All 38 birch trees in Biei Town, Hokkaido were cut down on January 14, 2025. As of the 13th, local media reported that "the tree is expected to be cut down in January", but the logging was carried out the next day. (Photo: Rows of felled birch trees)
The birch trees are located near the tourist attraction "Seven Star Tree", which was adopted for cigarette package design in Showa 51, and were known as a spot visited by many tourists. However, due to the rapid increase in the number of tourists, mainly foreign visitors to Japan, there were frequent incidents of nuisance parking, taking pictures by occupying the roadway, and entering farmers' fields without permission.
The problem of "overtourism", which has a serious impact on the lives and agricultural activities of local residents, was highlighted. Biei Town has a population of about 9,600 people, and in fiscal 2023, about 2.39 million tourists visited the town.
As a result of repeated discussions between local farmers and Biei Town, the decision was made to cut down the trees in consideration of the obstruction of traffic due to the crowding of tourists and the fact that the birch trees shade the crops and adversely affect the growth of the crops. The Biei Town Agriculture and Forestry Division commented, "We must ensure that tourism and agriculture are well balanced."
In Biei Town, a poplar tree known as the "Philosophy Tree" was cut down in 2016 due to a problem with the manners of tourists. Last year, there was a problem where foreign visitors to Japan swam in the "Blue Pond," a tourist spot where swimming is prohibited, and flew a drone without permission to take pictures.
In response to the end of the new corona disaster, the Japan Tourism Agency has invested the largest budget ever and is focusing on attracting foreign visitors to Japan, but overtourism has become a problem all over the country. In response to this issue, the agency has issued a report this fiscal year. Measures against overtourism We have provided subsidies to 140 organizations such as local governments, tourism DMOs, and tourism-related businesses. At the moment, the results have not been disclosed.
