Springtime in Japan but COVID-19 limits festivities for cherry blossom fans

I would have liked to see a larger sign with keep 2 meters apart ( social distancing) and a picture of a face mask, and use the hand sanitiser gells provided at stations around the park just (in case you touch something)

Roping sections off actually makes for worse crowds?

Sort of like the govt. saying the trains are too crowded so they will run less of them, make the time tables shorter and reduce cars on sets of running trains. Make everyone go home by 8pm.

Something wrong with the logic here.

Many parks in the capital region are prohibiting hanami, with some erecting temporary fences to keep people from gathering near the trees.

Why? Its outdoors, where spread is proven to be significantly lower than on places as izakayas, packed trains, offices etc.

Useless measures to pretend something is being done, which is creating false confidence to the Olympic teams of foreign countries, who will be sending their athletes to a “secretly” high risk country.

Allow hanami, cancel the Olympics, and lets stop with this circus!

LOL. Is this sign serious? I guess making a sign stops the spread of COVID! Afterall, everyone is Japan is immune as the J-Govt's actions speak this way.

I remember seeing these Cherry Flower things in 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016 and so on. I know it's a culture thing but really congregations is not the brightest thing in the middle of an evolving pandemic. Stay home reminiscing with the the thousands of photos taken over your life time.

Looking at that photo there doesn’t seem to be any limits to crowds or festivities. With congregations of that that amount of people I’m sure Japan will see new COVID cases rise sharply into four figures and beyond in the coming weeks, possibly days.

"cherry blossom fans" what does that even mean?

Cherry blossom parties is japanese culture.

And it's not the virus that is limiting it, its local governments and well meaning people that don't even know they are destroying their own culture.

Had enough of this nonsense.

“Cherry blossom fans”, anything to do with Southampton football club perhaps?

From what I have seen in pictures from previous years in respect of Wuhan coronavirus, the degree of propinquity that ensues utterly negates the benefit of being in the outdoors.

Heading to Shikoku in a couple of hours. Hope the blossoms are brilliant tomorrow

PLEASE stay safe.

When is the government, at national or prefectural level, going to realise that their 'urging' and 'cautioning' (basically HOPING) against people gathering in large numbers ANYWHERE is simply not working? I mean, I know it's Japan, but does anyone in power here have a spine? (Sadly I already know the answer).

There's no weird English on that sign! They're letting their guard down.

Being just outside like in the picture means a risk of nearly zero, mask or not, distance or not.

As everyone knows, for Hanami, there is a low risk due to parties where everyone get drunk.

TARA TAN KITAOKA - PLEASE stay safe

Please stay HOME!