What's more synonymous with spring in Japan other than its array of full blossoming Sakura trees? ? Now that you've gone through all the essentials you need to know to plan your trip during spring, it's time to pick where you'll be spreading your picnic mat to enjoy the beautiful view!
If you happen to be visiting Tokyo for the season, here's where you should be headed, to enjoy the sakura and picnic with the locals!
P.S. Don't forget to download the HHWT Travel Planner app, available on Google Play for Android and iTunes Store for iOS, to make your trip to Tokyo even easier! You can find attractions as well as halal food and prayer spaces near these attractions, so no worries on not being able to find halal food anymore!
And here's the cherry blossom forecast (2017) if you're anxiously counting down to your trip :)
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1. Shinjuku Gyoen
Shinjuku Gyoen is one of Tokyo’s largest and most well-known parks. More than a thousand sakura trees from different varieties are planted here. The different varieties available also means that the trees bloom at different times, so visiting month here can be stretched out longer ?
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The spacious lawn area is perfect to spread out your picnic mat and enjoy hanami with friends and family.
Credit: By Kakidai (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Getting tired from strolling around? Have a quick stop at a traditional Japanese tea house before continuing to the greenhouse which houses thousands of plant life from around the world (yup it's all within this awesome park!).
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Opening Hours: 9:00am to 4:30pm (entry until 4:00pm)
Closed: Mondays (or following day if Monday is a national holiday), December 29 to January 3. There are no closing days during the cherry blossom season (late March to late April) and the Chrysanthemum Exhibition (first half of November).
Entrance Fees: ¥200
Located on the west side of Tokyo, this park is one of the prime locations during spring season as thousands of blossoming cherry trees offers the perfect spot for sightseeing.
During peak hours, there will be many vendors selling local delicacies and perhaps if you're lucky you could even catch some entertaining street performances!
Opening Hours:9.30m to 5.30pm (April to September)
Getting There: Musashi-Koganei Station (Chuo line), north exit then any bus from bus stop 2 or 3; get off at Koganei Koen Nishiguchi.
Entrance Fees: Free admission
3. Ueno Park
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Ueno Park is located just next to Ueno Station (all local trains on the JR Yamanote and Keihin-Tohoku lines stop here) so not stopping here during spring is a no-no! This park is famous among locals and outsiders for the outdoor hanami parties, and is one of the most crowded places to park yourselves at!
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Attractions around the area include the Ueno Zoo (Japan's first zoological garden), art galleries, museums and Ameyoko Shopping Street.
Opening Hours:5:00am to 11:00pm
Getting There: The park is located just next to the JR Ueno Station. There's a "Park Exit" from the station
Entrance Fees: Free admission
4. Showa Memorial Park
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Showa Memorial Park (or Showa Kinen Koen) is one of Tokyo's largest public parks. You can enjoy the beauty of cherry blossoms here while cycling along the 14km course around the park, using bicycles that are available for hire.
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Stomach rumbling and the nearest halal restaurant not within your radar? No worries! Pack your own goodies and put on your MasterChef hat! There’s an outdoor barbecue area on the park! Yeay!
Opening Hours: 9:30am to 5:00pm (until 6:00pm on weekends and national holidays)
Entrance Fee: Adult - ¥410 | Child- ¥80
Getting There: You can take the JR Chuo line train to Tachikawa Station from Shinjuku. The Akebono Gate of the park is only a 10 minutes walk away from the station. If you're on the JR Ohme line, get off at Nishi Tachikawa Station which is about 2 minutes from the Nishitachikawa Gate.
5. Mount Takao (Takaosan)
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What better way to appreciate the scenery than seeing it from a higher altitude? Takaosan is located on the south-eastern part of the mountainous Kanto region, about 50 km from the centre of Tokyo. The hike up the trail will feel like a breeze as you enjoy the view of the gorgeous blossoming cherry trees.
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There’s also a monkey park! The park's glass walled enclosure is home to about 40 Japanese macaques that put on shows at various times throughout the day.
The beauty of Takaosan will not disappoint - you’ll definitely have an amazing time. This mountain was awarded the maximum of three stars for its exquisiteness by the 2007 edition of Michelin's Voyager Pratique Japon, the famous French travel guidebook!
Getting There: The JR Chuo Line connects Shinjuku to Takao Station (JPY 550, for about 40 minutes), where you need to transfer to the Keio Line and take the train to Takaosanguchi Station (JPY 130 for a 3 minutes ride).
Opening Hours and Entrance Fees:
Cablecar
Opening Hours: 8:00am to around 5:45pm (longer hours on weekends and holidays), with departures every 15 minutes
Entrance Fees: ¥480 (one way), ¥930 (round trip)
Chair Lift
Opening Hours: 9:00am to 4:30pm (until 4:00pm from the months of December to April). Do note that admission ends 30 minutes before closing time.
Entrance Fees: ¥480 (one way),¥930 (round trip)
Monkey Park
Opening Hours: 9:30am to 4:00pm (December to February), 10:00am to 4:30pm (March and April) and 9:30am to 4:30pm (May to November)
Entrance Fees: ¥420
6. Meguro River
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Nakameguro is one of Tokyo’s hippest districts, where you will be surrounded by trendy stores and hipster cafes. So why not go for a stroll along the Meguro canal after a sip or two of coffee at nearby restaurants in the area?
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Cherry blossom trees are planted all along the Megurogawa (stretching out for about 4km). During the hanami season, the trees are lit up from April 1-10 each year. I don’t have to tell you this but the scenery is simply stunning!
Getting There: You can take the Tokyu line from Shibuya or the Hibiya line on the subway to get to Nakameguro. Alternatively you can also take the JR Yamanote line to Ebisu station. The walk to Nakameguro is around 15 minutes from Ebisu.
Entrance Fees: Free admission
#HHWT Tip: For a different experience, try joining a night time cruise (you can even rent your own boat if your group is big enough!) down the Meguro River.
7. Rikugien Garden
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Rikugien Garden, a Japanese strolling garden founded in 1695, is considered amongst the best of Tokyo's gardens. The garden features a large central pond surrounded by manmade hills and forested areas, all connected by a network of trails.
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You can spend hours just enjoying the view and checking out ponds that are filled with oversized koi fish ? The garden extends its hours into the evening and illuminates several sakura trees during hanami season.
Getting There: The park's main entrance is located roughly 5-10 minutes away from Komagome Station (JR/ Tokyo Metro Namboku Line) by foot.
Opening Hours: 9:00am to 5:00pm (Entry is permitted until 4:30pm). The garden is closed during year-end holidays (December 29 to January 1)
Entrance Fees: ¥300 (¥150 for those aged 65 and above). No charge for primary school children or younger.
There's also a 20% discount for groups of 20 and more.
Bonus - Spring festivals you shouldn't miss!
While enjoying your stay in Japan during spring, be sure to check out the calendar for festivals that might be happening around you. There are many (and by many I do mean a lot) festivals being celebrated in Japan all year round ? ?. Listed below are two sakura related celebrations that occur within the spring season in Tokyo.
Ueno Sakura Matsuri
Credit: guide2tokyo
Ueno Sakura Matsuri is the famous cherry blossom festival located at Ueno Park. Visitors can not only enjoy the breathtaking view of blossoming cherry trees, 1,000 lanterns also light up the park at night, making the scene unbelievably beautiful in the evening. The lanterns are lit from 5:30 pm to 8:00 pm. There's also an antique market and special events held during this time.
Festival Period: Late March to mid April, 2017. Dates may change according to when the flowers bloom
Bokutei Cherry Blossom Festival
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This festival is definitely unique, as Mukojima geishas serve tea to those who are enjoying the sakura during the hanami period, from 11:00am to 3:00pm at the riverbank of the Sumida River. This popular spot from back in the Edo period has approximately 1,000 cherry trees grow in the area, and you can view the delicate sakura flowers from both sides of the river from a yakata-bune, an old-fashioned Japanese houseboat ?
Festival Period: Late March to early April, 2017
Getting There: It's a 15 minutes walk from Higashi Mukojima Station on the Tobu Isezaki Line. It's also in walking distance from Asakusa (perfect for sightseeing and enjoying halal food too!)
The sakura blossom makes its way up beginning with Okinawa in the far south in February, working its way along Japan to northern Hokkaido in May. So you see folks, it doesn’t blossom all at the same time and you have to understand the flowers only bloom for a couple of weeks at most before falling. Do check our ultimate guide to cherry blossom season for more tips to planning for trip for 2017 and useful information you'll need to know!
#HHWT Tip: While you enjoy the awesome scene during this coming spring, please do note that you may have an allergic reaction due to the pollen in the air. Wear a mask or sunglasses and having backups on your allergy medicine might also be a good idea. So do take some precaution and don’t forget to enjoy the holiday! ❤️
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Will you be visiting Tokyo for cherry blossom season? Let us know in the comments below!