The Best Cherry Blossom Spots in Tokyo
Cherry blossom season, known as sakura season in Japan, is a magical time when the entire country is covered in pink clouds. Cherry blossoms hold a deep cultural significance in Japan. They symbolize the transient nature of life and are a reminder that beauty is fleeting and should be cherished. Cherry blossom season in Tokyo is so immersive. Everywhere you’ll go you’ll stumble upon the beautiful pink trees. Even though Tokyo is a big urban city and nature isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when visiting Tokyo, it’s a great place to visit during the enchanting sakura season. In this blog post, we list the best places in Tokyo for sakuragari (or sakura hunting in English), so you can make the most of your hanami (or flower viewing) experience.
Best time to visit Tokyo during cherry blossom season
Cherry blossom season in Tokyo typically starts in late March and lasts until early April. However, the exact timing can vary slightly each year based on weather conditions. The cherry blossoms are at their peak for only about a week, so it’s crucial to keep an eye on the forecast if you want to catch them in full bloom. The Japan Meteorological Agency provides regular updates on the progress of the blossoms.
When planning our trip to Japan in the spring of 2024, for the longest time it was forecasted that the cherry blossoms would reach their peak bloom in the last week of March. As we wanted to see the cherry blossoms in Tokyo, we planned to start our trip there in the last week of March. However when the last week of March came closer, the sakura buds in Tokyo didn’t show any signs of opening soon. Eventually, the sakura buds only started opening in the last week of March, with the peak bloom being reached around the 4th of April, almost two weeks later than initially forecasted. Luckily for us, we came back to Tokyo on the 7th of April and were able to catch the last days of the sakura peak bloom. Moral of the story: it’s quite hard to plan a trip to Japan to see cherry blossoms. If you’re planning to come to a specific location in Japan to see the cherry blossoms, flexibility is key.
We’d recommend visiting Japan for a period of 3 to 4 weeks during cherry blossom season, such as from the last week of March until the third week of April, if you’re focusing on seeing the cherry blossoms in the Tokyo region. You don’t have to stay in one place during this time, but you could for instance start in Tokyo and stay there a few days and then come back to Tokyo 7 to 10 days later. This way you won’t miss the cherry blossoms even if they start blooming later than anticipated. Even better would be to not book hotel rooms yet, but this isn’t ideal as cherry blossom season is peak tourist season and hotels quickly fill up or become very expensive if you’re booking last-minute. Therefore we’d recommend booking hotels at least 4 months in advance.
After the cherry blossom buds open, the cherry blossoms generally reach their peak bloom in one week. During this time you can see a few cherry blossoms on the branches, but the branches aren’t completely covered in pink yet. Peak bloom usually lasts for about a week, depending on the weather conditions during that week. Wind and rain can make the peak bloom period significantly shorter. When green petals start growing and the pink petals start falling, the peak bloom period is over. We think the time right after peak bloom is still very beautiful as the streets and rivers are covered in a pink blanket of cherry blossom petals while there are still plenty of pink petals left on the trees. In our opinion, peak bloom and the first few days after peak bloom are the best times for hanami.
Weather during cherry blossom season in Japan
Weather in Japan during spring can be very unpredictable. We experienced nice and sunny days with temperatures above 20 °C and days with hard winds, lots of rain and temperatures barely reaching 10 °C. We’d recommend bringing clothes that accommodate both types of weather. And also don’t forget to fully enjoy the moment the cherry blossoms are in full bloom as every day can be the last day if the weather suddenly becomes stormy. The delicate cherry blossoms easily fall off the trees due to wind and rain.
The best cherry blossom spots in Tokyo
Shibuya Overpass
Near Shibuya station, there’s an overpass that is surrounded by cherry blossom trees. These cherry blossom trees are one of the earlier blossoms and the petals are bright pink. We visited this spot on a rainy day on the 25th of March in 2024 and found the blossoms at their peak bloom. Because the overpass is at the same level as the cherry blossoms, you’re immersed in blossoms. It’s also a perfect place for car spotting and trying to frame the cars with the blossoms.
Sakura Street in Shibuya
Sakura Street is one of the most popular cherry blossom spots in Tokyo and usually this location is very crowded. However, we visited this street on a very rainy and windy day and there was hardly anyone around. Because of the strong winds, it felt like it was snowing cherry blossom petals. The Japanese actually have a word for this: hanafubuki, which means flower snowstorm. Even though this spot is very close to the Shibuya Overpass, the cherry blossoms at both spots bloom at different times. We visited this spot on the 9th of April in 2024.
Because this is such a popular cherry blossom spot, and according to many locals it’s too popular, the Google Maps pin for this location gets deleted every year. You can also search for Sakuraguoka Front Building in Google Maps. It’s the street right in front of the building.
Meguro River
Large parts of the Meguro River are aligned with cherry blossom trees, turning it into a pink heaven every Spring. We recommend taking the metro to Naka-Meguro which stops right in the middle of all the cherry blossom goodness. The area near Naka-Meguro Station is the most crowded area. Therefore, we’d recommend walking along the river in the southeast direction to escape the crowds. We visited this spot on the 9th of April in 2024.
You can also do a cherry blossom walking tour during the day or in the evening with a local guide in Meguro.
Click here to book the cherry blossom walking tour during the day.
Click here to book the evening hanami stroll.
Sumida Park
Sumida Park is located along the Sumida River and is filled with cherry blossom trees. From Sumida Park, you have a beautiful view of the Tokyo SkyTree. We loved taking a stroll through this park and brought some food and snacks at a nearby convenience store. Unfortunately, we visited this park on the 27th March 2024, which was a bit too early to see the trees in full bloom. We did witness some early blooming cherry blossoms near the Tokyo SkyTree, so we were able to take a photo of the SkyTree with the pink blossoms.
It’s possible to do a private cherry blossom tour from Ueno Park to Sumida Park, with stops in Asakusa in between. This is the perfect opportunity to immerse yourself with Japanese culture, cherry blossoms and food, while getting to know everything from a local guide.
Click here to book the private cherry blossom experience.
You can also do a boat tour on the Sumida River, which we think would be perfect during cherry blossom season. This dinner cruise starts from Tokyo Bay and sails all the way to Sumida Park to see the cherry blossoms there. During the tour, you’ll be entertained with a traditional Japanese performance and dinner.
Click here to book the cherry blossom dinner cruise and show.
Shinjuku Gyoen
Shinjuku Gyoen is a large park in the middle of Shinjuku. It’s a very popular place among locals and tourists, especially for picnics. There’s a large variety of trees and plants in Shinjuku Gyoen. The Cherry Tree Area is located in the south end of the park. It’s basically a field with different varieties of cherry trees. This means that you can find pink blossoms even outside of the main cherry blossom blooming period. It’s a very popular, and therefore very crowded, location. We took these photos right after the park opened at 9 am in the morning. There are many different kinds of cherry blossom trees in the Cherry Tree Area. We visited Shinjuku Gyoen on the 27th March 2024 and most of the trees weren’t in full bloom yet.
There is a small entrance fee of 500 yen which you can either pay with cash or card at the entrance, or by tapping the IC card you use for public transport (e.g. Pasmo or Suica).
Inokashira Park
Inokashira Park is one of our favorite cherry blossom spots in Tokyo. The pond in the park is the perfect place to rent a rowboat as the pond is surrounded by cherry blossoms. It’s a little bit out of the city, but it’s still less than a 30-minute ride from Shinjuku Station. It’s a great alternative from Chidorigafuchi Park where you have to wait hours in line to row a boat on the pond surrounded with cherry blossom trees. The boat rental in Inokashira Park opens at 10:00 and when we arrived at 09:45, we were second in line. Even when we returned our rowboat half an hour later, there still wasn’t any significant line and there were plenty of boats available.
There are three kinds of boats you can rent: a rowboat (500 yen for 30 minutes), regular paddle boat (700 yen for 30 minutes) and a swan paddle boat (800 yen for 30 minutes). The swan paddle boats are the cutest, but if you want to take photos we’d recommend getting a rowboat as the design of the swan boats can obstruct photos. We visited this park on the 8th of April in 2024.
Walk along the Kanda River between Takaido and Meidaimea Stations
The walk between the train stations Takaido and Meidaimea during cherry blossom season looks like it’s straight out of a dream. This walk was recommended to us by a friend who used to live in Tokyo and it quickly became one of our favorite cherry blossom spots. It’s a little ways out of the city, but there’s a direct train line from Shibuya to Takaida Station. It’s also easy to combine with a visit to Inokashira Park, as Takaido Station is only a few stops away from the park. When getting off the train at Takaido Station, you’re immediately greeted by a gorgeous view of the cherry blossom trees nearby. The walk between the two stations is quite long, about 5 kilometers, but we think it’s really worth it as almost the entire river is lined with cherry blossom trees. If you’re short on time, you can also decide to only check out the part of the Kanda River near Takaido Station. We visited this area on the 8th of April in 2024.
Roppongi
Besides being a lovely neighborhood to walk around in, Roppongi has a few very nice cherry blossom spots as well. One of these spots is Bricolage Bread & Co, a French bakery café with delicious pastries. From the outdoor seating area you have a perfect view of Sakurazaka Street which is lined with cherry blossoms. We can’t think of a better way to start the day with a cup of coffee, a delicious pain au chocolat and a side of cherry blossoms.
Sakurazaka Street is hard to miss during cherry blossom season as the entire street is lined with cherry blossom trees. Halfway down the street there’s a small robot themed children’s playground on the right side of the street. Next to the children’s playground, you’ll find stairs that take you up to an overpass into a residential area. We’d recommend getting up the overpass as it will take you to the same level as the tops of the trees, so you’ll be surrounded by pink petals.
From Sakurazaka Street it’s a short walk to the Roppongi Hills shopping mall. The garden in the mall, Mohri Garden, is filled with cherry blossom trees. It’s a lovely spot with the pond, greenery, pink petals and the Tokyo Tower in the background.
From Mohri Garden, it’s a 30-minute walk to Zōjō-ji Temple, the next cherry blossom spot. There are multiple cherry blossom trees on the grounds of Zōjō-ji Temple. We love the view of the temple and the Tokyo Tower in the background.
We visited all these spots in Roppongi on the 10th of April in 2024.
Toranomon
The Toranomon neighborhood was near one of our hotels in Tokyo. We found all these spots by accident when we were wandering around the area. There are just so many cherry blossom spots in Tokyo, you never have to look far to find pink petals.
Nano’o Park is a small peaceful park filled with cherry blossom trees. There are a few grass fields making it a great spot for a cherry blossom picnic, which we saw plenty of people do there.
There are multiple cherry blossom trees right in front of the Toranomon Hills Mori Tower. The stairs in front of the tower create an interesting perspective for photos.
Sakurada Park is a small park near Shimbashi Station with the most beautiful cherry blossom trees. Our hotel was located nearby, so we walked through this small park a lot. Every time we enjoyed the sight of cherry blossoms there. As it’s near Shimbashi Station, it can get quite crowded during the day, however, most people are passers-by. If you want to take photos here, mornings are best.
We visited all these spots in Toranomon between the 7th of April in 2024.
Chidorigafuchi Park
Chidorigafuchi Park is one of the most well-known cherry blossom spots in Tokyo. It’s near the Imperial Palace and attracts a lot of visitors just because of that reason. The entire park is filled with cherry blossom trees, both along the walking paths and along the ponds. It’s possible to rent a paddle or row boat and float along the cherry blossoms on the pond. However, because this is such a popular location, queues for the boat rental can be extremely long. The boat rental opens at 10 in the morning, but people start lining up already between 7 and 8 in the morning. Most days, by the time the boat rental opens, there are enough people already to fill up the boats until the end of the day. If you want to float along the cherry blossoms, we highly recommend Inokashira Park because it’s just as beautiful but without the crowds. When we visited Chidorigafuchi Park, the boat rental was closed due to the rainy and stormy weather.
Even without renting a boat, Chidorigafuchi Park is well worth visiting. You’re surrounded by so many cherry blossom trees walking through the park and it’s a beautiful sight to overlook the pond. At night, the cherry blossoms are illuminated making it even look more special. We visited Chidorigafuchi Park on the 9th of April in 2024.
Where to stay in Tokyo during cherry blossom season
During our stay in Tokyo we stayed in three different areas of Tokyo. To be honest, you can’t go wrong with any neighborhood in Tokyo as they all have something different to offer.
Port House Hatsudai
Port House Hatsudai is located near Hatsudai Station, only one stop away from Shinjuku Station and easy to get to Shibuya, Harajuku and Meguro. It’s a very convenient location for exploring west Tokyo. During cherry blossom season, it’s easy to venture from this hotel to Shinjuku Gyoen, Shibuya, Meguro River, Inokashira Park and Takaido Station. We loved that the hotel was located in a residential and quiet area, but with all the amenities such as convenience stores, coffee shops and restaurants nearby. Like all hotel rooms in Tokyo, the room is small but because of the efficient layout we were still able to open our big suitcases on the floor, which is a huge plus. There’s no daily cleaning but the rooms provided for everything you need for a short stay. We loved that there’s a common area where you can grab coffee and tea.
Click here to book a room in Port House Hatsudai.
Click here for more accommodation options in Shinjuku.
Sotetsu Fresa Inn Shimbashi Karasumoriguchi
Sotetsu Fresa Inn is a Japanese hotel chain mostly focusing on short stays for business people. We stayed in the Shimbashi Karasumoriguchi branch which is conveniently located near Shimbashi Station. We think it’s one of the most convenient areas to stay in Tokyo, as it’s near the Tokyo Tower, Ginza and Tokyo Station, and Shimbashi Station has direct connections to Akihabara and Asakusa. You can easily explore east Tokyo from this location. During cherry blossom season, this hotel is near all the spots in Toranomon and Tokyo Tower. The rooms are very small but very comfortable and clean. We even had a view of the Tokyo Tower from our room which was so nice.
Click here to book a room in Sotetsu Fresa Inn Shinbashi Karasumoriguchi.
Click here for more accommodation options in Shimbashi.
remm Roppongi
We only stayed one night in remm Roppongi before flying back home, but it was pure bliss. To treat ourselves on this last night, we booked a room with Tokyo Tower view and it was truly mesmerizing. We even slept with the blinds open so we could peek outside every time we woke up during the night. The room is very small but very comfortable at the same time and provides everything you need. The hotel is located next to Roppongi Station and in the middle of the bustling Roppongi area, one of our favorite areas in Tokyo. Another very convenient thing, especially on your last night in Tokyo, is that there’s a Don Quijote further down the street that’s open 24/7. It’s perfect for doing some last-minute shopping and bringing home all the Japanese skin and hair care that you can’t live without. During cherry blossom season, this hotel is near the cherry blossom spots in Roppongi and Tokyo Tower.
Click here to book a room in remm Roppongi
Click here for more accommodation options in Roppongi.
Experiencing the cherry blossom season in Tokyo was truly a dream come true. We had no idea that even in such a big city, cherry blossom season would be so immersive and we enjoyed it so much. Have you been to Tokyo during cherry blossom season or is it still on your travel bucket list? Let us know in the comments below!
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