Fujiyoshida at the foot of Fuji cancelled cherry blossom festival due to crowds, waste, and inappropriate tourists

Fujiyoshida draws the line: cherry blossom festival at the foot of Fuji cancelled due to mass tourism pressure

The town of Fujiyoshida in Japan's Yamanashi Prefecture, famous for postcards where cherry blossoms and Mount Fuji merge into one of the country's most recognizable sights, has decided to make a move this year that is rarely taken in Japan without grave reasons: city authorities have cancelled the spring festival dedicated to the cherry blossoms. The decision was explained by a sharp increase in the number of visitors which, according to the local administration and residents, is becoming unbearable for the infrastructure and the daily lives of the people who live there.

Festival has been linked to Arakurayama Sengen Park in recent years, a location that has become a "must-see" stop on social media for photographing Fuji framed by pink canopies and the silhouette of the Chureito Pagoda. It is precisely this photogenicity, fueled by viral posts, a weakening yen, and record demand for travel to Japan, that has turned a seasonal event into a logistical and social challenge. For readers planning a visit during the blossom season, the rule still applies that this is a period of peak crowds – and for those who want to stay close to the most famous viewpoints, it is useful to check accommodation in Fujiyoshida in time.

"A strong sense of crisis": what preceded the decision

According to publicly available statements from the city administration reported by international media, the key message was that the growth in visits has become "unmanageable" and that city services can no longer guarantee the safety, cleanliness, and normal functioning of neighborhoods around the most visited points. Mayor Shigeru Horiuchi emphasized that behind the "beautiful landscape" lies a reality in which the "quiet life of citizens is threatened," noting that the city government has a "strong sense of crisis."

In practice, this means that complaints were not only related to the number of people, but also to the behavior of some visitors. Residents, according to reports published in several outlets, pointed to chronic traffic jams, overcrowded sidewalks, and situations in which daily routes – including children's paths to school – turn into risky passages through the masses. An additional problem is waste, from discarded packaging to cigarette butts, and occasional incidents that locals describe as a gross violation of privacy: entering private property, opening house doors in search of a toilet, and even relieving themselves in gardens.

Such descriptions, however extreme they may sound, fit into a pattern that has been affecting several Japanese tourist hotspots in recent years: the number of visitors is growing faster than the capacity of public toilets, parking lots, pedestrian corridors, and local services that should maintain order. In this context, Fujiyoshida's decision is not just the cutting of one event, but a signal that the city is trying to reduce the pressure on the most sensitive parts of the community and regain control over seasons that have turned into a multi-day "wave."

How big is the pressure: thousands per day and hundreds of thousands in a season

Estimates cited in reports state that the festival has attracted around 200,000 visitors in past years, while during the peak of the blossom season, more than 10,000 people per day were recorded in the area. For a city the size of Fujiyoshida, these are numbers that strain traffic approaches, public transport, and municipal services, while simultaneously increasing the possibility of incidents on narrow access roads and staircases leading to the viewpoints.

It is important to emphasize that the cancellation of the festival does not mean that the cherries will stop blooming or that the park will disappear from tourist maps. On the contrary: city authorities already assume that a large number of people will come regardless of whether there is an official program. The difference is that by abolishing the event, they are trying to reduce the additional "magnetic effect" of the event (stages, announcements, schedules, marketing posts) and open up space for stricter crowd management. For travelers arriving during this period, it is also a practical signal to plan earlier, avoid peak times, and secure accommodation near the event venue in time, as availability in the region during the blossom season can disappear quickly.

What is changing on the ground: more surveillance and temporary infrastructure

According to information from media reports, Fujiyoshida plans to strengthen visitor management measures during April, when the greatest pressure is expected. In the focus are visible but also expensive measures: additional security and surveillance at the busiest points, the organization of additional parking capacities, and the installation of mobile toilets to prevent the recurrence of the most unpleasant incidents and relieve existing public sanitary points.

Such measures are not just a matter of "tidiness," but also of public health and safety. When thousands of people move along the same routes in a short time, the risk of injuries, traffic delays for emergency services, and conflicts in narrow passages increases. For local residents, this often spills over into the most basic situations: going to work, dropping off children, accessing their own home. That is why city authorities are increasingly using language that goes beyond tourism policy and moves into the zone of protecting the quality of life and dignity of citizens.

Why specifically Fujiyoshida: an "Instagrammable" spot has become a symbol of overload

Fujiyoshida is not among Japan's largest cities, but in recent years it has appeared on the global tourist map thanks to one specific scene: cherries, a pagoda, and Fuji in one frame. That motif has become massively reproduced content on social media, and it is precisely this type of "travel for photography" that often creates short but extremely intense peak surges. Visitors come at the same time of day, to the same places, with the same expectation of the shot, which leads to "bottlenecks" in a space not designed for such concentrated flow.

At the same time, Japan recorded record levels of international arrivals in 2025, which increased pressure on the most famous destinations, but also on "secondary" locations that have turned into primary ones via the internet. In such an environment, smaller cities and municipalities are often left without realistic tools: entrance fees and movement restrictions carry political and reputational costs, and increasing infrastructure takes time and money. The cancellation of the festival is therefore the most direct move by which the local government signals that there are limits to endurance.

For those who despite everything want to experience hanami in the shadow of Fuji, the recommendation is to plan the visit outside of weekends and consider staying in the surrounding area, while checking accommodation offers in Fujiyoshida and the wider area, as flexibility is often key to avoiding the heaviest crowds.

Broader Japanese context: between tourism as a growth engine and local community resistance

The cancellation of the festival in Fujiyoshida fits into a broader debate that is being conducted more openly in Japan: how to harmonize the economic benefits of tourism with the need to protect local communities and public space. Tourism brings income to hospitality, carriers, and trade, but at the same time creates costs that are often borne not by visitors but by residents – from municipal maintenance to pressure on housing, parking, and safety.

In several Japanese cities and districts, debates have been recorded in recent years about restricting access to sensitive zones, stricter punishment for harassing locals, and better distribution of visitors to lesser-known regions. Fujiyoshida is now becoming an example of how quickly one "perfect photograph" can change the rhythm of a city and turn a seasonal event into a public order problem. At the same time, the case also shows that the formal abolition of the event does not automatically solve the root cause: the popularity of the location remains, and with it the need for crowd management.

What visitors can expect in April 2026

Although the festival as an organized event will not be held, the blossom season in April remains the most attractive period for visiting the region around Fuji. This means that crowds will very likely exist, but with a different regime on the ground: more surveillance, more temporary solutions, and a greater emphasis on following the rules. Visitors coming at that time should count on limited parking capacity, possible traffic diversions, and longer waits for access to the most famous viewpoints.

For the local community, the key test will be whether, without the festival's "event infrastructure," the intensity of the pressure and the number of incidents that prompted the city to take this step can be reduced. For travelers, the message is clear: the sights they come for still exist, but responsible behavior and a greater dose of patience are expected. And for those planning a multi-day stay in the region, a practical step is to secure accommodation for Fujiyoshida visitors earlier, because the blossom season is short and demand is traditionally high.

Sources:

• The Guardian – report on the cancellation of the festival in Fujiyoshida, reasons, and crowd management measures (link)
• Sky News – overview of the Fujiyoshida decision and the context of excessive visitor numbers (link)
• ABC News (Australia) – report on the cancellation of the festival and the broader problem of overload at tourist locations (link)
• Tokyo Weekender – local context of Fujiyoshida and reports on the behavior of some visitors (link)
• Japan Tourism Statistics (JNTO) – official statistical platform on international visitor arrivals (link)
• Nippon.com – overview of preliminary data and context of record international arrivals in 2025 (link)