To be able to see cherry blossoms in their full bloom was my long-life dream. It might be silly for some people, it's just a tree full of pink flowers. But somehow I really really wish to see it, even now after I already saw them last April. I still hope I could be able to see them again next time. I never got bored watching them. Perhaps because I knew that they wont last long, so I want to cherish them as much as I can.
I also respect how Japanese people always appreciate the beauty of changing seasons around them. Perhaps Korean and Chinese people also have the same characteristic? They have the luxury to be able to enjoy this scenery each year. But even so they still looked amazingly happy each time they saw bloomed cherry blossoms.
Since I spent my first day and the last three days in Tokyo, I visited some places around this city for hanami. I wish I could share my experience and what I think of them since each place somehow gave me different vibes. Several of them was visited at the early bloom time and the rest when they're already started to fall and get leafy. I enjoy the full bloomed one in a different cities but that will be for another post.
Shinjuku Gyoen
This might be the most famous place for foreigner to do their hanami when visiting Japan. Shinjuku Gyoen often listed as the number one (or at least as the big 3) spot for Cherry Blossom Viewing. There are entrance fee around 200yen if I'm not mistaken. Security checks were presents to make sure visitors weren't bring sharp object and alcohol in this garden. So it's pretty safe and perhaps comfortable for family activities.
It was drizzling when we arrived at Shinjuku Gyoen. The sky was gloomy. And since it's our first day in Japan, the cold bellow 10 degrees weather was hit me pretty hard. The cherry blossoms were still in an early blooming stage at that time. But they do have several variants of cherry trees and the bloomed flowers were beautiful.
I do feel that this place somehow has a formal-kind of aura. The garden is really spacious with 3 kinds of garden. I don't think I had walked all over the whole park. But I do remember I walked around some ponds and open grassy field. I also took a glimpse of the Japanese Garden and visited the green house.
The Green house contains lots of tropical plants and I felt weird that we went so far to Japan and still saw orchids, palms, and banana trees there. It's an ordinary sight for us, but I guess tropical plants are unique and interesting for Japanese people just as Cherry Blossom and Maple trees are unusual for us.
There were also canteen-like area for people to buy snacks or hanami bento. While I love cherry blossom flowers, I don't particularly like to eat sakura-themed food. Sakura mochi and dango are nice, but the one with cherry paste or jam is a bit weird for my taste.
Ueno Park
We went to Ueno Park after Shinjuku Gyoen so it's still drizzling and cold. But the atmosphere were really different in Ueno Park. Lots of sakura trees just started to bloom and bellow them were people gathering with their friends or colleagues while eating and drinking sake. It felt so cheerful and lively even though the weather wasn't that nice. Maybe because it was Saturday. Lots of food stalls were also available with wide variety of food and snacks.
There is no admission in this park, so you can enjoy around 1000 of cherry blossom trees in this park for free. Some people might not like it since it's pretty noisy and there were several drunk people. But I do feel that it was the charm of this park. And if you wish to experience how Japanese people enjoy their spring festival then you should try to visit this park at the cherry blossom season.
Inokashira Park
We visited Inokashira Park on my last day in Japan and walked to the park from Kichijoji Station. It was pretty warm and the weather was great. It's a public city park and the admission is free. At first I only found green trees and I thought the cherry blossom might already turned to green leaves. It did feel like a start of summer scenery. But after I walked around I finally found the place with cherry blossom trees surrounding the lake. It was a really beautiful sight with their petals floating in the air every time the wind blows.
Inokashira Park is perfect for leisure walking with family, jogging, or dating spots. You can rent a boat to enjoy the scenery from the lake. We didn't do that since it's seems a bit troublesome, but the ducks in this lake seems more approachable if you use the swan pedal boat.
The reason I went to Inokashira Park is because initially I planed to go to Ghibli Museum (which in the end I didn't get the ticket for it) and I want to feed ducks in this park. I even searched and got some info that ducks shouldn't be feed with bread and rice is better for them, so I bought some onigiris for the ducks and birds, but my brother refused and always reminded me with the "Do Not Feed the Duck" warning signs that is all over the place. ;_;
Nakameguro River
This is my most favorite place for cherry blossoms viewing in Tokyo. The pink flowered trees were planted all along this river, makes a wonderful scenery and lovely path for walking. I even visited Nakameguro twice, when they're still early bloomed and when they're started to fall. It's really enjoyable to stroll around the river in the morning, and the second time I went to Nakameguro, the weather was awesome with a clear blue sky. A perfect background for the pink flowers and their fresh green leaves. The petals were falling down beautifully, to the road, and the river.
I already fell in love with this place ever since I saw a photograph from my friend who visited this place when the cherry blossoms were in full bloom. The scenery where it became a pale-pinkish river from the falling petals was captivated my heart. Too bad I didn't get a chance to see Nakameguro River when it was covered with cherry blossom petals, perhaps some other time.
I found a lot of people walking around with their dogs in Nakameguro. I really wish I could pet them but I wasn't sure how to ask the owner without creeping them out. But some are nice enough to let me took photographs of their pets. :3
There are also lots of cute shops and food establishment around this area. At cherry blossom seasons, some shops open food stalls around the riverside road. But we were always pretty early in this area and most of them wasn't opened yet. Maybe this area would be livelier in the afternoon.
Sumida River Park
It's a nice park as well as pedestrian on the side of Sumida River. I didn't actually planned to go to this area. I actually wanted to go to Senso-ji from Asakusa monorail station, but somehow chose this path and found cherry blossom trees were still bloomed beautifully in this area. The other side of the river seems to also have a park with lots of cherry blossoms along the river. The sight of Tokyo Sky Tree become the highlight and makes an amazing view around this place.
We took quite long walk that we're a bit lost with our way to Senso-ji. But thank goodness we managed to arrived at the back side of the famous temple in Asakusa. xd;
Yanaka Cemetery
We found this area when we actually wanted to go to Yanaka Ginza shopping district. But the sight of cherry blossom trees distract me from the main path and we found large area of Japanese cemetery. It's located in the back of Nippori Station. The left and right side of the road in this cemetery complex are decorated with Cherry Blossom Trees. The sun was almost set when we were there and the twilight sky gave a deeper pink shade to the flowers in this place.
People might be uncomfortable to have cemetery complex as hanami spot, but for me it was really beautiful and I was grateful to strayed a bit to found the sakura-dori road. I kind of wish to have a tombstone in this cemetery after I die, but it must be very difficult and expensive. ^^;
Asukayama Park
I went there at the first day when the weather was cold and rainy. Asukayama Park was located a bit north from the central Tokyo even though it's not that far. It's just a crossing road from JR Oji Station. It seems that they're located on the higher ground, so when I was there the cherry blossoms wasn't bloomed yet.
I actually went there for the night illumination in the park. It's a shame we went there not at the right timing. But some other flowers already blossomed beautifully as if they want to cheer us or other people who also came too early. Some were also doing their hanami when we were there.
The landscape of this park is beautiful and it's really a nice place for leisure walking. I saw bunch of children playing around even though the sky was already pretty dark. We can access the park using a diagonal cable car, it's really fun. The park admission and the cable car are free.
I believe there are lots of other awesome places and great spots for Cherry Blossoms viewing around Tokyo. For me, it's always felt awesome when I found something I didn't planned or expect. Like if I follow my curiosity and choose an unusual route and then found a beautiful place, somehow it fills my heart with happiness.
All of these (and actually most of my blog posts) perhaps too personal and subjective. But I hope they could be a helpful reference for people who wish to know about some hanami spots around Tokyo. :)
Next will be, Yokohama ~
Note. I wrote this blogpost in English so I can also practice for the upcoming IELTS test. I hope I wasn't making too many mistake. ^^; Correction are welcomed~
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