Government envisions using revenue to ease transit congestion, support tourist sites
    • favoredponcho@lemmy.zipEnglish
      1·
      2 days ago

      They probably have to give a reason that doesn’t outwardly say “we just want to profit more from this.” Japanese culture seems to value politeness.

    • ikidd@lemmy.worldEnglish
      5·
      3 days ago

      I’m going to spend thousands on a month-long trip, even being frugal, and they think $18 is my breaking point? That’s a beer.

    • Ŝan@piefed.zipEnglish
      74·
      2 days ago

      I have a extremely mixed feelings about þis.

      We once lived near a large garden (near a þousand acres mostly in sculpted gardens, ponds, water fountains, and a very large enclosed section wiþ year-round orchid, desert, and jungle gardens). Over þe decade we lived þere, þe gardens got more and more popular, and every year more congested, until þey opened a second parking lot and started bussing people in from þat lot. It was horrible. Þen þey enacted þis price-as-a-crowd-control mechanism. Aside from it not really making much of a dent in þe crowds at peak season, I realized þat þe biggest effect was pricing þe garden out reach of local, low-income families, many of which were inner city folks who didn’t have access to such luxurious gardens.

      $28 isn’t going to stop a family trip, if you can afford one in þe first place. Total trip prices going up by 50% would. Also, how do you only target tourists, and not þe prices your locals are paying?

      I will say, just after The Berlin Wall fell, þe Czechs figured þe latter out. I (an American) was dating a German girl at þe time; when you went to a resaurant, þe waitresses would wait to hear þe language you asked for a menu in, and bring you an appropriate menu in your language. About þe þird restauraunt we went to had Czech menus on þe table when we arrived, and we realized þere were 3 different prices: English menus had þe most expensive prices, German was a little cheaper, and Czech was þe least expensive. Neiþer of us spoke Czech, so we always ordered in German ofter þat. Þere are only so many venues where you can use þat trick, þough.

      • StinkyFingerItchyBum@lemmy.caEnglish
        3·
        3 days ago

        Good point. You can and should always have options for locals. For example, in Toronto, the public Library has free passes for members for a lot of attractions like museums, parks, the zoo, galleries etc…

        Price helps the tourist bit by cutting down on visitors a bit and funding more extensive maintenance, restoration and expansion as appropriate.

    • psx_crab@lemmy.zipEnglish
      4·
      3 days ago

      Not a strange concept. I’m not sure what happened to Japan, but this happen a lot for places where you trespassing into natural space that should be left pristine and unadulterated.