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1. Meguro River: Living Your Pinterest Board
Let's start with THE spot: Meguro River. Specifically, the section of Meguro river between Ikejiri and Nakameguro. Imagine a never-ending tunnel of cherry blossoms lining a picturesque river, lit up at night with pink lanterns while local vendors sell strawberry champagne. Dreamy, right? This spot is super popular (think unable to move level of walking traffic at the most popular sections), so be prepared for crowds. But hey, you wanna see it, I wanna see it, and so does everyone else! The crowds really thin out the farther from Nakameguro station you get as well, so taking a stroll is well worth the time.
Nearest Station: Nakameguro
2. Kinuta Park: The Spacious Hanami
A lot of Cherry Blossom parks are absolutely packed, and require you getting up super early to get a picnic spot in the park. Kinuta however, is usually pretty empty! You won’t have the park to yourself, but you can get a perfect spot under some of the biggest cherry blossom tree’s I’ve seen without going at 7am.
This is also a great spot for families as it’s in more of a family area of Tokyo, so you’re less likely to deal with some of the madness that I’ll get to once I describe Yoyogi park.
Nearest Station: Yoga Station
2. Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden: Bougie Blossoms
Feeling a bit more fancy? Head to Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden. This sprawling park is like a scene straight out of an anime, with manicured lawns, traditional Japanese gardens, and of course, tons of cherry trees. Since it's a a park and not a river, it’s more spread out than Meguro River making it a better choice if you want to actually relax and have a picnic.
However, unlike Meguro River you can’t just show up any time or for free. Advanced reservations are required for the weekends (weekdays you can still buy your ticket at the entrance) and the park is only open until 6pm (last entry is 5:30). Alcohol is also not allowed in this park, so it’s a great option for more of a tea party hanami, bring on the sakura themed cakes!
Nearest Station: Shinjuku Gyoen
3. Ueno Park: The Chaotic Cherry Blossom Extravaganza
Ueno is one of my favourite places in the city any time of year, but especially in spring when it comes to the park. It's massive, it's crowded, and there's something for everyone – museums, shrines, a zoo, and yes, a ton of cherry blossoms. This spot is perfect if you want the full-on hanami (cherry blossom viewing) experience, complete with street food vendors, drunken salarymen singing karaoke, and the delightful chaos that comes with it. Embrace the madness!
Nearest Station: Ueno
4. Yoyogi Park: If You Thought Ueno Was Chaos…
Yoyogi is the default sakura spot of the city. The park is massive, and has a huge cherry blossom area with all sakura tree’s, as well as random cherry blossoms scattered throughout the park. If you want a spot at this park on a weekend during full bloom, I recommend showing up at 7 or 8am with your picnic blanket and just bring a lot of coffee.
You can expect much of what was described above, but with less street food vendors and more people bringing their own speakers and DJ sets (at Yoyogi expect more of a party than a peaceful flower viewing).
I feel like I haven’t sold Yoyogi very well, but it’s a good time and a classic, modern Tokyo hanami experience.
Nearest Station: Yoyogi-Koen or Yoyogi/Meiji Jingu Mae
5. Koganei Park: The BBQ Hanami
Koganei Park is an awesome park to visit year round, loads of space, great bike paths, and BBQ’s! Not many parks actually have BBQ’s you can use or allow BBQing, but this park does!
Enjoy the gorgeous tree’s with some yakitori because why not? Who said a picnic has to be only cold options! And considering sakura season is often not the best weather (cold and rainy is faaaaar more likely than warm and sunny - you’ve been warned) so a warm meal is often more than welcome if you’re going to stay all day.
Nearest Station: Higashi-Koganei or Hana-Koganei
6. Chidorigafuchi Park: The Moat of Blossoms
Ever wanted to see a moat filled with cherry blossoms? Well, Chidorigafuchi Park has you covered. Rent a little rowboat (yes, really!), paddle around the moat, and pretend you're in a historical romance novel.
You can also check out the blossoms in the park and relax there for a while! In my first cherry blossom season in Japan, this was actually one of my favourite spots because it was the easiest spot to take photos and was less busy than Yoyogi.
Nearest Station: Kudanshita
7. Inokashira Park: The Foresty Cherry Blossom Escape
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If you're looking for a slightly more relaxed spot, check out Inokashira Park. This park is more forestry than alternatives like Yoyogi or Ueno, so you get more of a nature vibe. There’s less grass, so definitely bring a tarp because you’ll likely be putting it on a dirt/mud ground, but the scenery is incredibly magical. You can aslo rent a nice little swan boat and paddle it around the pond under the blossoms if you like (though be warned, it’s rumoured that if you ride the swan boats with a partner you’ll be doomed to break up afterwards).
Inokashira is one of my personal favourites, and Kichijoji is a great neighbourhood (check out my Tokyo Itinerary for more info on Kichijoji!) so I highly recommend this spot!
Nearest Station: Kichijoji
8. Kaga Park: A Local Spot That's Actually Away From the Crowds
This is my ultimate hidden gem, that I only know of because I used to live kind of close to here. And while Kaga park has beautiful sakura tree’s, I’m more recommending the river (Shakuji River). While walking Meguro River is gorgeous and I love the strawberry champagne, sometimes you just want to take a peaceful stroll through a dreamy pink cloud, and this is where you can do that.
Walk in either direction, though I recommend NW towards Kaga Park 2/Kaga Nichome Park and I guarantee some of the most beautiful cherry blossoms you will ever see in your life, with little to no crowds.
Nearest Station: Itabashi
9. Kanda River: Cherry Blossoms Tunnels
One of my original dreams was to walk under a tunnel of cherry blossoms. You know the type, where the branches drape overhead and fall on either side of you enclosing you in a beautiful sakura tunnel. This isn’t exclusive to anime and truly does exist, and my favourite area for it is Kanda River.
I recommend starting at Takaido station (this station alone is gorgeous) and then walking east down the river from here! Stop along the way, keep going longer, walk back on the other side, whatever you like but Kanda River is full of gorgeous blossoms, and has several tunnels to walk under. Grab a beer and get strolling!
Nearest Station: Takaido
10. Zenpuku-ji River Green Space: For Those Who Can't Decide Between A Sit Down Hanami And Walking a River
Very close by the Takaido, is Zenpuku-ji River (just north). You can absolutely do both of these places in one day, and I almost recommend it because they are both great places to go for a Cherry Blossom filled stroll.
This is another gorgeous spot for cherry blossom tunnels, and has more sitting options than Kanda river, so make a day of it and go to both!
Nearest Station: Minami-Asagaya
11. Sumida Park: Asakusa Above Max Capacity
For those of you who have been to Tokyo before, you may be aware that Asakusa is always at max capacity. But have you been to Asakusa during cherry blossom season? It’s an experience.
I love Asakusa, I go all the time (I take everyone there when they visit as well because I just love having an excuse to go), and during cherry blossom season you can get the classic view of SkyTree in front of the sakura lined river. It’s gorgeous, another spot you really have to be prepared for the crowds, but I still recommend it!
Nearest Station: Asakusa
What I Would Do If I Was Planning A 10 Day Trip To Tokyo For Cherry Blossoms
If it was me and I was planning a 10 day trip, I would land March 27 and leave April 5 for the most likely chance to see full bloom (based on my experience) and my top places to go would be Meguro River, Kaga Park/Shakuji River, Yoyogi Park and Inokashira Park. With these four, I think you have a little bit of everything, but it’s really dependent on what you’re looking for!
There are SO MANY sakura spots around the city, but this is my list of recommendations if you want a little bit of everything. Also keep in mind that not every spot will bloom at the same time, and it’s really hard to know when any sakura will bloom at all as it’s really weather dependent, so remember to be flexible, and if you can, try to come for at least 3 weeks to make sure you get to see at least one side of full bloom!
Sakura season in Tokyo is usually around the end of March, but really could hit full bloom any time between March 20 - April 10, so plan accordingly! Other than that, enjoy the magic because sakura season in Japan is exactly that—magical.
Wander on friends ✨
