Tokyo: Approaching Full Bloom

Cherry blossoms are now sweeping across Japan, with much of the western part of the country at or approaching peak viewing. A day on from Cassie's report from Nara and Raina's from Matsuyama - both locations now in full bloom - I spent today checking in on three popular viewing spots in Tokyo.

As expected, blossoms at all three spots were already looking very attractive, but with their progress slowed somewhat due to colder temperatures over the past week were still not quite at full bloom. Even fuller and more vibrant scenes can be expected over the weekend, with the period for best viewing continuing into at least the middle part of next week.

I began my day at Ueno Park, reliably one of the city's busiest spots for cherry blossom viewing. Along the main central avenue and around the Shinobazu Pond, the trees had already filled out somewhat and were looking very attractive, but on closer inspection I found that only a little under 80% of flowers had opened so far, leaving the best still to come.

For evening visitors to the park, lanterns will stay up along the main avenue from 17:00 to 21:00 until Sunday, while illuminations around the pond will continue from 17:00 to 22:00 up until April 13.

My second stop was at Chidorigafuchi, a section of the moat surrounding what was once Edo Castle, today lined with hundreds of cherry blossom trees. With the sun shining and excited crowds filling the pathways, the scene was almost perfect - but here again I felt the blossoms were just a touch short of their best.

Illuminations will be held here from 18:00 until 21:00 up to April 8, and while there are no food stalls on the site, hungry visitors can find these just a few steps away at the Yasukuni Shrine.

My final visit of the day was to Shinjuku Gyoen, one of the largest and most popular parks in the city. Here, earlier flowering varieties already well into full bloom combined with a few more advanced patches of the standard Somei Yoshino variety to give a satisfying initial impression. Overall however, I felt that the best scenes were still to come over the next few days.

For visitors planning to visit the park over the weekend, please note that reservations will be required to enter on Saturday and Sunday between 10:00 and 18:00.