Cherry‑blossom festival canceled

Fujiyoshida city canceled its Arakurayama Sengen Park cherry‑blossom festival, city officials announced on February 3, 2026. (forbes.com) The weeklong event normally draws about 200,000 visitors each spring, versus Fujiyoshida’s roughly 46,000 to 47,000 residents. (forbes.com) Mayor Shigeru Horiuchi said the decision came because “the quiet lives of local residents are threatened,” in the city’s public statement. (abc.net.au) City reports and local media listed recurring problems—traffic gridlock, littering, trespass into private yards and instances of public defecation—as drivers of the cancellation. (abc.net.au) The move came after a broader rebound in tourism: Japan recorded about 42.7 million inbound visitors in 2025, intensifying pressure on small sightseeing towns. (abc.net.au) A recent video examining seasonal tourism vulnerabilities used Fujiyoshida’s cancellation as a case study of how single‑season events can overwhelm local infrastructure and services. (youtube.com) Local authorities in the region have previously tried crowd controls such as erecting view‑blocking barriers at popular photo spots and introducing extra fees for some mountain access points. (forbes.com) (forbes.com; abc.net.au) Fujiyoshida said it will remove the festival name from official tourism sites and draft a sustainable‑tourism plan to manage visitors more tightly in future seasons. (travelandleisureasia.com) Officials warned that the cherry trees will still bloom and that the park may attract visitors despite the festival’s cancellation, but they said the pause was necessary to protect residents’ living conditions. (abc.net.au) (abc.net.au; travelandleisureasia.com)