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News Kamakura steps up safety measures on Slam Dunk site

thomas

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Fans of the baseball anime series "Slam Dunk" know the location: Kamakurakōkōmae Station along the coastline of Kamakura has turned into a pilgrimage site for tourists from all over the world, particularly from Asian nations. Complaints and incidents have been surging, with dozens of tourists gathering around the railway crossing every day and hour. Kamakura City has deployed a security guard to watch over the crossing every day from 10:00 to 18:00.







 
Yesterday, I found this YT video from a foreign couple visiting Kamakura. The channel owners are lovely people, and the video is great, perfectly conveying the atmosphere from a tourist's point of view. However, it also demonstrates how limited the view of IG and Tik-Tok influencers is who sheepishly follow each others' trodden paths and miss out on the genius loci. To them, Kamakura is Komachi-dori, Japanese nibbles, the infamous Slam Dunk site (see above), and more local nibbles—very atmospheric, but just a tiny fraction of what Kamakura represents and offers.

 
I went there in June and didn't stop by Komachi Dori at all. Now I feel like I missed out!
My main mission was stopping by certain shrines. I even dragged my wife to the bamboo temple Hokokuji which she wasn't familiar with.
It didn't even occur to me to spend time in the town. Maybe next time.
 

A very scenic spot indeed!


 
Kamakura has launched a new experiment to tackle the chaos at the famous Kamakura-Koko-Mae Station crossing. From 13th to 16th September, the city is trying to lure crowds away from the problematic railway crossing by setting up a designated photo corner in a nearby park.


Photo credit: Kyodo


The four-day trial involves deploying twelve staff members and two Chinese-speaking interpreters to the new location. It's the city's response to constant complaints from residents about tourists who gather at the crossing, disrupt traffic, and leave rubbish behind whilst trying to capture the perfect shot of the "Enoden" train with the ocean backdrop - a scene made famous by the anime "Slam Dunk." The hope is that giving visitors a proper alternative will restore some order to what officials describe as a "state of chaos" at the crossing.


 
Kamakura City officials said they would stop issuing licence plates featuring the well-known railway crossing from the "Slam Dunk" manga and anime, after the image drew even more visitors to a location already struggling with overtourism. The crossing at Kamakura-Kōkō-Mae Station on the Enoshima Electric Railway Line had effectively become a pilgrimage site for fans of the basketball series, attracting large numbers of tourists, especially from other parts of Asia.


Local license plates issued in Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture


According to the city, people were crowding the narrow streets and causing frequent traffic problems. Complaints also grew about cars parking illegally while passengers were picked up or dropped off, leading the authorities to bring in extra staff to keep the area under control.


 
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