In this post we share photos of Ueno Park, one of Tokyo’s most popular cherry blossom viewing spots, as it looked about a week ago, on March 25th. The photos were taken a day before the urgent request by Tokyo metropolitan area leaders for people to stay indoors to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
On March 26th, Tokyo Gov Koike issued a plea to the people of Tokyo and the surrounding regions to avoid non-essential, non-urgent outings until April 12, and particularly on the weekend of the 28th and 29th.
As we described in this post, by and large over the weekend, people listened to the government’s request, with an estimated 60 to 70 percent of the city’s residents staying in.
Last Saturday, March 28th, Japanese and international media ran photos of a deserted Ueno Park, with picnic areas roped off and security guards standing by to prevent people from congregating.
In the event you weren’t in Japan or were in Tokyo and already observing social distancing even before the March 26th request, you likely didn’t make it out to Ueno for the cherry blossoms this year.
The photos below were all taken by a staff member of Real Estate Japan on the afternoon of Wednesday, March 25th. They observed that there were many groups of people eating and drinking near signs saying, “宴席禁止” (No Banqueting).
Lead photo: People picnicking at Ueno Park, March 25, 2020, photo by Real Estate Japan