Shinjuku Gyoen National Park Tokyo, Japan

Shinjuku Gyoen National Park is one of Tokyo largest and more popular park (besides Ueno Park and Chidorigafuchi Park) for cherry blossom viewing (hanami). Filled more than fifteen hundred cherry blossoms trees, Shinjuku Gyoen is one of the highly-recommended parks to visit during the cherry blossom period (usually falls from March to April). This park is made up of three gardens; the traditional Japanese Landscape Garden, English Landscape and French formal.

Shinjuku Gyoen happened to be within the close vicinity of our accommodation. It just lies two streets across the Shinjukugyoen-Mae Station which provides easy accessibility. Upon arrival, we can’t stop clicking away on our cameras capturing the beautiful scenery of the cherry blossoms and especially we were seeing it for the first time. I love the spacious open lawn fields lined with different varieties of cherry blossoms trees, covered with light pink flower buds or white flower petals with yellow center, on the sides. Simply an peaceful and surreal experience. The cooling weather makes the walk further relaxing and soothing.

This park is unsurprisingly crowded due to the sakura season, hence it is difficult to find a good spot without getting people into the shot. And even when you find a good spot for photography shots, you realised that there is actually many more in front waiting for their turn to get their never-ending selfies.

“The significance of the cherry blossom tree in Japanese culture goes back hundreds of years. In their country, the cherry blossom represents the fragility and the beauty of life. It’s a reminder that life is almost overwhelmingly beautiful but that it is also tragically short.” ~ Homaro Cantu

This is my first time seeing the sakura and most definitely not my last!

More Information

Admission to Shinjuku Gyoen costs 200 yen and can be easily purchased from the automatic ticketing machines near the entrance gate. The park is open from 9am to 4.30pm, with last admission at 4pm. The park is open every day during the cherry blossom season and is usually closed on Mondays for normal days. Visit this page to know more about Shinjuku Gyoen.