There is an irony inherent in most nature tourism. In order for tourists to access and enjoy natural destinations, one must build infrastructure that eats into the very nature to be enjoyed. Nowhere was this more obvious on our field study than at Mt. Aso, where a ropeway, road, and walking path have all been constructed so that thousands of people can reach the top each day. Many other mountains in Japan, like Fuji or even the nearby Kuju, have only walking paths. On Mt. Aso, the walking path is a wide swath of pavement. At the top, tourists mill around and take photographs in a large space paved over. And at the bottom, huge parking lots have been cut into the valleys to accommodate buses.

Infrastructure built to accommodate tourists observing the volcano at Mt. Aso

Safety shelter at Mt. Aso

Parking at Mt. Aso

Parking lot at Kusa Senri

The same situation exists at a smaller destination: Nabegataki, a small waterfall that became famous several years ago from a bottled tea commercial. In the years since, locals have been forced to accommodate increasing numbers of visitors. They have built a new parking lot, next to the existing, small gravel lot. They have also built a staircase to the bottom of the hill to replace the previously steep and slippery path. Now the adventure to reach the waterfall is gone, although the area is much safer and accessible to more people.

Students choosing walking sticks that used to be necessary to avoid risk

The path to the waterfall in May 2011

New staircase to the waterfall, May 2012

Nabegataki waterfall

Group photo in front of Nabegataki

Variety of cairns at the waterfall

That is the irony of nature tourism. Nature is sacrificed so that tourists can access it.

Date of visit and photos: May 20, 2012