Cherry blossoms and Mount Fuji draw tourists to Japanese town. The locals are not happy
Fujiyoshida’s cherry blossoms and Mount Fuji views have sparked overtourism chaos, with a local festival cancelled as a result
The trouble started with a beautiful photo.
Tourists wanting a similar shot started to pack this peaceful town at the foot of the mountain. The complaints were not far behind: chronic traffic jams; piles of litter; ill-mannered foreigners knocking on doors of private homes to borrow toilets; tourists relieving themselves in front gardens.
It got so bad that officials in Fujiyoshida announced in February that they were cancelling this year’s cherry blossom festival, which started a decade ago as a way to promote tourism.
“This area is primarily an ordinary residential neighbourhood, where balancing [tourism] with the safety of people’s living environment has become difficult,” says Masatoshi Hada, manager of the Fujiyoshida economics and environment department. “We decided not to promote a festival that would invite more visitors.”