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Japanese city asks tourists to stop 'sand graffiti'

Sand Dunes - Level 0

A Japanese city has a graffiti problem. It is graffiti in sand. The city wants tourists to stop writing messages on the city's sand dunes. It damages the dunes and stops people enjoying them. There were more than 3,300 cases of 'sand graffiti' in the past ten years. In January, two tourists wrote a 25-metre-long birthday message.

The Tottori sand dunes are famous in Japan. They are Japan's largest and longest dunes. The biggest is 50 metres high. They are 16 kilometres long. They are on the Sea of Japan coast. There are now signs to ask people to follow the rules. The city said: "We want to continue to protect views of the beautiful sand dunes."

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Sand Dunes - Level 1

A Japanese city has a graffiti problem. Not spray-can on walls graffiti, but graffiti in sand. City officials are asking tourists to stop writing messages and drawing pictures on the city's sand dunes. Graffiti damages the dunes. It ruins the pleasure people get in looking at them. There were more than 3,300 cases of 'sand graffiti' at the tourist hotspot in the past ten years. In January, two tourists had to erase a 25-metre-long birthday message.

The Tottori sand dunes are famous across Japan for their beauty. They are Japan's largest and longest dunes. The biggest is 50 metres high. They are 16 kilometres long. They are part of a scenic coastal park on the Sea of Japan. Tottori officials will put signs up to ask people to respect the dunes. The officials are worried tourists will not follow the rules. They said: "We want to continue to protect views of the beautiful sand dunes."

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Sand Dunes - Level 2

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A Japanese city has a problem with graffiti, but not the usual type of spray-can graffiti on walls. It is graffiti in sand. Officials in Tottori City are asking tourists to stop writing messages and drawing pictures on its giant sand dunes. They said the graffiti damages the dunes and ruins the pleasure others get in looking at the sand. There were more than 3,300 cases of 'sand graffiti' at the tourist hotspot in the last decade. A newspaper said there were more than 200 cases last year. In January, two tourists were ordered to erase a 25-metre-long birthday message.

Tottori's sand dunes are famous all over Japan for their natural beauty. They are Japan's largest and longest dunes. The biggest dune is 50 metres high. They stretch for 16 kilometres along a scenic geo-coastal park on the Sea of Japan. Tottori officials want tourists to understand how important the dunes are. They will put more signs up to ask people to respect the dunes. The officials are worried whether or not tourists will follow the rules. They said: "We want to continue to protect views of the beautiful sand dunes." More tourists are visiting the site each year.

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Sand Dunes - Level 3

A city in Japan is having a problem with graffiti. However, it is not the usual type of graffiti with paint from spray cans being used to write on walls. It is graffiti in sand. Officials in the city of Tottori are asking tourists to refrain from writing messages and pictures in the sand of its giant sand dunes. The officials said the graffiti causes damage to the dunes and destroys the pleasure others get in looking at the sand. They said that more than 3,300 cases of 'sand graffiti' have occurred at the tourist hotspot in the last decade. The Mainichi newspaper said there were more than 200 cases reported last year. In January, two overseas tourists were ordered to erase a 25-metre-long message that read: 'Happy Birthday Natalie'.

The Tottori Sand Dunes are famous throughout Japan for their natural beauty. They are the largest and longest sand dunes in the country and form part of a scenic geo-coastal park on the Sea of Japan coast. The biggest dune is 50 metres high. The dunes stretch for 16 kilometres along the coast. The local government wants to improve tourists' understanding of the importance of the dunes. It will set up more signs in English, Chinese and Korean asking people to respect the dunes. More and more tourists are visiting the site each year. A spokesman said: "We are concerned about whether the rules are fully understood, but we want to continue to protect views of the beautiful sand dunes."

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