From view-blocking screens to fake bed bugs, locals are taking overtourism into their own hands

For the Japanese poet Basho, Mount Fuji was a muse like no other. He returned to it numerous times during his lifetime and described "through clouds and mist, a hundred views" of the volcano.

The 17th century writer might have been alarmed to learn that there is now one fewer viewing point. This week, officials in the small town of Fujikawaguchiko - at the foot of the mountain - began blocking the view with a mesh net.

The scene is atypical: in the foreground the neon sign of a Lawson supermarket, typical of such cities in Japan, and the serene ...