A famous cherry blossom viewing spot that decided to cancel its cherry blossom festival due to overtourism is still being swarmed by tourists, causing distress to nearby residents.
■Annual cherry blossom festival canceled This year, a famous cherry blossom viewing spot made the difficult decision to cancel its festival…
Local resident: “When I opened the door, there were foreigners sitting and eating a meal there.” Fujiyoshida City Mayor Shigeru Horiuchi: “It’s a problem of overtourism and the manners of tourists. In order to ensure the safety and security of local residents, we have decided to postpone the cherry blossom festival.” The place that decided to cancel its annual cherry blossom festival is Arakurayama Sengen Park in Fujiyoshida City, Yamanashi Prefecture. Mount Fuji, a five-story pagoda, and cherry blossoms.
Boasting a uniquely Japanese landscape, the cherry blossom festival, which included a market and events, attracted more than 200,000 visitors from both Japan and abroad every year. There were long lines of up to three hours just to go up to the observation deck. However, people living in the surrounding area have been troubled by the congestion and disruptive behavior. Tourists have been entering residential properties without permission to take pictures. Foreign tourist: “Is this someone’s property? Am I not allowed to take pictures here? I didn’t know. It was a beautiful place so I took some photos.” Even more unforgivable was… Mayor Horiuchi: “Using a toilet in someone’s yard. It sounds unbelievable, but it’s actually happening. I can’t believe it.”
■ Tourists flocking, causing trouble
The city made the difficult decision to cancel the cherry blossom festival, citing the situation as it was threatening the lives of local residents. However, when we visited the site on the 20th, there were many cars around the park… The cherry blossoms hadn’t bloomed yet, but the observation deck was crowded. People were enjoying taking pictures and so on. Person from Hyogo Prefecture: “I’m so moved. I’m so excited. I enjoyed imagining the cherry blossoms blooming in my mind. My eyes were drawn to Mt. Fuji, and that alone made me incredibly excited.”
News of the cancellation of the cherry blossom festival due to overtourism had also spread among foreign tourists. Person from Switzerland: “I heard it was canceled. It would have been great to go to the cherry blossom festival, but it’s sad that the tourists’ behavior is so bad.” “You should respect the country you are traveling to, the people of that country, and its traditions.” However, even on this day… Next to the stairs leading to the observation deck, you can see trash such as wrapping paper and plastic bottles carelessly discarded. Littering isn’t limited to the park. A local resident said, “When I opened my front door, there were foreigners sitting and eating. There were yakitori skewers and coffee cups they bought at a convenience store.”
Unauthorized eating and drinking and littering in front of people’s homes are commonplace. A local resident added, “I don’t want to touch food that other people have eaten.” It’s the local residents who have to pick it up. Furthermore, a local resident said, “We’ve already removed this.” At this house, tourists were constantly using the garden water tap without permission, so the faucet handle was removed. As the cherry blossom season approaches, residents are already exhausted. A local resident said, “Even if the cherry blossom festival is canceled, the cherry blossoms will still bloom, so I think the tourists will come anyway. It’s useless to say anything or warn them, so we’ve pretty much given up.”
