Top 10 Cherry Blossom Spots in Tokyo | Sakura watching and Hanami Guide with MAP
Hello, everybody!
Usually every year, cherry blossom trees bloom in Tokyo between late March to early April. In fact, it started to bloom early this year in 2018 as Sakura Weather Map says it may end early.
Anyways, there are so many great spots to check out cherry blossom in the central Tokyo so you might be thinking which one to visit. In this blog, we will show you OUR top 10 cherry blossom spots inTokyo!
Top 10 Cherry Blossom Spots in Tokyo
1 Sumida Park
2 Yoyogi Park
3 Ueno Park
4 Chidorigahuchi
5 Yasukuni Shrine
6 Shinjuku Gyoen
7 Yaesu Sakura Dori
8 Imperial Palace
9 Meguro River
10 Rikugien Gardens
Top 10 Cherry Blossom Spots in Tokyo
1. Sumida Park
With about 1000 cherry blossom trees along with Sumida river, this is definitely one of my top spots to see cherry blossom. Sumida park runs both sides on Sumida river. My advice is chill between Sakura bridge and Azuma bridge which you can get to by getting of at Asakusa Station.
I love this spot be cause you can enjoy skytree and cherry blossom while riskshaws passing by. There are some space for you to picnic so you can chill all day eating and drinking! What's great about Sumida Park is that there are a bunch of other torist spots in the area like Senso-ji and and Hanayashiki. You can literally spend a whole day here.
Just remember that Sumida park doesn't really have food stands so bring your own food if you want to picnic.
For those who wants distinctive experience, you can get on one of the boats. There are ones with meal set and ones you just enjoy the view. Boat rides with meal are usually pretty nice and it costs around 10,000 yen average. I don't really recommend the ones cheaper because the quality of food goes down as the price goes down. Harumiya and Mikawaya are one of the promising companies which has English website.
Yoyogi Park is in my home ground Shibuya area, 3 minutes from Harjauku and Yoyogi-koen Station. This is definitely the #1 choice if you want to party with a lot of your friends. I always get a feeling that there are more younger crowd compared to other hanami spots.
Weekend is chaotic but Yoyogi park is so big (54,529㎡) that you will never have to look or wait for space even around cherry blossom area. Weekdays are not that bad. (The pictures were taken on Wednesday when Sakura was fully bloom.)
Right by the bridge, you can find SOME food stands where you can get the basics like yakisoba (stir-fried noodles) but at this park I tend to bring my own food and drink since it is usually cheaper.
There are area that doesn't have cherry blossom trees in the park as well. These areas shouldn't be crowded at all as you can see in the picture so you can have your kids run around!
Ueno (Onshin) Park is a great substitution to Yoyogi Park if you want to drink all day long. Ueno Park is right in front of JR Ueno Station. I think it has the most impactful cherry blossom out of all Hanami spots. I mean look at how all the cherry blossom trees are close together. It's like pink sky is falling onto you.
In the main path, there are space designated for picnicking with the rope around it so you don't have to worry about crowd stepping on your stuff.
Now, the food stools at Ueno is something that I can get behind! Check out the plethora of stalls lined up on the path to Toshogu shrine. There are so many goodies like fresh fish on a stick, diggity dango, grilled squid, Beef skewers and more! There are tables and chairs in the are so you don't have to go back to the picnic area.
In Ueno Park, there are many temples like Kiyomizu sannon-do, Ueno toshogu, Hanazono Inari shrine and more. Also, for those of you who culturally healing, check out one of the many museums at the park. Oh, did I mention they have Ueno zoo as well?
Chidori-ga-fuchi has this crazy moat that was made in 1606 at the start of Edo Bakufu, the final samurai government in Japan. It is located in the west side of the Imperial Palace near Kudanshita and Hanzomon Station.
Anyway, the row boats are the main attraction. If you’ve made it this far, you should probably get on. Otherwise, it’s like going to a prime rib buffet and scarfing down only soup and salad. However, if you don't want to get on the boat, you can walk thru beautiful Chidori-ga-fuchi Ryokudo Street filled with about 260 cherry blossom trees.
One tip though, we visited on a weekday and the street was FILLED with crowd. It is as bad as Ueno Park so be prepared.
5. Yasukuni Shrine
Yasukuni Shrine has about half a thousand Cherry Blossom trees. Usually, there are up to 200 food stalls and it is a wicked place to party, but unfortunately it’s under construction this year as it’s getting a make over for its 150th anniversary. By next year though, it should be all beyonced out.
Yasukuni Shrine is in walking distance from Chidori-ga fuchi, so if you want to visit two location, this will be your ticket.
6. Shinjuku Gyoen
Shinjuku Gyoen has about 1100 Cherry blossom trees in the garden and 65 different kinds. It's definitely worth the price of admission (300 yen) in my opinion. Plus, it’s not all all claustrophobic in this mother.
Inside, you can find different types of gardens, like British, French, Chinese and Japanese.
Here, drinking is not allowed so if you want to party, it may not be your choice. (I see many people sneaking alcohols inside of the park though.) I would recommend to the families with kids because kids can run around and you don't have to worry about crazy drunk people. Just don't forget to bring your food and drinks. There is absolutely no food stands inside.
One more thing. the park closes pretty early like the day we wend, they closed at 4PM. Don't go too late!
7. NIHOBASHI Yaesu Sakura Dori
Nihonbashi Yaesu Sakura Dori is just in front of Tokyo Station, so if you get some time to kill waiting for a train, you can just step outside and check out cherry blossoms. This street is only 1 km but 169 cherry blossom trees are cascading over the street and it sure is beautiful.
This delightful street is right in the middle of a business district so you can’t picnic here but there are a bunch of restaurants and bars you can pop into while checking out the sakura.
A picnic space by the post-castle tower
During Sakura season, part of the Imperial Palace is temporarily open to the public without having to make reservations. Thank you your highness, don’t mind if I do! This year, we had free access to the East garden.
Right by the post-castle tower, there is a big space for you opicnic as you can see in the picture.
It also has this cute Japanese garden inside. Cherry blossom were not fully bloomed at this time, but the sakura in Japanese garden is was Mary Poppin!
The imperial Palace is bigger than you think. Well, at least it was bigger than I thought it would be when I visited at the first time. So, make sure to get off at the right train station. To access the East Garden, get off at Takebashi or Otemachi Station.
9.Meguro River
Meguro river is a instagram photo shoot spot. Cherry blossoms are cascading over the river from Ikejiri Ohashi Station area til Tokyu Meguro Line girder bridge. I think the best way to access is to get off at Nakameguro station and walk up north towards Ikejiri Ohashi.
Nakameguro is known as a fashionable area for the sophisticated. You can enjoy spending your disposal income while walking around.
You won't see people having picnic here. It is mainly to walk around. Many restaurants have stands outside for people walking around.
Also, you cannot miss night cherry blossom here. It is amazing. Even at night, the shops are busy and the streets filled with people.
10. Rikugien garden
First of all, put on your patience pants because check out this line to just get a ticket (¥300) to get in. When you step inside, you’ll be welcomed by giant Shi-dare Sakura with its reflection glistening in the pond. I wish I could capture it’s full image, but the entire garden was super dark.
There are cafes, several tea houses and waterfall observation rooms. Here, you basically need to walk in this trail. And did I mention it was dark. At least you can sneak some kisses with your date. But if you don’t got someone to crush on, then at least there’s food.
You can't miss this mochi dango on stick. (There is a long line to get this too...) Having a dango with a cold beer... What more can I ask for!?
This is the full version of the video.
Let me know which spot is your favorite!
-Maiko