FUJIYOSHIDA, Yamanashi Prefecture—The city government here is touting the success of its decision to cancel a cherry blossom festival at a photogenic hotspot for Mount Fuji that had been overrun by tourists.
There were apparently no reports of major traffic jams or malicious unruly behavior by visitors during the sakura season this year in the Fujiyoshida area.
Such problems in recent years prompted the Fujiyoshida government in February to call off the annual cherry blossom festival at city-managed Arakurayama Sengen Park.
While publicizing the festival cancellation in English on tourism information websites, the city also deployed security personnel in the surrounding area and maintained traffic restrictions to address overtourism problems.
“We were able to get through the cherry blossom season without any major accidents or confusion,” Masatoshi Hada, a manager at Fujiyoshida’s Mount Fuji Division, said. “We consider the measures to have had a certain effect in curbing overtourism.”
Arakurayama Sengen Park sits on elevated ground overlooking the city. Scenic photos from the site featuring a five‑story pagoda against a Mount Fuji backdrop have spread over social media, leading to hordes of tourists packing the park during the festival.
But after the municipality took the overtourism measures, the number of visitors to Arakurayama Sengen Park during the cherry blossom period from April 1 to April 19 was 215,663, a decrease of 16,389, or 7 percent, from the record high figure in 2024, according to the city government.
The 2026 total was also down by 2,314 from 2025, when visitor numbers were affected by an ETC system malfunction on the Chuo Expressway.
In previous years, so many sakura-viewing tourists flocked to the park that it sometimes took several hours for them to reach the observation deck to take photos.
Roads were jammed with traffic, cigarette butts and other discarded litter marred the city, and some tourists opened the doors of residents’ homes without permission or relieved themselves on private property.
In February, when the cancellation of the festival was announced, the city government said overtourism had “exceeded the limits of what can be accommodated.”
The city said it will continue prioritizing residents’ daily lives and safety while exploring ways to achieve sustainable tourism. It will examine trends in visitor numbers, congestion levels and changes in the burden on local communities.
AloJapan.com