Cultural clashes, ‘unruly crowds’ at Japan’s cherry blossom parties stir overtourism debate

Japan’s famed cherry blossom season has become the latest battleground in a broader debate over overtourism, etiquette and how foreign visitors are portrayed when trouble flares. That debate sharpened this week after the conservative Sankei newspaper ran a report accusing “unruly crowds” of foreigners of misbehaving during hanami – or cherry blossom viewing parties – across Japan, prompting renewed calls for visitors to show greater respect for local customs. In an echo of wider demands to rein in foreign tourists, Sunday’s edition of the paper carried a story under the headline: “Singing and dancing during ‘explosive cherry blossom viewing’ can lead to tourism pollution.” The article said noise, “dangerous rule-breaking” and overtourism were “pushing residents to the limit”. To support its claim, the report said residents of Dazaifu, in Fukuoka prefecture, had complained about groups “making a racket in Chinese” at a popular hanami spot. According to Sankei’s account, some women in one group danced to music played on a mobile phone while others filmed them. The group also had a portable gas stove and cooking pots. When one onlooker challenged them, they reportedly replied: “Singing and dancing is the Chinese way of enjoying cherry blossoms.” City officials responded to a complaint and told the group that using the stove was not permitted. The group said it was unaware of the rule and would not use it. The group also told the officials that cherry blossom parties in China were “livelier” than in Japan and often involved karaoke and tai chi exercises. The report set off a barrage of criticism on social media, with one message reading: “This is Japan. It’s a place where your vulgar behaviour is not accepted. Conclusion: If you cannot accept Japanese traditions, don’t come to Japan.” Another added, “Do it in your own country and don’t cause trouble for other countries. China – the world’s nuisance,” while a third said, “I think it is completely backward that under the guise of ‘multicultural coexistence’, Japanese people are forced to put up with this sort of thing.” Hiromi Murakami, a professor of political science at the Tokyo branch of Temple University, said the article was playing to the prejudices of the Sankei’s right-wing audience. “It is completely typical to see extremely drunk Japanese people at hanami parties every year”, with people singing along to portable karaoke machines, playing musical instruments and arguing over the best spots to sit, she told This Week in Asia. “It is absolutely unfair to say that only foreign people get excited when they see cherry blossoms and do something unusual or wrong,” she added. “But we should not be surprised because this is the Sankei and this is how they like to put the situation to their readers.” “It’s the same in other countries, where right-wing media tilt their stories to frame their political positions.” There are also increasing reports of confrontations, with a European business owner recounting to This Week in Asia how police were summoned to his recent hanami party in Yokohama. “I tied a flag to the branch of a tree so my friends could see where we were sitting among the crowds and suddenly two police officers came to us and said we had to take it down,” said the executive, who asked not to be named. “They were very polite and quite apologetic but said they had received a complaint. I had not caused any damage to the tree, but I did as they requested,” he said. “I also asked the officers if they were getting more complaints about foreigners’ behaviour and they confirmed that yes, in the last two years, more and more Japanese were calling to report something that a foreigner was doing.” The Sankei also reported that the town of Fujiyoshida, in Yamanashi prefecture, had cancelled its cherry blossom festival in March due to “nuisance behaviour” by foreign tourists. The report said visitors entered residents’ homes without permission and some even urinated in locals’ gardens. “At viewing spots across Japan, foreign visitors have previously been cited for rule violations and disruptive behaviour,” it said. “Chinese tourists in particular have reportedly been seen snapping off cherry branches for photos.” The report called for greater “etiquette training” for foreigners.

Cultural clashes, ‘unruly crowds’ at Japan’s cherry blossom parties stir overtourism debate

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}A report claims residents of Dazaifu in Fukuoka prefecture complained about groups ‘making a racket in Chinese’ at a popular hanami spot

A report claims residents of Dazaifu in Fukuoka prefecture complained about groups ‘making a racket in Chinese’ at a popular hanami spot