Where To See Cherry Blossoms in Tokyo in a Day

Cherry blossoms are beginning to fall its petals on the ground, and painting roads to pink; its almost the end of the cherry blossom season. It is a bit late to post this, if you are expecting to see full bloom (go north of Japan in that case!), but I decided to post it anyway, because you may enjoy walking in the rain of fluttering petals, and watching the river covered with pink. I picked up three places to see in one day, for those who wanna go to spend a day picnicking and seeing different cherry blossoms. You can move among those places with JR Yamanote line, the light green circle line in Tokyo; all of the places are on this line.

 

Morning

Ueno Park

It’s probably the most famous, and the most popular place to see cherry blossoms in Tokyo, with about 700 of trees all over the park. From children to elderlies, the place is always full of people, including many tourists. A waking road is full of cherry blossoms in both sides; you can walk under the tress, take pictures closely. Since it is allowed to bring alcohol inside, many people picnic in the afternoon, and even at night to see blooms being lit. (lots of drunk people!) You will see a big pond at the end of the park, where you can take a swan boat to admire the view from under the trees. You will also find street food near the temple, so it’s perfect when you become hungry on the road!

• Opening Hours: 5:00 am – 23:00 pm

• Access: JR, Tokyo Metro Ginza and Hibiya line “Ueno Station”, Keisei line “Keisei Ueno Station”, or Toei-Oedo line “Ueno-Okachimachi Station”

• Entrance fee is free.

• Swan boat costs ¥700/30 min., or a boat without swan head is ¥600/30 min.

 

Afternoon

Tokyo Imperial Palace

 

Located in the center of Tokyo, this beautiful old castle is one of the places you don’t wanna miss for cherry blossoms, because you can see the bloom there only for a limited amount of time in a year. Not only the place itself is a tourist attraction, but also a sight for bloom. You won’t see the road full of cherry blossom trees here compare to the other two places however, watching the cherry blossoms with this historical architecture in its back is one of a kind. Once you snap it with your camera, you’ll feel as if back in 19^th centuries. For more information, click here!

 

• Access: JR “Tokyo Station”, Tokyo Metro “Otemachi Station”, “Takebashi Station”, or “Nijubashimae Station”

• Entrance fee is free.

• The gate will be open to the public for 10 days starting at the end of March.

 

Evening

Megro River

This place became famous after it’s featured on “最高の離婚” (saikou no rikon: the best divorce), a popular TV series in early 2013. The cherry blossom line continues for about 3 km, and you can walk along the both riversides. However the best view point is on the bridge, where you can see full blooms on the both side of the river, the trees leaning down to the inside, and reflecting on the surface. After it gets dark you can enjoy the combination of cherry blossoms and lamps in the dark, shining on the surface. At the end of the cherry blossom season, you will see the river covered by petals, colored in pink.

• Access: JR ”Meguro Station”, Tokyu-Toyoko and Tokyo Metro Hibiya line “Nakameguro Station”, or Tokyu-Denentoshi line “Ikejiri-Ohashi Station”