Tourism Photo bans in several Kyoto neighbourhoods

I'm not surprised but wondering how they will enforce these bans.

If we just ban bad behavior, people will stop behaving badly right?

My guess is this will just be used as an example of how Japan is experiencing the pains of its increasing reliance on tourists and how those tourists either don't know or don't care how their behavior is received. They'll continue to act out in various ways that the locals don't like but are inept to stop, because their most aggressive attempts are signs banning a common activity. I don't think they'll be very effective, except for the tourists that are probably already respecting the rules.

Nowadays, Instagram and self-esteem seem to be correlated to some.

Anyhow, things can get worse than just taking photos paparazzi-style (no China bashing intended):




Here's how other popular tourist destinations are trying to tackle the issue:

Spent a year in china, '82-83. At most any temple/attraction then, photography was banned--since there were picture sets and postcards on sale...

The workaround was to just leave a camera around your neck and not touch it (except when the shutter police weren't looking). I have a number of shots like that, taken without using the viewfinder.

Selfies are obvious, but something like this could also happen here.

Your post, johnnyG, reminded me of something from so many years ago and I haven't remembered it for ages. I won't ID the nation, but let us say things were sort of not-modern, for want of better vocabulary as I type and not wanting to be impolite. The thing was the kids would be great fun to watch and take pictures of, but as soon as a GI put the camera to his eye (that time it was all-male, so only 'his') -- anyway, as soon as you raised your camera the kids would start posing, sort of. So the trick was to shoot while the camera was hanging low and try not to let the kids know you were taking shots. So strange to remember that now. Such a world away from these days.

Anyway, with the new fancy Star Trek phones everyone has and with the camera built in, that ban will be seriously tough to enforce.

BUT that image up there about a "photo permit" smells like an opportunity for fake permits being sold on the sly.

Would be interesting to see the notes anyone took on the meeting(s) where this ban was discussed by the lawmakers.