A major city is planning a tourism crackdown as it's dubbed the “seventh ring of Hell”.

Footage widely shared on social media and taken in Kyoto, Japan, shows hundreds of tourists lining an iconic street, with the hordes unable to move due to overcrowding.

In the clip, local authorities could be seen trying to direct pedestrian traffic on the historic cobblestone Sannenzaka street in the city's Higashiyama district, which leads to the famous Kiyomizu-dera Temple.

Now, visitors are saying that Kyoto is struggling to keep up with the overtourism. A French travel YouTuber shared the clip, saying: “Kyoto, what a hell it has become. How can one enjoy one's visit in such conditions?”

Johnny Waldman, who runs the Spoon and Tamago travel blog, also posted the video with the caption: “Unpopular opinion — Kyoto is the 7th ring of hell right now.”

One person commented on the clip: “I feel lucky to have visited before the tourist explosion.”

Another user shared a photo from 2008 when Sannenzaka was “a quiet side street” but added that the area “looks terrible now”.

A third added: “That is insane, I am so happy went 8 years ago, absolutely no crowds. Now I head out into the mountains and see temples, just as beautiful with only a handful of Japanese tourists.”

This comes as other tourist hotspots around the world also struggle to deal with overtourism and take measures to reduce it, including tourist taxes and caps.

Bali in Indonesia, which sees 3.5 million visitors a year, has introduced a ban on new hotels and nightclubs being built in tourist hotspots on the island.

Locals in Spain’s holiday destinations have been protesting overtourism since April, with marches and demonstrations. Graffiti reading “tourists go home” have also appeared on many walls across towns and cities in Spain.