Japan Cancelled Cherry Blossom Festival for Tourist Misbehaviour

Japan has cancelled a major cherry blossom festival near Mount Fuji after local authorities said bad tourist behaviour and overcrowding were making life “unmanageable” for residents. The decision affects the Arakurayama Sengen Park cherry blossom event in Fujiyoshida City, a popular spring tradition that normally draws around 200,000 visitors each year.  

The festival held at a hillside park famous for its view of Mount Fuji and Chureito Pagoda has been called off for 2026 and may be ended permanently. City officials in Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi Prefecture, announced the cancellation on February 3, stating they could no longer cope with the scale of tourism during the cherry blossom season. 

Authorities said the key reason for the move is what they call an “overtourism crisis.” They reported serious problems such as heavy traffic, long queues, illegal parking, littering, and tourists trespassing into private homes and gardens. Some residents complained that visitors had entered private yards to use toilets and even defecated in gardens, leading to clashes when locals tried to intervene. 

Parents in Fujiyoshida also raised concerns that children were being pushed aside on sidewalks as crowds of tourists blocked streets on the way to school. City officials said the situation had created a “strong sense of crisis” and threatened the “dignity and living environment” of local people. Mayor Shigeru Horiuchi stated that behind Mount Fuji’s beautiful scenery lay the reality that citizens’ quiet lives were under pressure. 

The surge in visitors has been linked to a weak yen, cheaper travel for foreigners, and the park’s popularity on social media. Arakurayama Sengen Park’s cherry-tree-lined slopes and Fuji-view pagoda have become a top photo spot, often going viral online and attracting tens of thousands of people per day during peak season. 

Even though the official festival is cancelled, city officials expect large crowds to still come to the park in April when the blossoms bloom. Fujiyoshida plans to increase security, set up temporary parking, and install portable toilets to reduce pressure on local homes.

The cancellation has sparked wider debate about overtourism in Japan, where cherry-bloom viewing, or “hanami,” is one of the country’s most cherished seasonal events. Other famous spots, such as Kyoto and Tokyo, have also reported strain from record-breaking visitor numbers in recent years. 

The Arakurayama Sengen Park blossom festival joins a small but growing list of Japanese events that have been scaled back or stopped because of tourism pressure. Local leaders say their priority is to protect residents’ safety and quality of life, even if it means losing a major draw for foreign visitors.