Himeji Castle Is it right to drastically raise the entrance fee only for foreigners A Chinese mother and daughter speak out surprisingly true on the spot
・A certain statement by the mayor of Himeji The yen continues to weaken. Last week, it finally surpassed 160 yen to the dollar. Something is going haywire. Perhaps reflecting this social climate, the mayor of Himeji Castle, Japan”s first World Heritage Site and a famous national treasure, made a controversial statement. “I would like to make the (1,000 yen castle entrance fee) about $30 for foreign tourists and about $5 for locals. Asking foreign tourists to pay is common sense overseas.” I couldn”t help but retort to the TV that was broadcasting the news. “Hey, that”s not common sense in China!” When I studied abroad at Peking University in the mid-1990s, I used to relax in the Summer Palace, the “detached palace of Empress Dowager Cixi” next door. But the entrance fee at the time was 2 yuan for Chinese and 35 yuan for foreigners! Even the yuan banknotes used in China were different for Chinese and foreigners. The international students were furious at this “discrimination against foreigners,” and China subsequently abolished the practice.
・Will Japan “go in the opposite direction”?
Unable to calm down, I decided to visit Himeji Castle from Tokyo. Surprisingly, it was empty and there were no Himeji locals to be found.
When I reached the sixth floor of the castle tower, the only people there were a mother and daughter from Shanghai (in their 70s and 40s).
When I told them about the “mayor”s remarks,” they were stunned.
“Is Japan going to become like China? China, a developing country, has struggled for many years to develop and has finally become equal to developed countries, so why is Japan “going in the opposite direction?”
If there is not enough money for castle maintenance, all they need to do is raise prices across the board.
For Japanese people, it is an everyday experience, but for foreigners, it is an extraordinary experience, so it is only natural that it is more valuable.
>>15 I think it was in Greece today. They were protesting by shooting tourists at restaurants with water guns, saying, “Rent and prices go up in the summer when tourists come, so don”t let tourists in!” lol
I don”t mind the price difference between foreigners and tourists being 5-10 times higher. Tourists can still pay it easily. They”re wealthy so it”s no problem.
If you don”t like it, don”t come. This is a global thing, but for some reason the Japanese mass media doesn”t report it. In other words, people who watch TV are lazy.
In Japan”s case, it”s not a matter of making them pay because they”re wealthy. It”s more of a matter of making them pay their fair share of repair costs etc. as the party that causes overtourism (tourist pollution).
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