The famed golden temple of Kinkaku-ji in Japan's ancient capital of Kyoto is raising its admission fees for the first time in 30 years.

The UNESCO World Heritage site plans to increase its general admission fee by 100 yen to 500 yen, or about 3.7 dollars, from April. Entrance for elementary and junior high school students will remain unchanged at 300 yen, and preschool children will continue to be admitted free.

The temple cited the falling number of visitors due to the coronavirus pandemic and increasing maintenance and security costs driven by rising prices.

A temple official asked for visitors' understanding. The official said it was a hard decision but increased revenue would help make the site more attractive.