Tokyo: Petals Starting To Fall

Tokyo is at full bloom and the city is looking spectacular, so today I headed out to Sumida Park and Chidorigafuchi - two of the most popular spots in the city, to enjoy the flowers alongside both locals and visitors making the most of the season. While the cherry trees are at their best around this time, yesterday's rain has already brought down some petals, and more rain today and tomorrow will likely bring down even more, so some spots across Tokyo may see the best viewing come to an end a little prematurely.

In areas where the blossoms opened a little later, the best viewing should continue beyond tomorrow - but more rain predicted for the weekend will likely bring best viewing in Tokyo to an end.

For those looking to explore beyond Tokyo, our cherry blossom forecast page covers the best viewing times for other major cities across Japan. For on-site reports from various locations, check out our latest updates here.

My first stop was Chidorigafuchi Park, one of Tokyo's most famous cherry blossom spots, where the cherry trees beautifully lined the moats and surrounding walking areas. The trees were looking their best with blossoms covering nearly every branch - a stunning scene.

With today's rain, some petals are likely to come down and - depending on how hard it hits - best viewing here may come to an end. Even if the peak may be over, there will probably still be enough blossoms left to make a visit worthwhile - just try to get there before the weekend, as the rain predicted for Saturday is expected to do further damage. The trees are lit up each evening until April 6 between 18:00 and 21:00.

My second stop was Sumida Park, a popular cherry blossom viewing spot in Asakusa and near the Tokyo Skytree. Compared to Raina's last visit when many trees along this riverside were developing a bit slower than the rest of Tokyo - most trees were now at full bloom.

Still, since it's a spot where the blossoms opened a little later, the flowers here looked sturdy and should hold up better against today's rain, and I expect the best viewing for Sumida Park to continue into the weekend - though the rain predicted for Saturday will likely bring the best viewing period here to a close.

Sumida Park is currently holding a cherry blossom festival until April 5, with the trees illuminated between 18:00 and 21:00 each evening.