Inflation Dents Cherry Blossom Viewing: Updated May 8, 2024.

 

Inflation dents budgets for cherry blossom viewing in Japan

Article Source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240316/p2g/00m/0na/009000c

Ideas:

Maybe cherry blossom viewing becomes an outing that might use a lot of money, whether planned or not planned. Such as stopping at the conbini, stopping at tourism places, taking taxis or buses, or subways to get what you want to go.

And it takes time too. For example, watching NHK or another Japanese station it showed the wait time at major attractions in Japan at for example 80 minutes, and some at a 2 hour wait.

It possible, that some Japanese citizens might feel or think there are just too many people out and about especially during the Golden Week period, and choose to say at home, instead of going out to the crowded places.

This shows, maybe, that the wage increases of April 2023, was not enough for most households in Japan, as inflation is a weekly/monthly situation while wage increases just happen once a year.

There is also the possibility that the cherry blossom viewing situation just isn't the same as it was many years ago, as maybe less households see it a yearly seasonal ritual that they have to do as part of Japanese society.

Perhaps just seeing the cherry blossom near their homes is enough for some people and they don't feel the need to take any extravagant trips to see cherry blossoms.

I remember, in 2020 or 2021, someone posted twitter pictures or short twitter clips of cherry blossom viewing in a Tokyo park and there was tape to prevent people from going there but they still went there.

Of course cherry blossom in Japan will never go away but maybe it will be de-emphasized as people just think of it as nothing that special, and they can view cherry blossoms just around where they live.

And yes, quite possibly, that the pandemic, like it has for many things, has changed what people do and see, as they no longer need to so certain things like they used to.

As a westerner, cherry blossom viewing doesn't hold the same importance as it is for a Japanese person, although there are a lot of cherry blossoms in many cities in the US too.

But it is an important part of Japanese society and Japanese culture and should be respected for that.

The only concern I have is all of the foreign tourists who go to Japan and try to see the cherry blossoms but don't show respect in Japan and are not so polite and don't follow Japanese customs or manners.

Have a nice day and be safe!