The Japanese city of Fujiyoshida is canceling its annual cherry blossom festival, citing poor behavior from tourists like littering, entering private homes, and even defecating in residents’ yards.
Japan celebrates the blooming of its Sakura trees every spring. The plants spread pale pink blossoms all across the country for a limited time, presenting opportunities for Instagrammable photos and picturesque picnics among the flowers.
In fact, cherry blossom season is so famous that the price of flights to the country often skyrocket during March and April as tourists make their way overseas to take part in the experience… but one city in Japan is fed up with some of these travelers’ bad manners.
Cherry blossom season is the perfect time to have a picnic with friends.
Cherry blossom festival canceled over tourism “crisis”
In a February 3 press release, the city of Fujiyoshida announced that it is canceling its annual cherry blossom viewing festival, which usually takes place in a park with a striking view of Mt. Fuji.
The scenic location has become so viral that the park often gets overcrowded, resulting in overtourism that has “severely impacted the living environment of local residents.”
According to the press release, more than 10,000 viewers would come to see the blossoms each day during the peak season. This resulted in some shockingly poor behavior from tourists, which included trespassing onto private property to use residents’ toilets and sometimes, even defecating in peoples’ yards.
“Chronic traffic congestion, unauthorized entry into private properties to use toilets, and littering, including cigarette butts, have been reported,” the press release states.
“Incidents such as tourists relieving themselves in private gardens and causing disturbances when confronted by residents have been confirmed,” they added, noting that traffic congestion has also posed a danger to students walking to and from school.
Unsplash.com: Wenhao RuanCherry blossom season is a peak travel time for tourists.
As a result, the festival will no longer proceed. It first began in 2016 and had a nearly decade-long run before authorities stepped in to temper the yearly chaos. However, the city still expects an influx of visitors despite this cancellation and will deploy security personnel and traffic control officers.
The city’s mayor, Shigeru Horiuchi, said he feels a “strong sense of crisis” about the situation, saying the “peaceful lives of our citizens are being threatened behind the beautiful scenery.”
This is just the latest in a string of incidents that have given foreign tourists a bad rap in Japan. A number of influencers have come under fire for their behavior while visiting the country, such as notorious streamer Johnny Somali, who was jailed and fined 200,000 yen ($1,400 USD) for obstructing a business after broadcasting inside a restaurant.
And in September 2025, a Ukrainian YouTuber and his friends were arrested after sneaking into the Fukushima Exclusion Zone to film content, despite strict warnings against entering the area.
