Coronavirus: Japan’s cherry blossom season sees tourists stay away
- ‘Tourists were overflowing. This is about right,’ says one Kyoto local who had grown weary of traffic jams and nuisance tourists during cherry blossom season
- But widening travel restrictions and closures of most tourism and entertainment venues have gutted Japan’s tourism industry
Cherry blossoms are in season and the ancient Japanese capital of Nara, with its majestic Todaiji “Big Buddha” temple and its herds of deer, would normally be packed. This year, it’s almost deserted, as are most other tourist attractions in Japan, as foreign visitors stay away and locals heed warnings to stay home to try to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
Japan’s tourism industry, heavily reliant on foreign travellers, has taken a beating since Beijing banned group tours in late January. But there’s a silver lining for some Japanese living in popular locations like Kyoto who were getting fed up with the crowds and disruptions from legions of visitors.
Tadayuki Takiguchi’s souvenir shop was the only one open on a recent weekday on a street near Nara’s famous deer park, where tourists usually stop to take photos and feed the animals.
“Sometimes I don’t see anyone on the street,” Takiguchi says. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”
Nara was among the first Japanese towns to be hit by the virus outbreak when a local bus driver tested positive in late January after carrying tourists from Wuhan, the Chinese city where the crisis originated. Around the same time, China’s government banned group tours and sales of overseas travel packages.