The 15 Best Places to see Cherry Blossoms in Tokyo
- Published on : 06/03/2026
- by : Joshua
- Youtube
Tokyo Skytree
@Ryoji Iwata on Unsplash
Hanami season is from late March to the middle of April and is for many people in Japan, the best time of year. This is when the cherry blossom trees all over the archipelago come to bloom and people hold outdoor parties to view them. The blossom remains at its peak for between seven and 10 days.
Tokyo, as befits a city of its size, has many places to enjoy cherry blossom viewing (hanami). Within in the capital city's parks and gardens, along its rivers and canals and in its temples and shrines, beautiful sakura can be seen in no shortage.
Cherry blossom viewing was an aristocratic pastime up until the Edo era of Japanese history and became a universal obsession in Japan about three centuries ago.
The most common kind of blossom is that of the Yoshino cherry, or Somei Yoshino in Japanese. The Yoshino cherry is a variety developed in Tokyo towards the end of the Edo era. Those Tokyo roots are reflected in the tree's botanical name, Prunus yedoensis, the "yedo" referring to Tokyo's old name, Edo.
Sakura
@Sulvia, CC0 Public Domain
Given this rich history, hanami in Tokyo is a must-do experience. Take a look at 15 of our favorite places for cherry blossoms in the city!
Tokyo’s top cherry blossom viewing spots
1. Ueno Park
- 5-20 Ueno-koen, Taito-ku, Tokyo 110-0007
There are more than one thousand cherry trees in Ueno Park along the street that leads from the Saigo Takamori statue towards the National Museum and around Shinobazu Pond. Ueno Park is located a few steps from Ueno Station’s Shinobazu Exit, which is better for cherry blossom viewing purposes than the Ueno Park Exit.
Ueno Park during hanami.
Wikimedia Commons
The grounds of the park are quite large, with notable attractions such as Ueno Toshogu Shrine, Shitaya Shrine, and Hanazono Inari Shrine. During the springtime sakura, these traditional buildings serve as a beautiful backdrop for the pale pink leaves. There is also a well-established route that many visitors follow that has some of the highest concentration of sakura.
2. Chidorigafuchi
- 1-2 Kojimachi, Chiyoda City, Tokyo 102-0082, Japan
This area of Tokyo, which includes Chidorigafuchi National Cemetery, Chidorigafuchi Green Way, Chidorigafuchi Park, the Hanzo Moat of the Imperial Palace (Edo Castle), Kitanomaru Koen and Yasukuni Shrine, has many, many cherry trees spectacular in full bloom.
Boats can be hired to admire the blossom while floating in the Hanzo moat. Just a little south of the Chidorigafuchi district is the Supreme Court of Japan with its own spectacular row of sakura trees.
Start here, then past the National Theater of Japan next door with its gorgeous spring garden, and then a 20-25 minute stroll through Chidorigafuchi Park (across from the British Embassy) and up to Yasukuni Shrine for one of Tokyo's most magnificent cherry blossom spectacles.
Chidorigafuchi
@江戸村のとくぞう on Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
3. Sumida Park
- 1 Chome Hanakawado, Taito City, Tokyo 111-0033
Sumida Park, on the east bank of the Sumida River, has almost 650 cherry trees and is well known throughout Japan as a prime hanami spot. Also, parkland lines both sides of the Sumida River, on the western Taito-ward bank and the eastern Sumida-ward bank, extending over a kilometer from Azuma-bashi Bridge near Asakusa up to Sakura-bashi Bridge, with scores of cherry trees along the way.
Two festivals take place here at this time. The Bokutei Cherry Blossom Festival takes place around Sakurabashi Bridge, from the last Saturday in March to the first Sunday in April, and the Sumida Park Sakura Festival also takes place, from March 20 to April 15. Nighttime affords the beautiful spectacle of lit-up blossom trees.
Boats serving meals ferry cherry blossom aficionados up and down the river. The whole scene is enhanced by the sight of the Tokyo Skytree towering in the background, less than 1 km away.
Sumida
@Guilhem Vellut on Flickr, CC BY 2.0
Enjoy Tokyo during spring underneath the sakura!
The bustling capital of Japan, Tokyo, has no shortage of beautiful scenery amongst its urban sprawl. During springtime, join our local guide in the treasured tradition of Hanami as you socialize beneath the gorgeous pink hues of the sakura!
branch of pink cherry blossoms
4. Kyu-Shiba-rikyu Garden
- 1 Chome-4-1 Kaigan, Minato City, Tokyo 105-0022
Kyu-Shiba-rikyu Garden is one of Tokyo's oldest gardens, created by a feudal daimyo lord and is also one of the capital's most exquisite. This intricately designed garden with a magically natural feel about it is as pretty as an ukiyoe picture when the cherry blossoms bloom.
Go here for a quintessentially elegant Japanese hanami experience, surrounded by traditional aesthetics and a more tranquil environment. Nearby is the equally beautiful Hama-rikyu Garden.
5. Hamarikyu Gardens
- 1-1 Hamarikyuteien, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0046
Though officially opened to the public in 1946, Hamarikyu Gardens has existed since the 17th century. Formerly owned by the Tokugawa family, the gardens are surrounded by moats filled with seawater.
The garden is divided into two parts: the southern part, dating from the Edo period (1603-1868), includes the lagoon that fills with water at high tide; and the northern part was built during the Meiji period (1868-1912). In spring, watch the rows of cherry trees with their pale blossoms reflected in the mirror of salt water from the bridge that crosses the pond. Don't miss the 300-year-old pine tree planted by the sixth shogun, Tokugawa Ienobu (1662-1712).
Entry is 300 yen for adults, 150 yen for seniors (65+), and free for children 12 years old or younger.
Hamarikyu
@Vladimir Haltakov on Unsplash
6. Harimazaka Slope
- 4-22 Koishikawa, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 112-0002, Japan
Harima-zaka Slope in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward, with many universities, is a relative newcomer as a Tokyo cherry blossom spot. The spectacular vista of cherry blossoms that happens here every spring dates from 1960, when over 150 sakura trees were planted here and have been carefully tended by locals ever since. Harimazaka is a real "cherry blossom comes to the big city" scene.
The sight of these twin rows of big, dark, muscular trees shrouded in and forming almost a tunnel of ephemeral pink and white delicacy is one to remember. Just a little way on from Harimazaka is the Koishikawa Botanical Garden, another famous hanami spot.
To get to Harimazaka, take Exit 1 from Myogadani Station on the Marunouchi Subway Line and immediately take the pedestrian crossing to the other side, Route 254. Go right and walk as far as Koishikawa 5-chome intersection, then turn left. A 5-minute walk.
7. Yanaka Cemetery
- 7 Chome-5-24 Yanaka, Taito City, Tokyo 110-0001
Formerly attached to Tennô-ji Temple, the site was declared public following the Meiji Restoration (1868) in order to create a clear separation between Buddhism and Shintoism.
Located near Nippori and Ueno, the cemetery covers an area of 10 hectares and contains 7,000 graves. The last shogun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu (1837-1913), and the famous writer Ichiyo Higuchi, who appears on 5,000 yen bills, are even buried there!
The main path through the garden of souls, Sakura Dori, is lined with cherry trees in bloom: admire them as you stroll to Ueno.
8. Meguro River and Naka-meguro
- Meguro, Meguro City, Tokyo 153-0063
Meguro (Tokyo)
@Unsplash
The Setagaya district invites you to take another stroll under the cherry blossoms, intertwined with pink lanterns.
From the Ikejiri-bashi Bridge to the Kame no Kôbashi Bridge, 800 Yoshino cherry trees compete to dazzle the eyes of passersby.
Although there is no park near the Meguro River, you can enjoy these four kilometers along the water to meditate under the cherry trees. As the day draws to a close, the rows of lanterns light up, and the pink reflections mingle with the yozakura, the night cherry trees (5 pm-9 pm).
9. Nakayama Hokekyoji Temple
- 2 Chome-10-1 Nakayama, Ichikawa, Chiba 272-0813
From the front gate to the main area is a cherry tree-lined street with small shops selling amazake and other traditional Japanese drinks along with food and toys. There is an old cemetery on the left side of this street.
A little farther on is the most important building, called the Hokekyoji Honin.
It is here where you can see a nice doll display that runs for a few weeks until Hina Matsuri, which is celebrated on March 3rd.
One of the most important parts of Hokekyoji is the Ekyo-ji (法華経寺), a sub-temple that contains the Rissho Ankoku Ron, one of Nichiren's most important writings.
Hokekyoji
@Japan Visitor
10. Ojima Komatsugawa Park
- 9 Chome-9 Ojima, Koto City, Tokyo 136-0072
Spacious Ojima Komatsugawa Park, near the west bank of the Arakawa River, in Tokyo's Edogawa ward, is a spacious, verdant park with over 1,000 cherry trees of different varieties. Ojima Komatsugawa Park, surrounded by public housing, is not worth going to just for the hanami but is a nice place to stroll under cherry blossoms if you happen to be in the area anyway.
To get to the park, take the Ojima Exit of Higashi-Ojima Station on the Toei Shinjuku Line and the park is right across the road.
11. Kanda River
- (Ochanomizu Station) 2 Chome Kanda Surugadai, Chiyoda City, Tokyo 101-0062
Running through Tokyo for 24.6 kilometers, the Kanda River is also lined with sakura. Near Edogawabashi Station, 230 cherry trees form a wooded, flower-lined path along the river to Shinjuku, passing through Higashi Nagano.
It is a quiet spot, passing through residential areas, for those who want to escape the crowds of hanami.
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12. Inokashira Park
- 1-18-31 Gotenyama, Musashino City, Tokyo 180-0005
Inokashira Park in Kichijoji draws large crowds in hanami season. It's fun to hire a pleasure boat to view the blossoms that grow around the pond.
Inokashira Park is a gathering place for casual musicians, artists, and street performers, sharing their creativity with other visitors. Despite being a bit away from the central wards of Tokyo, Inokashira Park and Kichijoji are quite easily accessible, requiring just one train from Shinjuku Station.
Inokashira
@Kimon Berlin on Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0
13. Yoyogi Park
- 2-1 Yoyogikamizonocho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 151-0052
Yoyogi Park has over 600 cherry trees and is particularly popular with weekend picnickers. The wide margin surrounding Central Plaza has a variety of features such as a rose garden (with over 30 varieties), groves of various featured trees, including a sakura (cherry blossom) grove, and a food and drink store.
The cherry grove, while small, is beautiful in spring and offers a great chance to take in a more nature-rich environment not far away from some of Tokyo’s most bustling areas.
14. Shinjuku Gyoen
- 11 Naitomachi, Shinjuku City, Tokyo 160-0014
Shinjuku Gyoen has over 1,000 cherry trees of various types and is one of Tokyo's most popular cherry blossom viewing spots. Shinjuku Gyoen includes a French formal garden, an English landscape garden, a Japanese traditional garden, a maple hill, an azalea hill, several ponds, and a Taiwanese pavilion.
Access to the park costs 500 yen for adults, 250 yen for seniors and students, and is free access for guests who are 15 years old and under. Be aware that while Shinjuku Gyoen is a popular location for hanami, alcohol cannot be brought into the park.
15. Koishikawa Korakuen
- 1 Chome-6-6 Koraku, Bunkyo City, Tokyo 112-0004
The grounds of Koishikawa Korakuen are beautiful in all seasons and the spring hanami season is no exception. The Koishikawa Korakuen Gardens were founded in 1629 by Yorifusa Mito, the first feudal lord of the Mito Tokugawa family and eleventh son of patriarch Ieyasu Tokugawa.
With a number of ponds found throughout the garden grounds, the reflection of sakura during springtime is beautiful, with a pink glow surrounding park visitors. There is a 300 yen general admission fee, but a 150 yen discounted fee for seniors. Elementary students may enter for free.
Enjoy the cherry blossoms in Japan’s capital!
Despite its wide, urban sprawl, Tokyo offers plenty of locations to take in Japan’s most iconic flower during spring! From popular parks to tranquil gardens to iconic downtown locations, hanami in Tokyo provides a beautiful juxtaposition between contemporary Japanese cityscapes and unspoiled nature.
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