It’s sakura season (at the time of writing), which means that areas of Japan are saying hello and will soon be saying goodbye to beautiful pink cherry blossoms with parties and events across the country. Living in Japan means we have plenty of time to check out the best spots, but visitors only have so much time for hanami. That’s why we put together a list of hanami spots that we think you’ll love as much as we do.
While we’ve been to a lot of the places mentioned below, we haven’t been to all of them. So to put this list together, we took a look at quite a few lists, reviews, photos and more to get an idea of the places that we would want to go to.
And we wanted to make sure we covered our bases, so we have a mix of places that are more of a “stroll in the park” kind of vibe, a party kind of atmosphere or a more instabae (place perfect for social media) feel. And honestly, we think we put together a pretty good list. So let’s get into it!
By the way, if you’re looking to bring sakura to you, even in your own home, check out our seasonal selection. With it being sakura season and all, you’re sure to find sakura-themed Japanese Seasonal Exclusives!
Hokkaido—Goryokaku Fort
Our first entry definitely has the most unique shape of all the places on our list. Image via Freepik
We’re starting our list in the northernmost part of Japan and where the cherry blossoms bloom the latest—Hokkaido! Hokkaido is known for its cold climate in winter but comfortably warm climate in the other seasons. Because it’s a little cooler, the sakura bloom latest there, usually from late April to early May.
When looking at Hokkaido, their two most popular are Goryokaku Fort and Matsumae Park. Matsumae Park is a great option with the castle of the feudal lord and over 10,000 sakura trees. That being said, we are a bit more partial to the Goryokaku Fort, a park centered around the former Western-style fortress.
It “only” has 1500 trees, but is located in this amazing star-shaped park surrounded by a moat, right in Hakodate City. It’s a great place to sit under cherry blossoms!
Aomori—Hirosaki Castle Park
Aomori may be out of the way for your typical Tokyo-Kyoto-Osaka trip, but it's one of the top three most beautiful hanami spots in Japan! Image via Wikimedia Commons
Heading just south of Hokkaido, we arrive at a sakura location that is known as being one of Japan’s top three most beautiful. Aomori’s Hirosaki Castle Park is popular year-round for autumn leaves, snow lanterns in winter and sakura in the spring. The castle that the park centers around is one of the few maintained from the original structure, which provides an amazing backdrop to the more than 2500 sakura trees.
Add in the cherry blossom tunnels, boat experiences on the river filled with blossoms and a lovely night illumination, it makes sense why this park is so popular. Of course, other cultural sites are present on this… cultural site. The park has a botanical garden and a few shrines as well!
Tokyo
Tokyo is HUGE and has an equally large number of places to enjoy the sakura trees. Although we wanted to limit it to one place, we decided to add two to the list with different vibes to each one. We had plenty of options too. While we love Tokyo Shinjuku Gyoen, Yoyogi Park and Ueno Park (all places I went to during my time living in Tokyo), we wanted to introduce more unique experiences.
Chidorigafuchi Park
Hanami spots close to calm rivers or lakes are great places to do boat rides under the cherry blossoms. Image via Freepik
Chidorigafuchi Park is located in the middle of the city, on the edge of the Imperial Palace. It’s just a long strip of green space, but what makes it so cool is the Chidorigafuchi Moat and the hundreds of sakura trees, making it one of the most popular hanami spots in Tokyo. It’s not really a sit-down experience and is more for pictures and leisurely (or even romantic) strolls.
However, the moat offers a really cool boat experience, allowing people (mostly couples) to go onto the moat to observe the sakura. At night, there are also illuminations that create a really cool, magical experience.
Meguro River
This riverside hanami event really comes to life after work hours as people young and old fill the riverside roads. Image via Unsplash
The Meguro River flows from Setagaya Ward through Meguro and Shinagawa and out to Tokyo Bay. On its own, it’s a nice but often overlooked attraction in Tokyo—except during sakura season. The Meguro River Park is a popular and beloved hanami spot in Tokyo.
Many parts of the river have sakura trees, but the stretch between Meguro and Naka-Meguro Stations are where the true party is at, especially at night with pink lanterns lining the river and lighting up the trees to beautiful effect. This hanami event also includes performances for entertainment and both food trucks and stalls for tasty food and drinks.
Plus, this area has plenty of local businesses along the river, so restaurant tours and barhopping are very popular during the cherry blossom bloom.
Yamanashi—Kawaguchiko
With the size of Mount Fuji, you can actually do hanami on either the Shizuoka or Yamanashi side. Image via Freepik
Let’s be honest, anywhere around Mount Fuji will give you a chance to enjoy that iconic shot of the famous mountain behind the white and pink blossoms. However, Lake Kawaguchi (or Kawaguchiko) in Yamanashi Prefecture continues to stay on many people’s top 10 lists. And it’s no wonder why with how gorgeous both the lake and the view of Mount Fuji are.
Kawaguchiko is big, so you can actually enjoy hanami at various spots around the lake. However, the most popular, according to Matcha, are the Arakurayama Sengen Park, the North shore of Kawaguchiko and the Oshino Hakkai. Arakurayama Sengen Park is definitely the most famous and is one of the iconic shots that you see if you look up “Mount Fuji sakura” in a search engine.
Lake Kawaguchi is also famous in Japanese art for its beauty. Image via Wikimedia Commons
Just know that the Arakurayama Sengen Park official hanami was cancelled this year (2026) due to both overtourism and tourist bad behavior. However, the park is still open for an informal hanami. Just make sure to be on your best behavior. Check out our Surviving Hanami guide on our blog or our Hanami Pro video on Instagram for tips on both dos and don’ts for sakura viewing.
However, the most highly-rated is actually the North shore, where people can enjoy the perfect combination of the lake, Mount Fuji and the cherry blossoms. Iyashi no Sato is also great for history and crafts buffs, with its open-air museum featuring thatched roofs and its traditional crafts.
Nagano—Takatou Castle Ruins Park
Nagano is already famous for its winter sports, but this beautiful park is a perfect reason to visit Nagano outside of winter. Image via Wikimedia Commons
Nagano is a 2-hour train ride and a 50-minute bus ride from Tokyo, but this spot is well worth the trek. Famous for its winter sports, you may be surprised to know it’s also considered one of the top three sakura locations in Japan. Takato Castle Ruins Park features around 1500 Kohigan sakura trees, which have a pinker hue.
These trees attract plenty of food stalls and hanami goers both during the day and at night, when nighttime illuminations happen for a bit of cherry blossom magic. The park itself also has several historical and cultural sites.
While the castle is dismantled, sites like the drum tower, the Shinshu Takato Art Museum and the Ounkyo bridge are popular places to visit within the park.
Kanazawa—Kenroku-en
While we try to be impartial, we couldn't make this list without putting this one from our old stomping grounds. Image via Wikimedia Commons
As a former resident of the Hokuriku region (an area within the greater Chubu region), I’m a little biased towards this selection.
But I can say that Kenroku-en is an amazing sakura spot in the region. Kenroku-en is located in the city of Kanazawa in Ishikawa prefecture, which is seeing a boost in tourism, and is one of the Three Great Gardens of Japan. These gardens are famous for their year-round beauty, with them actually being designed to be from the start.
The same goes for Kenroku-en which is absolutely gorgeous, but cherry blossom season is arguably the most beautiful time to visit. While this location doesn’t have an actual cherry blossom festival, it’s a great place to take in beautiful scenery and take some amazing photos. Plus, Kanazawa’s “old Japan” feel creates a great atmosphere for this experience.
If you’re in the Hokuriku region, you may also consider heading east to Toyama’s Asahi Funagawa “Spring Quartet” Park. This area also has great scenery with the Tateyama mountain range being a back drop for the sakura trees!
Aichi—Okazaki Park
The food and sakura are already a great reasons to go to this event, but it's also cool to walk Tokugawa Ieyasu's old stomping grounds. Image via Wikimedia Commons
Aichi (and Nagoya) get a bad rap as a tourist destination, including from the locals, who view the delicious food and attractions there as “nothing special.” (Honestly, I don’t think that’s true. After several visits, I really love the food there.) However, one attraction that people love is Okazaki Park.
Okazaki Park is famous as the birthplace of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the first shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate and the last of Japan’s three Great Unifiers. Okazaki Castle has a gorgeous black and white design that stands in great contrast to the park’s sakura trees.
Along with the amazing castle in the background, there is a scenic canal in the park where plenty food stalls line up and people gather for hanami season. It’s a great option for Aichi!
Nara—Yoshinoyama
This hanami spot is truly a feast for the eyes, especially when the sakura are in full bloom. Image via Unsplash
Nara is famous for their deer and the Great Buddha in Nara Park. And while Nara Park is an amazing and popular sakura spot, one area is even more famous for their hanami experience. Mount Yoshino is a famous sakura viewing area that people love, especially nature lovers, and is another one of the top three sakura spots in Japan.
The area has tons of sakura that bloom all over the area as the whole town is enveloped in pink blossoms. A quick hike and picnic in the area is one of the best ways to take in the beauty of this area. Plus, Yoshino has some great onsen ryokans, which makes sense since Yoshino has a long history as a mountain retreat area.
It may seem a bit out of the way, but it’s actually just about two hours by train from both Osaka and Kyoto to Yoshino station. And with a quick cable car ride up the mountain, it’s an easy trek.
Kyoto—Maruyama Park
Leave it to Kyoto to make cherry blossom viewing a slightly fancier affair than other places. Image via Wikimedia Commons
This is one of our “hear us out” takes. Kyoto has plenty of great places to do hanami, like the Philosopher’s Path, Arashiyama and more. Actually, those places may be better if you’re looking purely for aesthetics and nature. However, close to Kyoto’s Gion area is Maruyama Park which has a hanami festival that is popular among locals and tourists.
Not only does it have beautiful sakura and a sakura light-up, it has plenty of food stalls and a really cool area to sit, eat and drink with friends. Different from other hanami events, this seating area actually features elevated tables, so you don’t have to sit on the ground or worry about food or drinks tipping over.
Just know that the tables are popular and first-come-first-serve, so bring something to sit on just in case. This area is especially popular at night as people flock there to sit under the lights.
Osaka—Osaka Castle Park
Osaka Castle sits beautifully on top of the cherry blossoms during this season, making it a sight to behold even if for a moment. Image via Freepik
Osaka actually has a few highly rated spots for cherry blossom viewing. The Expo ’70 Commemorative Park and the Sakuranomiya Park are both really great options if you’re in Osaka. However, our personal favorite is Osaka Castle Park!
Osaka Castle Park is a huge park that’s made up of the grounds for Osaka Castle, which is famous as the home of the second of the Great Unifiers, Toyotomi Hideyoshi (and where his line ended in battle) and part of where the Shogun TV series story takes place.
The castle park is very large and features a combination of plum trees, cherry trees and peach trees (in a specific area), which means that it has blossoms from January to early April. With the stunning Osaka Castle in the background and plenty of great spots open to sit under the cherry blossoms, this really is a standout option for Osaka!
Hyogo—Himeji Castle Park
Himeji Castle is already an amazing site to visit, but hanami is arguably the best time to see this marvel. Image via Freepik
Staying on the castle theme, Hyogo Prefecture’s Himeji city houses Japan’s most popular castle in terms of visitors. A true marvel of Japanese castle architecture and history (dating back to 1333), Himeji Castle acts as the perfect backdrop for the cherry blossom trees.
From the right angles, it looks like this tall white castle is floating on top of the pink sakura trees. Although it doesn’t have as much space for hanami as Osaka Castle, you can still find spots to park and sit with some food and drinks.
Okayama—Handayama Botanical Garden
While this botanical garden involves a bit of walking, it's a really beautiful adventure with tons of amazing photo opps. Image via Instagram
We’re ending our list by going off of the beaten path by quite a bit. Okayama Prefecture sits just beyond Hyogo Prefecture and just above the island of Shikoku. And while Okayama doesn’t get as many visitors as Hyogo, those who make the trip to Handayama Botanical Garden absolutely do not regret it.
The garden is home to about “3200 species and 150,000 plants” according to the Okayama tourism website. Those numbers include about 1000 sakura trees with about 45 varieties among that thousand. This park is great for an unforgettable sakura stroll with plenty of cherry blossom-lined paths.
And as of 2024, they started allowing food and drinks with food trucks setting up along the north side of a lawn area about halfway through the garden during the bloom’s peak. This area is perfect for sitting on the benches and enjoying some tasty food under the sakura trees.
Just make sure to bring comfortable shoes as this area does have hills and is a large garden. Oh, and hold on to any trash you have to dispose of later.
Even the Imperial family enjoyed walking through spots like these. Image via Wikimedia Commons
And that’s our list! If you visit these places, feel free to let us know with a picture or a video, and let everyone know where you found it by tagging us on Instagram or TikTok!