19 best cherry blossom festivals and events in Tokyo

Cherry blossom viewing isn’t just limited to the day time. Just a five-minute walk from the west exit of Shibuya Station is Sakurazaka, a winding street lined with beautiful cherry blossom trees that are illuminated with pink lights in the evening until April 4. The around 30-or-so Yoshino trees along the 200-metre road reach peak bloom from late March to early April.

If you're visiting between March 28 and March 30, be sure to stop by the Nigiwai Stage at Shibuya Sakura Stage for some festival grub and live performances.

This cherry blossom festival, one of Tokyo's most popular, takes place along the 700m-long Chidorigafuchi Ryokudo promenade near the Imperial Palace, around which there are some 250 sakura trees. During the day, you can take a stroll along the Chidorigafuchi moat or even rent a rowboat to see the cherry blossoms from the water. By night, you can enjoy the pink flowers lit up with LEDs.

If you’re interested in viewing the cherry blossoms from the water, boat rentals are available but require payment. Fortunately, a new pre-reservations system is available from this year, designed to minimise wait times.

Advance reservations cost ¥10,000 per boat and allow you to select your preferred date and time (change of date and time can be made until 8pm of the day before the desired date, availability permitting). A portion of the proceeds will go to the Chiyoda Ward Sakura Fund for the conservation of the Chidorigafuchi landscape.

Same-day tickets purchased onsite at the Chidorigafuchi boat pier cost ¥1,600 per boat for one hour of use, which is inarguably the more affordable option. Be sure to get in line fast though, as tickets will be distributed from 9am daily and are sure to run out quickly. 

For those who can’t get a hold of tickets during the peak period between March 28 and April 8, shorter 30-minute rides are available for ¥800 outside the event period.

For the sakura illuminations that start at sunset, expect lights out at 9pm. The boats, on the other hand, will be available from 9am to 8pm. 

The cherry blossoms will be illuminated from March 28 to April 8 2025.

Celebrate spring's arrival at Tokyo Midtown in Roppongi, where the annual highlight is the illumination of the 200m avenue lined with cherry blossoms in the Garden Area. This spot is especially scenic between 5pm and 11pm during the spring festival when all of the trees are lit up. Before the cherry blossoms bloom, they're bathed in bright pink light. Once in full bloom, the lights shine a bright white, letting you admire the blossoms in all their splendour.

For an extra leisurely experience, you can get a seat at the Roku Midtown Blossom Lounge (12pm-8pm) in the Midtown Garden, where you’ll find exclusive spring-inspired cocktails and dishes prepared by chefs from the nearby Ritz-Carlton hotel.

Check the lounge menu here. 

Tucked away behind three hotels, the Takanawa Cherry Blossom Festival is being held at an expansive Japanese garden with approximately 210 cherry blossom trees of 17 different types. Starting with the winter-blooming kawazu blossoms in February, the garden hosts a wide variety of cherry trees to enjoy for three consecutive months.

The cherry blossoms here are illuminated every evening from 4.30pm to 12 midnight until April 13 (Sunday). During this time, the paths in the garden are also decorated with over 400 ornate bamboo lanterns to evoke the local custom of 'Takanawa Nijurokuya', a moon-waiting ritual from the Edo period (1603–1868). This spot is a highlight for those interested in taking the ultimate sakura snaps.

While you're there, don't miss the exciting workshops at the Japanese garden such as the tea ceremony experience, senbei-making class (no reservations required), outdoor morning yoga experience, and more. Special cherry blossom-viewing rooms are also available for booking.

For more information on workshops and stay packages, check the event website.

Tachikawa's Showa Kinen Park isn't content with merely hyping sakura: its Flower Festival takes place over three months and celebrates the blooms of winter rapeseeds (in March), tulips (April), nemophilia (April-May), poppies and German chamomile (May), of course in addition to the cherry blossoms in March and April.

Along with flower-viewing, the park will be hosting a number of floral-themed events, and dedicated photo spots will be set up on the premises. Don't miss the chance to see a beautiful field of nemophila flowers in late April, which turn into a gorgeous sea of blue once 2 million nemophilia plants bloom at once.

If you want to enjoy cherry blossoms without the crowds, head out to Koganei Park in western Tokyo. Celebrating its 71st cherry blossom festival this year, this suburban park is known for its spring festivities featuring musical performances, 30 food trucks, special stage shows and a host of fun activities. Don't miss the cherry blossom illumination happening for only one day, on March 29. 

The main events are scheduled over the March 29-30 weekend at the Tatemonoen-mae field, but the park is still worth visiting outside these dates as the spacious park offers a lot of opportunities to picnic under blooming sakura.

Even among Tokyo's innumerable flower-viewing spots, Ueno Park stands out with its sheer scale and tasteful lantern decorations. Turned on at sunset, these beautiful lights help make Ueno's nighttime sakura a must-see spectacle.

This year, the 20-day event unfolds across three areas within the park, all centred on the theme of food. At Takenodai Square (also known as the Fountain Square), food trucks from across Japan will serve regional specialties and festival favourites. The park entrance area near Keisei Ueno Station will feature food stalls from local Ueno vendors alongside shops from Wajima, a city in Ishikawa prefecture recovering from the 2024 earthquake disaster. Meanwhile, the square overlooking Shinobazu Pond will showcase food trucks offering cuisines from around the world.

Note that the festival period may change depending on the cherry blossom blooming dates.

Light up daily from 5pm to 10pm

Japan's oldest beer hall in Ginza – Beer Hall Lion Ginza 7-chome – is decorating its interior with pink cherry blossoms, so that punters can enjoy the gorgeous pink blooms indoors while nursing a cold pint.

If you can’t be bothered to head out to the parks early to secure a spot for your hanami cherry blossom picnic, just make a reservation here and then order straight from the menu, where you’ll find hearty pub grub including steak, sausages and draft beer.

On April 8 and the last day of the event (April 14), the beer hall will put on a Hanami Finale Concert with live music.

Japan’s mountainous regions are renowned for their beautiful cloud formations known as unkai (‘sea of clouds’), which appear in the morning hours of spring and autumn. Now you can experience this scenic view at Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo, where the garden features its own misty sea of clouds against a backdrop of beautiful cherry blossoms. While entry to the garden is free, it's only open to guests who are shopping, dining or staying at the hotel.

This spring, the garden and its 20 species of cherry blossoms – 100 trees in total – will be illuminated with brilliant lights in the evening. Expect to see a special light show every hour from 6.40pm, 7.40pm and 9.40pm daily.

You can visit the garden day or night and see the sakura flowers for free. But for an extra indulgence, the hotel is offering numerous food and drink plans that can be enjoyed while looking out at the sea of clouds, including a Sakura Afternoon Tea at its third-floor restaurant, Le Jardin. The afternoon tea includes their original blend tea 'Le Jardin,' a pink cherry blossom cake, an assortment of scones and savoury hors d'oeuvre. It costs ¥7,500 per person (exclusive of a 15 percent service charge) and must be booked in advance via the website.

The Nihonbashi neighbourhood is once again celebrating sakura season with all things pink. The first floor plaza at Coredo Muromachi Terrace is decked out with pink noren curtains. There are seven designs, each inspired by a different variety of cherry blossoms, like someiyoshino, okame-zakura and kawazu-zakura. There are also a few events, including a pop-up bar on March 21 and live music performances scheduled for March 27, March 29 and March 30. 

Swing by for the Nihonbashi Sakura Yatai on March 29 and 30 and you'll find a host of food and drink stalls around Fukutoku Shrine, representing restaurants, department stores, hotels and other major businesses in Nihonbashi. You can also expect sakura-themed cocktails, bento boxes, pastries and course meals at about 240 venues in the neighbourhood. Check the list of participating outlets on the website.

Come evening, Nihonbashi’s Edo Sakuradori street will light up with pastel pink-coloured illuminations. You’ll find glowing cherry blossoms along the Mitsui Main Building as well as outside shopping malls and office buildings including Ovol Nihonbashi, Coredo Muromachi Terrace, Nihonbashi Mitsui Tower, Mitsukoshi and more.

Covering several cherry blossom-lined roads that total a kilometre in length, the Ark Hills Sakura Festival is returning for only three days this year. Spread out over various sections within Ark Hills, the festival will feature live music performances, outdoor food stalls and family-friendly craft workshops, all within walking distance from the beautifully illuminated cherry blossoms surrounding the venue.

The cherry blossoms are lit up from 5pm to 10pm in two locations: roads surrounding the Ark Hills complex from Spain-zaka street to Sakurazaka street and Izumi Garden. See the event website for the workshop and performance schedules.

If you’re looking for the most OTT cherry blossom illumination in Tokyo, this is it. To commemorate the park's 60th anniversary, Yomiuri Land has commissioned veteran lighting designer Motoko Ishii for a spectacular light show that will dazzle even the most ardent illumination sceptic.

Highlights include the Sakura Promenade, where all the cherry blossoms along a 180-metre-long path will shine with electric pink LED lights. There are around 1,000 cherry blossom trees in the park. For the best bird's eye view of these seasonal trees, catch a ride on the high-speed Bandit roller coaster, or hop on the Sky Shuttle gondola.

This green oasis in the centre of Tokyo has cherry blossom trees in full bloom along the Benkei Moat. Visit in the evening between now and April 15 to enjoy the pastel pink blossoms all lit up, with the colour reflecting beautifully off the water below. And if you’re lucky, you’ll even get to see the trees illuminated in rainbow colours for four minutes at 6pm, 7pm, 8pm, 9pm and 10pm. Tokyo Garden Terrace is open to the public and entirely free to visit, so you can take a casual stroll around the trees.

The festival will also feature a vibrant flower carpet depicting an ukiyo-e portrait, made with real flower petals, from April 10 to April 13 at the first floor Kioi Terrace Flower Plaza. Visit on the first day to take part in the making of the floral art event. For more information on the event and other workshops, check the event website.

Nakameguro is one of Tokyo’s most popular sakura spots, with cherry blossom trees lining the Meguro River that runs through the neighbourhood. This area is renowned for its cherry blossom trees, which create a canopy of pink over the water. You’ll find local restaurants and shops with stalls set up along the river, and the sakura trees lit up with pretty pink lanterns from sunset to 8pm.

This part of Nakameguro gets very crowded, especially on weekends during peak bloom, so there will be some restrictions and traffic control in place to manage the crowds. Eating and drinking while walking is discouraged, as is putting down a sheet to have a picnic under the trees. If you want to find some quieter spots, head over early in the morning or try to move further down the river away from Nakameguro Station.

While the light-up runs every evening until March 31, the Nakameguro Sakura Festival is happening for one weekend only on March 29 and 30 at the Goryuten Playground on the south side of Nakameguro Station. During this special event you'll be able to enjoy many events and live performances, including taiko drumming and more.

If you've missed the Nakameguro Sakura Festival and the light-ups, head to Nakame Ohanami Park Festival for some delicious matsuri grub to enjoy under the cherry trees. Ten food trucks will gather at Meguro River Park daily until April 6.

Get a view of the Meguro River's cherry blossoms from the water with this special cruise. This season, Zeal is offering hanami cruises which take you from Tennozu Yamatsu Pier in Shinagawa to Ebara Shrine, the neighbourhoods of Osaki and Gotanda, and Hotel Gajoen Tokyo via the Meguro River. The tour takes about 70 minutes in total and is also offered in the evening if you'd prefer to see the cherry blossoms with the backdrop of Tokyo lit up at night.

Gotenyama’s annual cherry blossom festival is hosting a number of events and activities around the neighbourhood in Shinagawa. Don't miss the cherry blossom illumination (5pm-10pm from March 17) at Gotenyama Trust City, or the stunning soap bubble show on March 29-30, April 5-6 at Gotenyama Trust Tower 3F (12.30pm) and Gotenyama Garden (6.15pm). 

Over the March 29-30 and April 5-6 weekends, you'll get the opportunity to sample cherry blossom-inspired sake, as well as enjoy a footbath under the cherry trees (12noon-8pm) for free at Gotenyama Trust City Common Terrace. 

Note that certain activities require advance registration. You can sign up via the website.

Picking out some special treats from its plentiful permanent collection to celebrate the onset of spring, the National Museum of Modern Art displays sakura-themed art from March 13 to April 6. You’ll get to see Kawai Gyokudo's folding-screen masterpiece 'Parting Spring' and classics such as Hobun Kikuchi's 'Fine Rain on Mt Yoshino' at this seasonal exhibition. A visit here is best combined with cherry blossom-viewing at the nearby Imperial Palace, the Chidorigafuchi promenade and Kitanomaru Park. Make sure to stop by the museum shop on the first floor to pick up some seasonal stationery decorated with floral motifs.

The exhibition is closed on Mondays (except March 31).