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Move comes after discovery of rare Pokémon near temple grounds.

Shonobazu Pond, located in Tokyo’s Ueno Park, has been seeing a huge spike in its number of visitors over the past month. Not all of them were there to appreciate the blooming flowers of the louts plants that grow in the body of water, though, as word had spread that Shinobazu Pond was one of the best places in the city to hunt for rare Pokémon GO Pocket Monsters, especially the elusive Dratini.

With the pond located just a short walk from Ueno Station, one of Tokyo’s busier train hubs, Pokémon GO players have been coming day and night to catch their prey, with many taking up position around Kaieji Temple and its Benten Pavillion, located on an island in the pond that’s connected to the rest of the park by pedestrian paths.

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However, there have been complaints about the crowds leaving behind trash such as food wrappers, drink containers, and cigarette butts. Another major problem is players squatting or sitting on the ground for extended Pokémon-hunting sessions, blocking the paths of others trying to make their way through or about the temple grounds. Some individuals are also suspected of plugging their phones into the temple’s unguarded electrical outlets, in a self-centered attempt to cope with the game’s infamous drain on battery life.

Appeals to the crowds to behave themselves have seemingly fallen on deaf ears, so on September 18 visitors to the area noticed signs like this one had been put up around the area.

The sign reads:

To all Pokémon GO players,

Due to a lack of improvement regarding inappropriate behavior, even after deploying security staff, play of Pokémon GO and other apps is completely prohibited as of the 18th.

The notices are concentrated around the temple’s Benten Pavilion, which suggests that the prohibition was enacted for the benefit of visitors coming to offer prayers and donations at the collection box, and also patrons and owners of the food stalls that have long operated on the temple grounds. However, the ban does not affect all of Ueno Park, or even all of Shinobazu Pond, which can also be crossed by walkways that do not pass through the temple. As such, Pokémon Trainers still have a chance to look for Dratini around the pond (which is also a great source of Magikarp), but are advised to mind their manners and take their trash home with them, lest the restriction be extended to include the entire area.

Source: IT Media
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