SODEGAURA, Chiba Prefecture--Boasting palm trees planted at even intervals, the Kaihin Koen-dori road here is popular as an "Instagrammable" spot for its resemblance to the U.S. West Coast.

Set against the backdrop of the calm blue waters of Tokyo Bay under a blue sky, the one-kilometer-long straight stretch had even been a setting for commercials and a music video. 

But all those visitors drawn by the spot popularly called "Chibafornia," a portmanteau of Chiba and California, created a problem for locals.

In late March, annoyed by illegal parking along the road, the city government ruined the view by wrapping a bright yellow sheet around the trunk of each tree.

The road had been bustling, even on weekdays, with people taking photos of the line of palm trees.

But one day in mid-April, the Kaihin Koen-dori, which has two lanes in each direction, was quiet under the hot sun, with large trucks and dump trucks occasionally passing by with a roar.

Of 98 palm trees planted along the road, 40 were wrapped with a bright yellow sheet measuring three meters around their trunk.

Marked with "No parking" and "No photography on the road" in black letters, the banners spoiled the scenic beauty.

According to the municipality, which oversees city roads, the banners were installed on March 30 to prevent illegal parking and other undesirable acts.

"It's disappointing because it was a beautiful scenery. There are only a few people who caused trouble," said a 40-year-old doctor with a sigh, who stopped by the spot on his way to an outlet mall.

A local woman, 67, who was walking along the road, added with a wry smile: "It looks a little too striking."

The Kaihin Koen-dori runs along Tokyo Bay, three kilometers from the Chiba Prefecture side of the Tokyo Bay Aqua Line highway.

According to the city's commerce and tourism division, the municipality planted the palm trees after the beginning of the Heisei Era (1989-2019), although no records have been found to say why.

In or around 2015, a member of Kishidan, a rock band hailing from the prefecture, introduced the area as "Chibafornia" during its concert held at the Sodegaura Kaihin Koen park.

It served as a locale for car commercials for Toyota Motor Corp. and Subaru Corp., while the idol group E-girls shot a music video there.

Google Maps also shows the area as "Chibafornia."

There are more than 80,000 posts with the hashtag "#Chibafornia" on Instagram, many of which feature photos of cars and motorcycles against the backdrop of the palm tree-lined road.

Meanwhile, some people laid on the road to take photos of their cars and the palm trees from low angles, while others attempted to take group photos in the median strip.

City officials started to receive complaints from neighbors and workers from a nearby factory about sightseers entering the road and endangering safety.

A survey compiled by the commerce and tourism division showed that there were a total of 15 accidents involving injuries between 2018 and 2020, including one death.

Troubled by how to cope with the situation, the city government decided to purposely ruin the scenery mainly in the south side of the road, which was particularly cluttered with parked vehicles.

"We thought about cutting down the trees, but we want to see how things go first," an official said. "It was a difficult decision because it ruins the scenery, but we had no choice."

The city's tourist association initially set up three one-meter-square warning signs in 2018, but to little effect.

The number of shutterbugs increased even more in 2021. The road was packed with parked cars on holidays blessed with fine weather.

But the number of illegally parked cars drastically decreased after the yellow sheets were installed.

"There used to be 20 to 30 cars parked on weekdays, but now the number greatly decreased to only a few even on sunny days," the official said. "We want to use it as a tourism resource, but safety comes first. Please mind your manners when you take photos."

The city government will determine whether the sheets should be removed after seeing how things proceed, the official added.

Hiromi Fujiwara, 45, a truck driver living in Narashino, also in the prefecture, who passes through the road almost every day, said: "I thought it was dangerous, seeing some people lying flat on the road to take photos. The banners have made it look unimpressive, but I hope there will be less unsafe acts and accidents, even if only slightly."