Surprising!? It turns out that 30% of Reiwa-era youths 'don't think cherry blossom viewing is fun'! What is the reason...
Wakamono Research conducted a survey on 15-19 year olds regarding Hanami. While about 70% find it fun, their reasons have diversified beyond just the flowers to include outdoor dining, companionship, and taking Instagrammable photos.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 11, 2026 at 19:00
- 🔍 Collected: April 11, 2026 at 12:09
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 19, 2026 at 22:13 (202h 4m after Collected)
It's right in the middle of the cherry blossom viewing season.
At this time of year, some people might find their SNS timelines completely filled with cherry blossoms.
Pictures of cherry tree-lined paths, bento boxes on blue tarps, selfies with friends...
The atmosphere that 'Hanami = a fun event' has become the norm, but actually, there might be people who feel, 'To be honest, is Hanami really that fun?'
Therefore, 'Wakamono Research', a marketing information site targeting teenagers and active high school students (https://wakamono-research.co.jp/media/), conducted a questionnaire survey among 15-19 year old youths nationwide asking, 'To be honest, do you think cherry blossom viewing is fun?'. We will introduce some of the results.
[About 70% are in the 'Hanami is fun' camp, but 'who you go with' is the key point!]
In this survey, 69.8% answered that they 'think' it is fun.
It was found that about 70% of high school students recognize that 'Hanami is a fun thing'.
Looking at the reasons,
First, many voices cited the beauty of the cherry blossoms themselves.
'Because the cherry blossoms look nice'
'It's beautiful and cleanses my heart'
'Because looking at nature calms my mind'
'Because I can feel the Japanese spring'
There were many words like 'beautiful', 'feel the spring', and 'I like cherry blossoms', suggesting that quite a few high school students find value in seeing the cherry blossoms themselves.
Also, voices that could be described as 'dumplings rather than flowers' (preferring food over flowers) stood out.
'Eating outside is delicious'
'Because the food tastes better than usual'
'Because I can eat a lot of delicious things'
'It's mostly about the food, but the cherry blossoms are also beautiful'
It seems many high school students enjoy the 'picnic feeling of eating outside' rather than the blossom viewing itself.
Furthermore, an even more common reason was that 'who you go with' is important.
'Because it's fun to chat and have a good time with friends'
'Family harmony. A feeling of being special'
'Anything is fun as long as I am with my friends'
'It's already fun just eating with friends'
It was also found that there is a strong sense that the time spent with friends and family is more fun than the Hanami itself.
Because some high school students said,
'Rather than Hanami being fun, it's just fun to be with my friends',
the fun of Hanami might largely depend on 'the members rather than the location'.
As a Gen Z-esque reason, there were also voices mentioning SNS aesthetics (Instagrammable).
'Because it's beautiful and looks good in photos'
'Because it's Instagrammable'
'Because just eating outside is fun and I can take photogenic pictures'
It seems some high school students enjoy Hanami as a photo-taking event.
On the contrary,
There were also voices like,
'Because it's good not to look at smartphones',
meaning some high school students value the time spent with friends in nature, forgetting the digital space.
At this time of year, some people might find their SNS timelines completely filled with cherry blossoms.
Pictures of cherry tree-lined paths, bento boxes on blue tarps, selfies with friends...
The atmosphere that 'Hanami = a fun event' has become the norm, but actually, there might be people who feel, 'To be honest, is Hanami really that fun?'
Therefore, 'Wakamono Research', a marketing information site targeting teenagers and active high school students (https://wakamono-research.co.jp/media/), conducted a questionnaire survey among 15-19 year old youths nationwide asking, 'To be honest, do you think cherry blossom viewing is fun?'. We will introduce some of the results.
[About 70% are in the 'Hanami is fun' camp, but 'who you go with' is the key point!]
In this survey, 69.8% answered that they 'think' it is fun.
It was found that about 70% of high school students recognize that 'Hanami is a fun thing'.
Looking at the reasons,
First, many voices cited the beauty of the cherry blossoms themselves.
'Because the cherry blossoms look nice'
'It's beautiful and cleanses my heart'
'Because looking at nature calms my mind'
'Because I can feel the Japanese spring'
There were many words like 'beautiful', 'feel the spring', and 'I like cherry blossoms', suggesting that quite a few high school students find value in seeing the cherry blossoms themselves.
Also, voices that could be described as 'dumplings rather than flowers' (preferring food over flowers) stood out.
'Eating outside is delicious'
'Because the food tastes better than usual'
'Because I can eat a lot of delicious things'
'It's mostly about the food, but the cherry blossoms are also beautiful'
It seems many high school students enjoy the 'picnic feeling of eating outside' rather than the blossom viewing itself.
Furthermore, an even more common reason was that 'who you go with' is important.
'Because it's fun to chat and have a good time with friends'
'Family harmony. A feeling of being special'
'Anything is fun as long as I am with my friends'
'It's already fun just eating with friends'
It was also found that there is a strong sense that the time spent with friends and family is more fun than the Hanami itself.
Because some high school students said,
'Rather than Hanami being fun, it's just fun to be with my friends',
the fun of Hanami might largely depend on 'the members rather than the location'.
As a Gen Z-esque reason, there were also voices mentioning SNS aesthetics (Instagrammable).
'Because it's beautiful and looks good in photos'
'Because it's Instagrammable'
'Because just eating outside is fun and I can take photogenic pictures'
It seems some high school students enjoy Hanami as a photo-taking event.
On the contrary,
There were also voices like,
'Because it's good not to look at smartphones',
meaning some high school students value the time spent with friends in nature, forgetting the digital space.