Japan’s cherry trees are in full bloom, heralding the arrival of spring and the beginning of hanami picnics filled with food, festivities and fun.
But stubborn inflation, the economic fallout from the war in Iran and looming unsettled weather have muted excitement for this year’s gatherings – a time-honoured tradition that is also popular with tourists.
A survey by Intage found that 38 per cent of Japanese were planning to attend a cherry blossom viewing event with family, friends or colleagues, down 2.1 percentage points from last year.
Asked how much they would spend on the outings, the 2,500 respondents set their budget at an average of 6,383 yen (US$40), down from an average of 7,407 yen last spring.
“It is thought that this reflects a restrained trend in leisure activities as overall consumer spending becomes more moderate,” the Tokyo-based research agency said earlier this month.
According to the firm, nationwide cherry blossom party spending stood at 234.1 billion yen – a “significant contraction” that represented just 81.5 per cent of last year’s total.