Tottori assembly passes ordinance banning graffiti on sand dunes

Tuesday 14th October, 03:58 PM JST

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Latest 15 of 23 Total Comments Show All

TJrandom at 06:28 PM JST - 14th October

if there were strong winds

So who is going to pay for that? God, perhaps.
gogogo at 06:49 PM JST - 14th October

Is that a bad translation or are they actually using paint on the sand?
LFRAgain at 06:56 PM JST - 14th October

Okay, here's the scoop. I'm out here in Tottori, and the Sand Dunes in question are a tourist tra... errr... I mean tourist destination that Tottori takes great pride in (apparently).

Complete with camel rides. (No, I'm not kidding).

In order to preserve the name value of the sand dunes, which are pitched as the "Only Naturally Occurring Desert in All of Japan" (or something to that effect), and are a sufficiently large enough draw for the kanko-bus crowd, they got sick of the young'uns writing "Taro Loves Hanako" in 10-meter high characters on the dunes, turning the area, essentially, into a giant public beachfront, complete with tossed cigarette butts, beer cans, and empty bento boxes from Lawson's.

Basically, in order to preserve the "desert"-like imagery, they'd have to either wait for that wind to blow, or send people out to try and rake away the characters in a way that looked natural, in time for the next bus of pensioners bringing their tourist yen to the cash-strapped backyard of Western Japan.
franz75 at 07:17 PM JST - 14th October

sand castles are fine. I'm safe.
zzonkerr at 07:57 PM JST - 14th October

I'm sorry...I'm lost here. HOW do you do graffiti on sand dunes?
shuuu at 08:08 PM JST - 14th October

It seems rural Japan never misses an opportunity to put its stupidity on display.
presto345 at 08:25 PM JST - 14th October

Poor man's chance at art.

Did I read that correctly? Art? Since when is defiling nature a form of art? To me it sounds more like vandalism from a segment of society that desperately wants attention, wants to be noticed, to be able to climb out of its obscurity. Even for a poor man there are other ways to express his 'artistic urges'. The ordinance however, like so many rules in this country, is no more than a threat. Enforcement is always lacking. The prefecture could compromise and designate an area where the 'artists' can show their talents or picture their frustrations with every day life. This might even attract more tourists!
LFRAgain at 10:15 PM JST - 14th October

HOW do you do graffiti on sand dunes?

You use a large stick, your foot, or anything that serves as a hoe, and you carve images into the smooth surface of the sand. Shows up easily from a distance, if it's 10 x 10 meters in size and the line weight is thick enough.

Think "crop circles."
Beelzebub at 10:18 PM JST - 14th October

Dear Tottori residents and visitors:

Please don't write any love letters on our dunes.

Sincerely,

Pat Boone
realist at 11:40 PM JST - 14th October

I know that many parts of Japan are out of touch with the real world, but this one takes the biscuit. Drawing on sand is practiced all over the world by both children and adults - its a fun thing to do, and it harms no-one. I cant beleive that these Tottori no-brain politicians have so little to do as to pass a Fascist, jackboot piece of utter nonsense as this. Shame on them - they belong with the dinosaurs, and I would love to organize a mass graffitti competition in Tottori sand dunes in defiance of this nonsense.
KitsuneYoukai at 01:52 AM JST - 15th October

I wouldn't call it nonsense. Sand dunes are one of natures wonders. It takes many years to accumalte sand, he sorting and transportation. The largest sand dunes formed over millions of years. So if you have too set an ordinance to keep people from trashing it, so be it. We have places like this in the US, however, those places have been made national parks and it is a federal crime.
chankonabe at 12:39 PM JST - 15th October

For those who didn't make the connection, this was the fallout from the "Huck" incident a few years ago. From Japan Today forum (with pic):

TOTTORI -- Members of a student group who engraved a huge word on the Tottori sand dunes in Tottori Prefecture are being investigated by government environment officials, it has been learned.

Group members, including students from Nagoya University, reportedly scraped the letters "HUCK" on the dunes, covering an area about 50 meters long. The Ministry of the Environment subsequently launched an investigation into their actions, on suspicion that they violated the Natural Parks Law.

"We weren't aware that we were acting illegally. Half of it was for fun, but it was careless," a member of the group was quoted as saying.

http://forum.japantoday.com/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=962715
dennis0bauer at 03:37 PM JST - 15th October

Easy solution, no people, no graffiti but also no money. realy sand dunes? or is it gomi dunes?
LFRAgain at 05:36 PM JST - 15th October

Nah, they're pass off pretty well as actual sand dune, complete with the ripples. It's all very Sahara-like. Did I mention the camels?
Richard_III at 11:05 AM JST - 16th October

Kind of understand this as when I visited there was big graffiti of "Taro Loves Hanako" all over the place. Spoilt my pictures.

However, I just know that pictures will now be ruined by worthless little men standing around telling you something is "dame" through a megaphone.

I hate this aspect of Japan.