share in the profits it now attracts.

Concerns over overtourism are not limited to foreign visitors. Saitō Takahiro, a photographer based in Asahikawa who helps organise a monthly gathering, has stressed the need for broader participation in tackling the issue and hopes more people will become involved in finding workable solutions.

He should have figured out a way to cash in on the influx.

Should have sold chunks of the trees they cut down as souvenirs.