<![CDATA[Coronavirus: Japan's cherry blossom season has come early - too bad there's no one around to enjoy it]>

Japan's eagerly anticipated cherry blossom season has arrived " but a shortage of foreign tourists and government health warnings for people to avoid large gatherings amid the coronavirus crisis is turning the occasion into a damp squib.

The sakura trees in central Tokyo began blossoming on Saturday, a full 12 days earlier than average and two days earlier than the previous earliest date of March 16 recorded in 2002 and 2013, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.

But as the number of confirmed coronavirus infections in the country surpassed the 1,500 mark with 31 deaths " including about 700 cases from the Diamond Princess cruise ship that was quarantined near Tokyo " the government has issued a recommendation against people gathering in traditional hanami spots, such as Ueno Park in central Tokyo or the grounds of the Japan Mint in Osaka.

With "social distancing" also encouraged by many companies and employees increasingly working from home, in part to avoid Japan's notoriously crowded public transport, drinking and singing karaoke beneath the blossoms is not a priority this year.

A group of colleagues raise their glasses for a toast as they picnic under cherry blossoms in a park in Tokyo in 2017. Photo: AFP alt=A group of colleagues raise their glasses for a toast as they picnic under cherry blossoms in a park in Tokyo in 2017. Photo: AFP

"I've always looked forward to cherry blossom season, and I think the vast majority of Japanese are the same," said Seiichi Yoda, a 78-year-old retired businessman from Yokohama.

As a marker of spring's arrival, the blossoms signify an "important time of the year" when winter is finally over and change is in the air, he said.

"Children go up a grade at school or change schools entirely and university students join their companies," Yoda said.

"To celebrate all those things, we admire the cherry blossoms, although it's going to be very quiet this year, I think."

Last week, Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike was quoted as saying that preventing Japanese from gathering to enjoy the cherry blossom season would be like "taking hugs away from Italians", even as she urged to refrain from traditional hanami parties.

Yoda said he would heed the government's advice and avoid large gatherings by either hosting a "very small" party for immediate family, or admiring the blossoms he can see from his house.

"The government says people should not get together in large groups and that sounds a sensible approach to me," he said. "The only thing that I can say is that I hope the crisis passes quickly. And if we cannot celebrate this spring, then we will celebrate doubly this time next year."

People picnic under cherry trees in full bloom in Tokyo last year. Photo: AFP alt=People picnic under cherry trees in full bloom in Tokyo last year. Photo: AFP

For Emi Izawa, a 17-year-old student from Utsunomiya in Tochigi Prefecture, the lack of celebrations in a disappointment. She had been looking forward to marking her final year of secondary school by going to hanami parties with friends, but is now resigned to staying home and studying.

"It was meant to be special because it is the start of my last year in school and everyone wanted to remember it, but that can't happen," she said. "When we first heard about this virus in China a few weeks ago, nobody thought it would cause problems here. It's a real pity."

Japan's cherry blossom season is typically a highlight of tourists' calendars as well, but restrictions on international travel introduced by numerous countries in the wake of the outbreak and a subsequent slump in visitor numbers means many are absent from this year's celebrations.

International flights into and out of Japan are down 60 per cent on the figure for March last year, with flights from China, South Korea, Taiwan and the United States hit particularly hard.

This article originally appeared on the South China Morning Post (SCMP).

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