It’s nearly cherry blossom time of year in Japan! I have so many photos and recommendations from my trip last year, that this post would end up being super long, so I’ve split it into 2 posts:

Where to see cherry blossoms in Tokyo, Kawagoe and Mount Fuji (this post)
Where to see cherry blossoms in Kyoto, Osaka and Nara

I’ve tried to make these posts as helpful as possible by including:

What time of year Japan’s cherry blossom season typically is
The dates of my visit
What ‘bloom’ and ‘peak’ mean if you are watching any cherry blossom forecast websites
The exact locations where you can find cherry blossoms
Tips for photographing the cherry blossoms
Whether I recommend viewing cherry blossoms during the day or at night
Lots of photos to give you some ideas for different angles to use when photographing the cherry blossoms

Where to see cherry blossoms in Japan

All over the country! My trip included Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Nara, so these blog posts provide recommendations for places you can find cherry blossoms in those cities.

When is Japan’s cherry blossom season?

Japan’s peak cherry blossom season is around the last week of March / first week of April although it can be a little earlier or later. There are various websites you can use to check the predicted forecast (I used Live Japan and Japan Guide) however since it’s so hard to predict, the forecast isn’t usually published until February of that year. I was originally supposed to take this trip in 2020 but obviously COVID-19 put a stop to that!

It did mean that I had a few years of data from checking forecasts, when people post photos on Instagram (search by hashtags e.g. #cherryblossom) though, so I ended up booking my trip for 25th March to 5th April. Another way to see when could be a good time to go is to just check flight prices – they increase the price (in my case doubled the price) if you fly in / out during peak time.

It’s a very popular time to visit so make sure you book early. I booked this trip in October which was only 5 months before going. I never usually leave booking a holiday so late but Japan was slow to open their border after COVID. If you want to see the cherry blossoms and save some money, I’d book it as soon as flights become available (usually 9 months before).

Time of my visit

I visited in 2023 and the cherry blossoms peaked really early that year – in some places 2 weeks earlier than normal! I had booked with the intention that the peak would start the first day we arrived but it actually reached peak a few days earlier as the blossoms started opening in mid-March. It meant we timed fantastic cherry blossoms in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka (which are a little further south than Tokyo so bloom a few days behind). By the time we returned to Tokyo a week later for our flight home, the cherry blossoms were well past peak, most trees had lost half (or more) of their blossoms and were already turning green. Unfortunate timing for those visiting during Aussie school holidays / Easter break.

But since Mount Fuji peaks a little later than Tokyo (when I was researching online forecasts seemed to say 2 weeks later) and since all the cherry blossoms peaked earlier, we actually perfectly timed the peak for Mount Fuji. I deliberately put the Mount Fuji day trip at the end of the itinerary (hopeful not expecting to time them at all).

What does bloom and peak mean?

Bloom is when the first buds open. Peak bloom is a week or two later when the actual flowers are out on display (lasts about a week). When they’re past peak you’ll start to see the green leaves coming behind the flowers, and the flowers will starting falling onto the ground.

For my visit it bloomed in Tokyo on March 15th (the buds appear). I landed on March 25th – the flowers were about 3 days past peak. There was quite a difference between Tokyo cherry blossoms on March 25th and Tokyo on April 6th. There were still flowers on the trees in early April, but many had already fallen to the ground and it didn’t look as pretty.

Where to find cherry blossoms

There were usually cherry blossoms at the temples. If you’re lucky you might get a snap of a temple, the cherry blossoms and a woman in a kimono – like this!

In Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, definitely go up at least one of the viewpoints in each city so you can look down on the pockets of cherry blossom trees down below. I did this first so I could see which places on my list (helps if you plot your itinerary on Google My Maps or at least have an understanding of the general vicinity of where you’re going), were in peak bloom and where I should head to next.

Most of the viewpoints are quite high up in the air, the viewpoints that are closer to the ground will give you a better look at the cherry blossoms.

Castles, imperial palaces, parks and cemeteries are also a safe bet for cherry blossom trees.

To add this to your Google Maps, click the star button in the maps window above (beside ‘Japan Cherry Blossoms’ on the top left).

How to photograph the cherry blossoms

Try and get a blue sky behind the cherry blossoms as the contrast really makes the colors pop
Experiment with a mix of very close, semi close and photos of the entire tree
Tap on your iPhone screen and slide up the yellow sunshine icon that appears near the box to increase the brightness
There are different types of cherry blossoms – I saw mostly white and baby pink – photograph all of them to get a nice variety in your photos!
Just because the cherry blossoms might be past peak doesn’t mean you should skip taking a photo. When I look back at the photos I took, I actually think the cherry blossoms show up better in photos than they looked in person

You don’t need a DLSR camera to take good photos of the cherry blossoms (or any flower). I took all of the photos in this blog post with my Canon Powershot G7X Camera and iPhone 12 mini.

Where to see cherry blossoms in Tokyo

From the top of Shibuya Sky

This was an excellent viewpoint that is worth visiting at any time of year! A good place to go at the start of your trip so you can scope out which clusters of cherry blossom trees are worth going to.

Sakura Street (Shibuya)

A short walk from the Shibuya Sky viewpoint is a fairly average street but it’s lined with pretty cherry blossom trees.

Enter this address into Google Maps: 16-12 Sakuragaokacho, Shibuya City, Tokyo 150-0031, Japan or it may also appear if you Google Sakura Street (Shibuya)

From the top of Tokyo Skytree

So I wouldn’t visit the Tokyo Skytree just to see cherry blossoms. But you can see a nice cluster of cherry blossoms along the river. Honestly photos of the cherry blossoms look better close up or down at ground level than from any of the viewpoints.

After you visit the Skytree it’s about a 30 minute walk to Sumida Park along the riverbank where you can take a photo looking back at the Skytree and then walk to…

Senso-ji temple

There isn’t much to see at the temple itself, a few stallholders selling Japanese things (I couldn’t tell you what and it was so crowded it was hard to get near any of the stalls anyway).

After the temple, I made the mistake of looking at Google maps which said it would take the same amount of time to walk to Ueno station as it would to take a train (30 minutes). So we walked. Well, it took a lot longer than Google maps said and the walk didn’t feel entirely safe. It was eerily quiet with no one in the streets. No shops, just what I assume were residential buildings. Then when we got to Ueno train station, we had to walk the entire length of the station to get to the entrance of…

Ueno park

I would have liked to visit the park during the day but by then it was getting dark.

There is a cherry blossom lined footpath into the park but there were too many lanterns lit up and photos on my camera looked very dark so I won’t bother including them in this post. It wasn’t that great and it was crowded so you end up just shuffling along the footpath with the crowd.

The best tree lined footpath where the cherry blossoms are lit up is behind the Shinobazunoike Benten-do temple. Google literally has this marked as ‘Cherry Trees of Shinobazu-no-ike Pond’.

Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden

This one is paid entry and during peak cherry blossom time you’ll want to pre-book your entry timeslot in advance. I went when it was raining which I think deterred a lot of people as I was able to scan a QR code at the gate and then walk straight in. It had a small entry fee (it’s worth paying it).

This park has very good clusters of cherry blossom trees where you can get a variety of photos: cherry blossoms with a lake and bridge in the foreground, cherry blossom tree lined pathways etc.. It’s a large park so even if it’s busy there is still space for everyone.

It was one of the best cherry blossoms locations where you can get right up next to the trees and usually with enough distance that someone doesn’t photo bomb you and without benches, buildings and other stuff in the background.

The below photo was taken 3 days after it was announced that Tokyo had reached ‘peak’. In some areas some of the flowers were falling off the trees but the fresh flowers make a nice ‘blanket’ beneath the tree. The photos still turned out ok even though it was pouring rain!

If you have the time, you could come back in the evening. There are lights set up under some of the trees so you can still see the cherry blossoms, but I found this distorted their colors and made it harder to photograph them.

Expect to spend 1 – 1.5 hours wandering around the national garden taking photos. Make sure you check what exit you’re aiming for before you actually leave. I got confused and accidentally exited on the opposite site of the garden to what I was aiming for… which meant a long and unnecessary walk back around the entire park.

Roppongi Sakurazaka street (Roppongii Hills)

This street is near the Roppongi Mori tower which has an excellent viewpoint from the 52nd floor.

I took the above photo at dusk, try and go earlier in the day for better lighting

Random streets in Ginza

While visiting the Itoya stationery shop in Ginza, I happened across a few streets with clusters of cherry blossoms. Shame about all of the construction works photo bombing me!

Enter ‘Sakura Dōri St’ into Google Maps

I wouldn’t go out of your way to come to Ginza just to take photos of cherry blossom lined streets. This suburb has block after block of super-sized high rise office buildings. You’ll probably stumble across other tree lined streets while you’re moving between tourist sites (and have nicer backgrounds behind the trees in those photos). Just keep your eye out for any photo opportunities while you’re on the move!

Kawagoe

Kawagoe is an easy day trip from Tokyo if you want to see traditional houses and try Japanese sweets and sweet potato (they even had sweet potato ice cream!)

One of my favorite cherry blossom viewing locations of the entire holiday was the Shingashi Riverbank where the cherry blossoms create a very pretty tunnel and reflection over the water. There were plenty of people in traditional Japanese clothes and a few small clusters of hanami parties.

Try and find clusters of cherry blossoms trees that are lining the side of a river or street – makes for a very effective photo and even better if the branches are overhanging.

Meguro River, Tokyo

Slightly out of the way, this is what it looks like about a week past peak, if you Google Meguro River cherry blossoms you’ll see why this place made the list. This spot is also lit up at night.

Hop off the metro at Naka-meguro Station and start walking in the direction of the Tokyo Kyōsai Hospital.

You’ll see plenty of Japanese locals enjoying hanami (flower viewing). Many of them with their dogs!

Chidorigafuchi Moat

Not far from the Imperial Palace, this photo spot is best viewed in good weather when people are out in the boats or better yet, if you can get in a boat and take a photo from there. Still a good photo spot in wet weather.

Enter Chidorigafuchi Boat Pier into Google Maps to find this photo spot.

Mount Fuji (day trip)

If you want that iconic photo with the Chureito Pagoda and Mount Fuji in the background, you’ll need to queue for it.. for hours. When I arrived around mid-morning and looked up, I thought the people I could see on the side of the mountain was the queue to get to the top. Nope, it was actually the queue for the timber deck platform you need to go up onto, to get that iconic photo.

It’s the only way to get that photo because behind that timber viewing deck are trees, hedges etc. which obstruct the view. My mum queued for half an hour and the queue had barely moved (this is even with a Japanese person blowing a whistle and giving people like 60 seconds on the platform to get the photo before they have to leave).

I think the wait time would’ve been 2 hours (possibly more). If you visit on an organized bus tour like I did, you’ll only have around an hour to go up to the viewpoint, wander around and come back down – not enough time to wait in the queue to ‘get the shot.’

So yay for getting super lucky timing cherry blossoms in peak bloom, but just be prepared for huge crowds and queuing if you want good photos.

The second stop on the day trip from Tokyo was the Fuji 5 Lakes area. There are cherry blossom trees along the pathway beside the lake but it was actually harder than it looks to find the right cluster of flowers to frame Mount Fuji in a photo like this:

Tips for cherry blossom spotting in Tokyo

I thought the East Gardens near the Imperial Palace would have plenty of cherry blossom trees… but they didn’t. The park was mainly just a grassy field with not much to look at. Don’t go there if you’re looking for cherry blossoms and if you’re short on time I’d cut it from the itinerary altogether.

Otherwise, if you Google ‘best places to see cherry blossoms in Tokyo’, most of the places I’ve already listed above will appear. I recommend getting on Instagram once you arrive in Japan and searching the above places, to see which locations are in peak bloom or not. It’s worth re-checking as it takes a long time to get from A to B (those train stations are big, let alone the travel time to get from one side of the city to the other). If you want to get good photos, you may need to switch days around in your itinerary to time which areas are in bloom.

Japan packing list for cherry blossoms

Don’t be fooled by the pretty Instagram photos of girls in flowy dresses, they’re probably freezing their nips off! Cherry blossoms typically bloom around the last week of March, first week of April which is the end of Japan’s winter and the start of their spring.

You can check the forecast here: https://www.japan-guide.com/sakura/ it has a great map with colour coded visual of which regions are at which stage

Clear umbrellas are better for photos because if you take a black umbrella (as I found out), your face will be in shadow in the photos. If it’s raining, some hotels let you hire a clear umbrella for the day.

The average temperature varies depending on where in Japan you go, but it was around 10°C to 18°C in most places I went to.

I wore a Uniqlo thermal long sleeve shirt, Lorna Jane thermal leggings and a warm Kathmandu jacket. It was warmer in Kyoto and I could’ve worn a short sleeve shirt during the day, but then it gets very cold again at night so you should always have a warm jacket with you.

Is visiting Japan during cherry blossom season worth it?

If you like visiting Asian countries or have never visited an Asian country before and want to experience what a mega city (Tokyo) is like then it will probably be worth it.

Due to the cherry blossoms, prices were heavily inflated. For the price I paid, for the same duration (11 days), my dollar would go further in most parts of Europe.

I’m glad I went to Japan, and very glad I went during the cherry blossom season, as there wasn’t a lot else in the country that interested me. It’s not a place I need to go back to and I’d probably try a different country like South Korea or somewhere in the USA if I wanted to see cherry blossoms again.

Save yourself time, download a copy of my Japan itinerary that has all of the places mentioned in this post (plus must see attractions, viewpoints, logistics information on how to get from A to B etc.).

Editable version of the itinerary is available in my shop.