Foreign Visitors’ Troubling Behavior Mar Popular Slam Dunk Destination

The sacred site is over capacity

The basketball manga landmark SLAM DUNK (hereafter Slam Dunk) features an anime opening that showcases the Enoden train at Kamakura High School Station in Kamakura City, Kanagawa Prefecture—a sacred site that draws fans from around the world. However, this pilgrimage spot is now facing a serious toilet problem.

Foreign tourists flood the area, and while only a portion engage in problematic behavior, outdoor urination and defecation have become one of the most severe issues. People reportedly relieve themselves anywhere, even on private property, not limiting themselves to urination but also defecating. The recent closure of the station’s restroom has worsened the situation, leaving local residents crying, “We’ve reached our limit.” This is the harsh reality behind the sacred site pilgrimage.

Slam Dunk was serialized in Weekly Shōnen Jump in the 1990s, igniting Japan’s basketball boom. In December 2022, the film THE FIRST SLAM DUNK was released, gaining tremendous popularity across Asia. In China alone, it drew 18.178 million viewers and grossed over 659 million yuan (approximately 13.18 billion yen as of August 2023, according to CRIline).

The sacred site is the railroad crossing just outside Kamakura High School Station. In the anime opening, the protagonist Hanamichi Sakuragi stands with his bag slung over his shoulder as the Enoden passes behind him—an iconic scene that fans often try to replicate in photos.

The pilgrimage trend began around 2013, but the explosive success of THE FIRST SLAM DUNK across Asia caused tourist numbers to surge dramatically. Kamakura High School Station, however, was never designed to handle such a massive influx. It is a small, unmanned station primarily for local students and residents, lacking adequate restroom facilities or surrounding rest areas. This fragile infrastructure has only exacerbated the current chaos.

Closed sacred site restroom and escalating nuisance behavior

With the surge of tourists, the demand for restrooms naturally increased. However, at the end of April, just before Golden Week, the restroom at Kamakura High School Station—considered the only lifeline for visitors—was suddenly closed. The Enoshima Electric Railway (Enoden) website cited the following reason for the closure:

“Due to frequent blockages in the drainage pipes caused by foreign objects and repeated damage and vandalism to the facilities, the restroom has been closed.”

So what exactly was happening in the station’s restroom? A spokesperson from Enoden’s General Affairs Department spoke candidly in an interview:

“There were frequent incidents of solid objects other than toilet paper being flushed which clogged the pipes. Each time, we had to call plumbing contractors. Additionally, the restroom had long been extremely dirty. We heard that even walls were smeared with human waste.”

The closure of this facility—the only public restroom in the immediate area—was a direct result of such poor manners among tourists. But their troublesome behavior doesn’t stop there; some go so far as to relieve themselves outdoors on private property.

Outdoor urination and defecation around the station was already a deep-rooted issue before the restroom closed, but the absence of the only public facility has made the problem even more severe. The institution that suffers most acutely from this is Suzuki Hospital, located very close to the station. The hospital’s administrative director spoke with evident exasperation:

“Previously, Chinese visitors would come to the reception and ask, ‘Can we use your restroom?’ The way they used it was terrible. Not only did they leave it dirty, but some even unplugged the toilet’s power cord to charge their phones. Once, we lent the restroom to someone who said they couldn’t wait, and they emerged dressed in a wedding gown. They had changed clothes to shoot photos at the crossing. This interfered with our hospital operations, so now, I’m sorry, but we don’t allow anyone—Japanese or foreign—to use our restroom.”

Even though the hospital has posted “Restroom Not Available” signs in Chinese at the entrance, visitors ignore them. Even when ropes are used to restrict entry, people still come in. The hospital’s biggest headache is the outdoor defecation problem.

“Even before the station restroom closed, people were defecating around the hospital grounds, both large and small. Since the restroom closed, the serious incidents have become too frequent to ignore. Especially on Sundays, when fewer staff are on duty, they do as they please. On Monday mornings, when we check the area, we often find waste hidden in corners. We have repeatedly appealed to the city, saying this is a sanitary issue, but nothing has been done”

Cultural differences? Even female urinating standing up witnessed—local struggles

Not only the hospital but the entire community has long been troubled by similar problems. Nearby residents describe even more shocking scenes:

“In front of the station is the sea, so some go across the national road and relieve themselves on the beach. Urination is common, and locals have even witnessed girls defecating. I understand that the lack of restrooms leaves them no choice.”

Incredibly, this issue is not limited to the area around Kamakura High School Station. The neighboring Shichirigahama Station, known as a sacred site for the anime Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai, also attracts many tourists. There, observers saw scenes far beyond ordinary behavior:

“In the parking lot in front of the 7-Eleven at Shichirigahama, I was truly shocked to see girls urinating standing up. There were three of them: one faced the sea and lifted her skirt, while the other two stood behind to shield her from view, sort of like a French can-can. I was oddly impressed that girls could stand and urinate like boys. Of course, the ground was sand, so if anyone had been there, it would have gone over their heads. Unbelievable,” said the local resident.

Are the authorities and the railway company just standing by? There have been calls for temporary toilets, but the Kamakura City Tourism Division explains the challenges:

“There are issues with odor and placement, and coordination with local residents is required.”

The obstacles are not just about infrastructure. The fundamental problem is that tourists are not receiving information about proper manners. The tourism division chief revealed this dilemma:

“We are fully aware of the issue and are currently considering concrete measures. In addition to physical solutions, we believe it is important to communicate Japanese manners directly to tourists from China and South Korea. Especially for Chinese visitors, they don’t use Instagram or Facebook but rely on their own SNS platforms like WeChat. We need to reach them through the tools they use daily.”

Government officials have also inspected the site, and discussions at the administrative level are progressing toward concrete solutions. Meanwhile, Kamakura City Council member Tatsuhiko Nagashima, who has long raised this issue in council, argues that even bolder measures are needed:

“There’s a park nearby with a good angle for photos. We could set up a photo stage there and guide visitors to shoot there instead of on the streets. It could be a paid service. Also, toilets and garbage collection stations could be paid, installed in the park. The revenue could be reinvested in local infrastructure, including restrooms. This would prevent crowds on the streets and solve two problems at once.”

For anime fans, the site is a momentary memory; for residents, it’s part of daily life. The extraordinary situation disrupting residents’ peaceful living calls for prompt and effective measures from authorities.