Shinjuku Gyoen Reservation March-April 24

Hi everyone,

I recall seeing somewhere online that I need to reserve a specific day and time on selected dates in March (26th and others around it if I recall correctly).
I couldn't find a place to book anything except for the regular reservation that's valid until July 2024.

I also saw the following message on the official website of Gyoen National Park:

Important Notice:

A prior reservation will be required to enter Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden on some dates during the cherry blossom season in March and April 2024

"We are planning to implement a reservation system for weekends and national holidays during the cherry blossom viewing season. This system provides reliable entry to the garden during the season when the number of visitors is expected to increase significantly. Specific dates and reservation details will be announced on our website once they are finalized. "

Anyone can shed some light on it?

You stated all the facts, which have currently been published so far. The actual reservation system is not online yet, and I would be suprised if that happened before the start of February.

So basically wait until something happens, and then book for my desired date?
What an odd thing to not have by now, 2 months ahead

Exactly! It does not seem odd to me.

Many booking/reservation systems only look one month ahead of time.
I used the booking system last year - worked very well. Purchased on 21st March for 2nd April entry.
Currently, ahead of a more definitive forecast of peak blossom dates, the notice of December 27th is way too early to decide which dates need reservations.
https://www.env.go.jp/garden/shinjukugyoen/news/topics_00042.html

What you're saying makes lots of sense to me, kind of clarifies why it isn't set yet, they want to be sure of Sakura dates. Thanks!

The point is that people want to see sakura. If sakura is late /early this year and you know reserve for a day that hasn�ft any sakura flowers you�fll be disappointed. So it makes total sense that the reservation only starts relatively shortly before the day you want to go.

But in the case of the Shinjuku Gardens, their blossom season stretches for six weeks - it's not like it is one or two days for a hit or miss. They are looking at the likely peak days for visitors to the park (mainly domestic), and especially weekends, as it is one of the popular spots for Hanami in the city. There are certainly a lot of others.

Just wondering if there is thought to be any need for this sort of booking system to be put in place for Autumn Colours as well?

Thanks!

Autumn colours at Shinjuku Gardens is not as big a thing, plus autumn colours tend to last longer while peak blossom is often fleeting. Somewhere like Arashiyama in Kyoto is crowded all year and wouldn't work/help anyway. But I do know some popular temples restrict photography due to how busy they get during Koyo season. My other observation is that the behaviours in the two seasons is quite different. Hanami parties and close-up photography versus viewing landscapes and hillsides or the occasional photo close up.

Thank you Japan Custom tours

I still could find the reservation page for the upcoming blossom season, is it online yet?

It has still not been announced yet, but should happen soon.

Yeah, doesn't seem to be open/online yet and we're already in March.
Did they forget about it? :) I'm getting nervous :(

No flowers yet on those sakura trees.

It's open and it's only for weekends, seems like normal days don't require timed entry, just the general reservation, I guess

The announcement was finally made:
https://shinjukugyoen.hp.peraichi.com/en

From the web:
Advance reservation implementation date
From 10:00 to 16:00 on Saturday, March 23rd, Sunday, March 24th, Saturday, March 30th, Sunday, March 31st, Saturday, April 6th, and Sunday, April 7th, 2020.
No reservations required from 9:00 to 10:00 and from 16:00 to 17:30