Venue
Taitō, Tokyo, Japan (blossom season nationwide)
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Cherry Blossom Season (Hanami) in Japan guide
Picnics under Japan's cherry trees.
In short
Hanami suits anyone happy to join crowds in parks, on riverbanks and in castle grounds for blossom season. In Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka it usually falls from late March to early April, estimated around 28 March to 7 April 2027, while Okinawa blooms in January and Hokkaido later. Follow forecasts and book rooms early.
Hanami, literally flower viewing, is Japan's spring ritual of gathering under the cherry trees while they bloom. For a few weeks each year, parks, riverbanks and castle grounds fill with picnics, office parties and evening strolls as a wave of blossom travels from the subtropical south to the snowy north.
It is not a festival with a stage or a programme. It is a shared habit, more than a thousand years old, in which whole neighbourhoods step outside to notice something beautiful that will not last. That sense of transience runs through Japanese art and poetry, and you feel it in the way crowds fall quiet when the wind sends petals across the water.
For travellers it is one of the best moments to see daily life in Japan: neighbours sharing food, colleagues relaxing, couples walking under lanterns at night, all framed by trees in full flower.
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Key Facts & Stats:
Ends: Wednesday, 7 April 2027
Where: Japan
Venue: Ueno Park
Held: Every year
Type of event: Leisure Events, Cultural Events, Folk Festival
Currency: Japanese yen (JPY, ¥)
Time zone: Japan Standard Time, UTC+9
Language: Japanese
Map
Close to the venue
- Senso-ji Attraction · 2.3 km
- Meiji Jingu Attraction · 7.6 km
- The Peninsula Tokyo Hotel · 4.3 km
Getting around
Hotels near the venue fill up around the event dates.
Picnic sheets and reserving spots
Claiming a spot early is normal, but leaving a sheet unattended to reserve space is banned in many parks. If your group wants a prime place, someone stays with it. Check each park's rules before you go, as they differ:
- Some parks prohibit alcohol altogether, Shinjuku Gyoen among them.
- Barbecues and open flames are usually forbidden.
- Chidorigafuchi allows strolling and boating but no picnics.
- Some parks close their gates in the evening.
Not touching the trees
The trees are the point, and people take their care seriously. Do not shake or pull branches for a photo, pick blossoms, climb trunks or stand on exposed roots, which are easily damaged by trampling crowds. Photographers with tripods should keep paths clear, since walkways under the best trees are narrow and slow-moving at peak times. If a child or a dog is with you, keep them off the roots too; the soil around old trunks compacts easily under thousands of feet.
Taking your rubbish with you
Many parks have few or no bins, and the expectation is that you leave nothing behind. Bring a couple of bags for rubbish and recycling, and sort them the way your hotel does. A small mat, a warm layer for the evening and wet wipes make a picnic far more comfortable. Spring nights are cool, and stone or grass gets cold quickly once the sun drops behind the trees.
What happens on the day
- Dawn
Holding a spot
In the most popular parks, groups send someone to claim a patch of ground; the best spots can be gone before 8am.
- Morning
Walks and photographs
Soft light and fewer people.
- Midday
Picnics
Office groups, families and friends spread out sheets and share food.
- After dark
Yozakura
Paper lanterns and lights under the branches for a few hours each evening. Some parks close their gates at night.
Planning around the bloom forecasts
The awkward truth of a sakura trip is that you have to commit before anyone knows when the trees will open. The first serious forecasts for the coming spring usually appear around February, yet flights and central hotels in Tokyo and Kyoto sell out well before that. The practical answer is to book refundable rooms early for a window of late March to early April, then fine-tune once the forecasts settle.
Build some slack into the route. The bloom moves north over several weeks, so a trip that begins in Tokyo or Kyoto and ends in Kanazawa, Sendai or Hirosaki gives you more than one chance at full bloom. If the season runs early in the south, you simply catch it further up the line.
How hanami moved from plum to cherry blossoms
Flower viewing reached Japan from China, and in the Nara period (710–794) the honoured blossom was the plum. Over the Heian period the cherry took its place, and the word hanami came to mean cherry viewing. The earliest written record of a cherry viewing dates from 812, and Emperor Saga held flower parties at the imperial court in Kyoto. For centuries it remained an aristocratic pleasure.
It spread from courtiers to samurai and, in the Edo period, to townspeople. The shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune had cherry groves planted to encourage ordinary people to gather under them, and the modern picnic culture grows from that. The appeal has always been the shortness of it. A tree is at its best for a week or two, then the petals fall.
Food is half the point. Japanese even have a saying for it, hana yori dango, "dumplings rather than flowers", teasing those who come mainly to eat and drink. Expect bento boxes, skewers of sweet dango, and sake passed around the group. Plum viewing, which comes earlier in the year, remains the calmer, older cousin, a quieter alternative if crowds put you off.
Getting there
Flying in
From Tokyo Narita, the Keisei Skyliner reaches Keisei Ueno in about 43 minutes. Tokyo Haneda is closer to the city centre.
To Kyoto
The JR Haruka limited express runs from Kansai Airport to Kyoto Station in about 1 hour 20 minutes, roughly every half hour.
Following the bloom
The bloom moves north over several weeks, so a route from Tokyo or Kyoto up to Kanazawa, Sendai or Hirosaki gives you more than one chance at full bloom.
Where to stay during the festival
Flights and central hotels in Tokyo and Kyoto sell out well before the first forecasts, so book refundable rooms early for a late-March to early-April window and fine-tune later.
In Tokyo, Ueno or Asakusa puts busy parks within walking distance for early mornings and evenings. In Kyoto, the eastern districts near Yasaka Shrine keep Maruyama Park and the Philosopher's Path close.
Tokyo
The Peninsula Tokyo5-star hotel
No reviews yet
from$1,100.00/ night
- Internet – Wifi
- Airport shuttle
- Swimming pool
4 Rooms available
Book Now
Kyoto
Hotel Granvia Kyoto4-star hotel
No reviews yet
from$231.00/ night
- Free WiFi
- Swimming pool
- Parking
3 Rooms available
Book Now
Hiroshima
Sheraton Grand Hiroshima Hotel5-star hotel
No reviews yet
from$196.00/ night
- Internet – Wifi
- Swimming pool
- Parking
3 Rooms available
Book Now
Okinawa
Halekulani Okinawa5-star hotel
No reviews yet
from$544.00/ night
- Internet – Wifi
- Swimming pool
- Parking
4 Rooms available
Book Now
Osaka
Cross Hotel Osaka4-star hotel
No reviews yet
from$169.00/ night
- Internet – Wifi
- Air conditioning
- Restaurant
3 Rooms available
Book Now
Weather and what to pack
Early spring in Tokyo and Kyoto is mild by day and cool at night: from March to April, average highs climb from about 14°C to 19-20°C and lows from 4-5°C to about 10°C. A spell of rain or wind can strip the trees in an afternoon, so keep a spare day in each city.
Worth packing
- Layers for cool evenings under the trees
- A picnic sheet
- A compact umbrella
- Comfortable walking shoes
Car hire in Japan
Airport transfer to Cherry Blossom Season (Hanami) in Japan
Met at arrivals at Tokyo Haneda Airport (HND) and driven door to door to Ueno Park.
- Tokyo Haneda Airport (HND) → Ueno Park
- 21 km · 25 min
Restaurants and food in Japan
Places to eat in Japan before or after the celebrations.
Nagataya
1F, 1-7-19 Otemachi, Naka-ku, Hiroshima, Japan
Cuisine:Hiroshima okonomiyaki
- Dine-in
- Counter seating
Okonomiyaki Mizuno
1-4-15 Dotonbori, Chuo-ku, Osaka 542-0071, Japan
Cuisine:OkonomiyakiOsaka
- Dine-in
- Counter seating
Kikunoi Honten
459 Shimokawara-cho, Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto 605-0825, Japan
Cuisine:Kyoto kaisekiJapanese
- Dine-in
Narisawa
Minamiaoyama Garden Court, 2-6-15 Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-0062, Japan
Cuisine:InnovativeJapanese
- Dine-in
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
General
Kaika is the opening day, declared when at least five or six flowers have opened on an official sample tree. Mankai is full bloom, when about 80% of the flowers are out.
It grows in the grounds of Yasukuni Shrine. The Japan Meteorological Agency watches it, and dozens of others across the country, 59 in all, to declare when the season has begun in each region.
Yes, rowing boats are available on the moat, and they are among the most popular ways to see the overhanging trees. The water level puts you right under the branches, a view you cannot get from the path.
The garden's weeping cherries are a different variety that reaches full bloom a few days after most of Kyoto's trees. The garden costs 600 yen, so it suits travellers arriving at the tail of the season.
It suits anyone who loves weeping cherries, with notable trees near the Reihokan Museum and the Sanboin. Entry costs 1500 yen in season.
Umemi is plum blossom viewing, the older form of the custom. It comes earlier in the year than sakura season and usually draws a quieter, older crowd than the cherry parties.
Timing & weather
Private weather companies have issued the forecasts since 2010. Before that the Japan Meteorological Agency did it, starting in 1951. The agency still records the official opening dates.
Later than Tokyo. In 2026 the best viewing in Sendai was 6 to 12 April and in Hirosaki 16 to 21 April, handy for anyone arriving after the southern bloom.
Yes, the garden charges an entry fee of 500 yen. It holds more than a thousand cherry trees, and on the busiest weekends in 2026 visitors had to book a time slot in advance.
Booking
Around 800 trees stretch along the canal for several hundred metres. It is a city setting, and the trees are lit for a few weeks after dark.
Around 800 grow inside the park itself, and roughly 1,200 when shrine and temple grounds nearby are counted. Ueno Park opened as a public park in 1873.