Overview
- City officials ended the decade-long event for 2026 after concluding visitor surges were disrupting daily life in surrounding neighborhoods.
- Mayor Shigeru Horiuchi said residents' quiet lives were threatened, describing a growing sense of crisis tied to the festival crowds.
- Reports detailed trespassing, littering, cigarette waste, tourists opening private home doors in search of restrooms, and even defecation in gardens.
- The festival has drawn roughly 200,000 visitors a year, with peak days topping 10,000 people, creating traffic jams and clogged sidewalks.
- Arakurayama Sengen Park remains open, with plans for extra patrols, temporary parking and portable toilets as officials expect heavy turnout driven by viral imagery and a weak yen amid record national tourism.