Kamakura is one of many travel destinations grappling with a sudden surge of over-tourism as the number of foreign visitors rebounds following the lifting of coronavirus restrictions. Kamakura Police Station received 124 reports on the crossing in the first eight months of this year, compared with 18 reports in 2022. Many are complaints about congestion in the area and nuisance from parked vehicles. Starting in September, the Kamakura city government put a security guard at the crossing between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. on weekdays, sharing expenses with Enoshima Electric Railway. Previously, a security guard was only posted on weekends. The crossing appears at the beginning of the "Slam Dunk" anime, based on the manga of the same title, which is popular in South Korea, China and other Asian countries as well as in Japan. Visitors have risen following the December opening of the film "The First Slam Dunk," which has raked in 15.7 billion yen ($106 million) at the box office. "Things have been more or less the same for the past five years," a 51-year-old resident said. "The number of visitors appeared to have fallen a little due to the coronavirus, but it recently began increasing again."
