A town near Japan’s Mount Fuji has cancelled this year’s iconic cherry blossom festival amid a “crisis” caused by overtourism.

An influx of badly behaved tourists in Fujiyoshida has made life unbearable for residents, forcing authorities to bring down the curtain on its annual event.

Millions of people flock to Japan from around the world to see and photograph the powdery pink-coloured flowers that bloom in spring.

Fujiyoshida is an especially popular destination because the cherry blossom trees can be photographed against the backdrop of the conical-shaped Mount Fuji, Japan’s tallest mountain.

However, Fujiyoshida mayor Shigeru Horiuchi said the hordes of visitors were causing chronic traffic congestion and litter.

Tourists were “opening private home doors without permission to use the restroom”, trespassing, littering and “defecating in private yards and raising a fuss when residents pointed this out”.

Horiuchi said the feeling among the town’s residents was “a strong sense of crisis.”

“To protect the dignity and living environment of our citizens, we have decided to bring the curtain down on the 10-year-old festival,” he said during this week’s announcement.

The festival began in 2016, when the gates of Arakurayama Sengen Park were opened to attract tourists to the area.

However, authorities said the number of visitors in recent years had “increased dramatically, exceeding the city’s capacity and resulting in overtourism, which is having a serious impact on the living environment of local residents”.

It’s estimated that 10,000 visitors a day flock to the town during the peak blossom season.

This increase is “due to factors such as the weak yen and explosive popularity fuelled by social media”.

Japan is in the midst of a tourism boom that has led to overcrowding in popular hotspots such as Kyoto.

The Japan Times reports that 42.7 million tourists flocked to Japan in 2025, an all-time high, topping 2024’s record of nearly 37 million.

Last year, for the first time, the number of Australian visitors broke the one million mark – a 15 per cent increase on 2024.

Data just released by the Japan National Tourism Organisation shows that the country welcomed 121,300 Aussies in December alone.

While accessibility and attractions such as cherry blossoms, temples and skiing are all part of the appeal, another big plus is the increased strength of the Australian dollar against the yen.

The ABS data put Japan third in the top 10 short-term destinations for Australian travellers in November 2025, showing numbers have grown consistently over the past six years.