Tokyo: Approaching Full Bloom

One day on from Raina's report out of Hiroshima, today I took my first blossom-viewing trip of the season to two of Tokyo's most popular spots. After a slightly delayed opening phase, trees belonging to the Somei Yoshino variety - by far the most common throughout Japan - are at last making progress, with attractive scenes already unfolding and the best viewing experience expected to last from around now through most of next week.

A large open space just across from Ueno Station, Ueno Park draws excited crowds at this time every year owing to a large, central avenue lined with about 1000 cherry blossom trees. These had really sprung to life in the last few days with many branches already starting to fill out nicely, although the picture became sparser as I continued along the main walking route towards the southwestern end.

Another spot not to miss within the park is the narrow, tree-lined causeway passing through the Shinobazu Pond. Along here, the blossom was broadly in line with the more advanced trees at the eastern end of the main avenue, creating some lively scenes. This year, lanterns along the main strolling avenue will be lit from March 14 to April 5 between 17:00 and 23:00, while the pond area will be illuminated from March 20 to April 19, 17:00 to 20:00 or 21:00 depending on the day.

My second stop of the day was at Shinjuku Gyoen, a beautiful, leafy oasis in the heart of one of the city's busiest neighborhoods. Here, the picture was a little more varied owing to the many different varieties of early and late-blooming cherry blossom trees, but the somei yoshino type at least were generally within the same range I had observed at Ueno.

If you're planning on visiting the park this season, note that advanced reservations are required to enter from March 28-29 and April 4-5 between 10:00 and 16:00.