Mount Fuji crowds force cancellations
Cherry‑blossom and Mount Fuji viewing crowds overwhelmed Fujiyoshida, prompting local authorities to cancel a festival and introduce new crowd‑control measures (travelandtourworld.com). The move comes as part of a sharper, on‑the‑ground response to overtourism rather than broad national policy changes (travelandtourworld.com).
Fujiyoshida canceled its 2026 cherry blossom festival at Arakurayama Sengen Park after Mount Fuji viewing crowds outgrew what the city said residents could safely absorb. (fujiyoshida.net) The city announced the cancellation on February 3 and said the festival would not be held this spring, even though the site still expected heavy visitor traffic during bloom season. Officials scheduled traffic control, security staff and temporary toilets from April 1 to April 17 instead. (fujiyoshida.net) Arakurayama Sengen Park has become one of Japan’s best-known photo spots: cherry blossoms, the Chureito Pagoda and Mount Fuji in one frame. The Asahi Shimbun reported the festival period now brings more than 200,000 visitors in total and more than 10,000 a day for roughly two weeks in April. (asahi.com) The strain is not limited to long lines for the viewing deck. The Asahi Shimbun said waits have stretched to three hours, roads have clogged, cigarette butts have piled up, schoolchildren have been pushed off sidewalks, and some tourists have entered nearby homes or used private yards as toilets. (asahi.com) City officials framed the decision as a neighborhood safety measure, not a retreat from tourism. Mayor Shigeru Horiuchi said residents’ quiet lives were being threatened, and the city said its first priority was “a safe and comfortable living environment” for citizens. (asahi.com) (fujiyoshida.net) The crowds kept coming anyway in early April. The Associated Press reported that visitors still packed the narrow streets to the park during peak bloom last week, and city officials said foreign tourists in recent years have topped 10,000 a day in the Fujiyoshida area. (apnews.com) That puts Fujiyoshida in the middle of Japan’s wider overtourism fight, but with local fixes rather than a new national clampdown. The Associated Press reported the city is relying on on-the-ground controls around a residential district where a viral Mount Fuji image turned ordinary streets into a global photo queue. (apnews.com) Nearby Fujikawaguchiko has already tried a more physical version of the same approach. After tourists jaywalked, littered and blocked sidewalks at the viral Lawson convenience-store photo spot, the town erected a black screen in 2024 and then replaced it with a smaller 1.4-meter barrier in August 2025. (tokyoweekender.com) Fujiyoshida’s message for spring 2026 is narrower than a ban on visitors: the blossoms are still there, the pagoda is still there, and the city is now treating peak bloom like crowd control first and festival second. (fujiyoshida.net)
