Sakura: Cherry Blossoms in Tokyo

In Japan nothing lifts the national mood as much as the appearance of cherry blossoms (sakura) in early spring. The arrival of cherry blossoms are long anticipated with nightly newscasts including the sighting of cherry blossoms along the almost 2000 km long archipelago. It takes about two months from the first sightings in Okinawa in the south until the blossoms finally bloom in the northern island of Hokkaido.

In Tokyo the cherry blossom usually appear by the end of March to be at their best the first weekend in April. However, in 2002 warm weather hasten their arrival and the first blossoms opened on 16 March. Strong winds and rain ruined the spectacle soon afterwards making 2002 a memorable sakura year for all the wrong reasons.

The beauty of the blossoms is enough to bring out the crowds but the Japanese enjoy cherry blossom viewing parties or hanami. Hanami has been popular among the aristocracy since the eight century and the habit spread to the general population during the sixteenth century. This involves eating and drinking under the cherry trees, normally seated on blue plastic sheets. Families, friend and companies have hanami.

Quick Tips:

Tokyoites are often portrayed as being emotionless using subway scenes as proof. Now to the best of my knowledge even the Italians don’t go to work clapping and dancing. Attending a hanami is one of the easiest ways of seeing the Japanese relaxing. Strangers will often be invited to join a group of revelers and by all means join if asked. The Japanese are generally very friendly and hospitable and even speakers of limited English ability will make an effort to make sure you have a good time once you joined their group.

Most companies arrange a cherry blossom viewing party that starts in the late afternoon. As party spots at famous sights such as Ueno are at a premium, the junior in the company is sent out early morning with blue plastic sheets to go and ensure a good spot. The said person will sit and guard his company’s spot from daybreak until the rest of the company arrives in the late afternoon. Sleeping over is not unknown to ensure the best possible spot and avoiding the company’s wrath! As in Japanese homes, shoes are taken off before entering onto the plastic sheets.

Best Way To Get Around:

The subway will whisk you fast, efficient and cheaply between major viewing areas. However, once in the area walking is the only logical option. Taking a taxi can be expensive as the meter keeps ticking while stuck in traffic. Some cherry blossoms can be seen from the JR Chuo line between Yotsuya and Ochanamizu stations.

Expect enormous crowds at the famous areas especially from lunchtime onwards. Parties can continue into the night. It is prudent to buy a return ticket for the subway upon arrival as lines can get very long once everyone starts going home.

Ukai Toriyma is a traditional style Japanese restaurant set in the most beautiful imaginable surroundings. To many this is the Japan they would like to remember or at least encounter.

The restaurant consists of about 40 wooden buildings in a traditional style with thatch roofs in a beautiful garden setting. The garden has all the elements expected of a Japanese garden ranging from water features such as waterfalls, streams and ponds with khoi (carp) as well as carefully trimmed trees, narrow pathways leading to viewpoints to surprise and enchant the visitor. All rooms have huge windows looking out onto the garden and from most you can feed the khoi leftover rice after the meal.

The food is fairly plain and simple but generally good and filling. You have basically a choice of courses ranging in price from yen 4,500 to 8,500. The main specialty is jidori no robatayaki (organic chicken cooked on a grill - yes it sounds better in Japanese!). The course will start with sashimi and other appetizers but the main course is chicken that the guests grill themselves on small round grills after dipping the chicken in a sweet teriyaki sauce. Seasonal vegetables such as green peppers and leeks accompany the meat. The more expensive sets have red meat in addition to the chicken. Dessert will, unfortunately for many foreigners, include copious amounts of sweet red beans in various forms. Drinks are basically limited to beer, sake and tea.

The best time to arrive is slightly before dark so you can appreciate the gardens in daylight before the meal and again lit up after eating. Autumn is generally the most beautiful time of the year as the mountains surrounding Ukai Toriyama are famous for their foliage. However, the garden is enchanting year round and cherry blossom season is of course no exception!

Ukai Toriyama is close to Mt Takao, a favorite area for hiking and the energetic should consider hiking up to the mountaintop before dinner. The area is especially spectacular during autumn. A return journey, most routes are a simple stroll, will take about two and a half hours and can be sped up if the ropeway is in operation. Many people are surprised to find such rugged greenery and mountains inside the Tokyo municipal borders.

The problem with Ukai Toriyama is that it is slightly off the beaten track. It takes about an hour by express train from Shinjuku station to get there - Keio Express to Takao Sanguchi station. A free shuttle bus departs from the station to the restaurant every 20 minutes - a 10-minute journey.

Reservations are essential.

Aoyama Botchi (Cemetery) is a prime cherry blossom viewing party spot in central Tokyo. A cemetery may not be everyone first choice for a party but it gets unbelievable crowded here during the season.

The cemetery occupies 26,000 square meters in one of Tokyo’s most fashionable neighborhoods. It has been in use since 1872 and has more than 100,000 family graves. As cremation is standard in Japan only the ashes are buried here and generally in family graves so space is not a real problem. In Japan ghosts are generally not seen as dangerous but they can cause "trouble" to daily life.

There are about 200 cherry trees here lined up along a one-kilometer route. As the park is lit up at night cherry blossom viewing parties often continue until late night. The best spots are claimed early morning or the even the night before.

People usually bring their own food supplies to cherry blossom viewing parties but there are always stalls set up with freshly prepared food on sale ranging from fried noodles to yakitori (chicken skewers) and fried squid on a stick. In addition Domino’s Pizza does a roaring trade in this cemetery by delivering pizzas directly to the party. Orders are taken by phone and once the pizzas are delivered to the cemetery you are called to your cell phone to locate the venue of your party! Unhealthy amounts of sake and beer are consumed. As is tradition in Japan parties clean up after themselves and the garbage dumped at special points leaving the park remarkably clean despite the huge number of visitors.

Aoyama cemetery is easiest reach from Nogizaka station on the Chioyda line. Alternative entrances are close to the Gaiemmae station (Ginza line) and Aoyama-I-chome station on the Ginza, Hanzomon and Oedo lines.

Of all the shrines in Japan, none are more shrouded in controversy than Yasukuni Jinja in Tokyo. According to the official website it was founded in 1869 by Imperial Command "for worship of the divine spirits of those who sacrificed themselves for their country". The Boshin Civil War, which led to the fall of the Tokugawa Shogunate and restoration of the Emperor, saw the death of 3500 people fighting for the Imperial cause. These were the first Kami enshrined in Yasukuni.

More souls followed from the Russo-Japanese War, which announced the arrival of Japan on the world stage, the First World War, the Japanese-Chinese War and eventually the Second World War. In total almost two and a half million souls are enshrined here. The shrine thus became a place of worship for war bereaved families and a type of national cemetery. However, in 1978 the authorities of the shrine (control was taken away from the central government following the division of state and religion after the WWII) decided to also enshrine the souls of Class A war criminals at the shrine and the place has been even more controversial ever since. On the anniversary of the end of the Second World War, 15 August, right wing politicians visit the shrine despite protests from Japan’s neighbors and many domestic organizations. Only three Prime Ministers have visited the shrine since 1978 and none more than once as relations with especially China and Korea were severely damaged on each occasion.

The controversy apart, the shrine is well worth visiting with beautiful and large grounds. The massive torii are uncommon in the first being from steel and the second from bronze and not wood or stone as is more common. Note the huge golden Chrysanthemum emblem of the Imperial family on the gates of the shrine. Somehow the shrine escaped the damage of the 1923 Great Kanto Earthquake and the firebombing of Tokyo during the war.

The shrine has some of the best cherry blossom viewing spots in Tokyo. The official decision on whether the blossoms are in bloom in Tokyo is based on some of the trees here. Apart from cherry blossom time, the shrine festivals in spring and summer also draw huge crowds when the grounds are decorated with huge displays of paper lanterns

Behind the shrine is the Yushukan War Museum. It is currently undergoing major repairs to the building but should reopen at the end of 2002. An enlightened interpretation of history is possible but highly unlikely as the shrine is controlled by ultra conservatives that have blocked any attempts to remove the Kami of the war criminals from the shrine. The old museum had displays of Japanese military history from the restoration of Emperor Meiji up to the Second World War. Displays were rather limited, as can be expected from the side that lost the war, but included an authentic "Kaiten" or human torpedo and guns from the battleship Yamato.

Ueno Park is a perennial favorite of Tokyoites due to its sheer size, central location and abundance of attractions. It draws the crowds for all kinds of reasons from just hanging out with friends to visiting serious museums and galleries.

As a major transportation hub in Tokyo, Ueno makes it easy and convenient for friends from different parts of the city and even further apart to get together and thus became famous as a meeting spot for class reunions. Ueno is always busy over weekends but never more so than during sakura season when the park is simply taken over by hanami.

Ueno Park is one of the areas in Tokyo where the homeless has set up home and built tent cities, mostly out of blue plastic sheeting. During cherry blossom viewing season they are joined by ordinary people sleeping over night to ensure the best party spot the next day. The only way to guarantee a spot is to stake your claim by placing your plastic sheet - almost always blue - on the ground and sit on it until other members of your party arrive. Reservations and other ways of keeping space are not accepted! This important task is usually delegated to juniors in the company or the youngest members of a social group.

The cherry trees in Ueno are visible in most parts of the park but are especially concentrated in the half closest to the JR and Keisei stations. In addition cherry trees also encircle the adjacent huge Shibazunoike Pond so there is usually space for all comers. Karaoke is usually set up at various spots in the park and many parties will bring their own equipment.

Ueno has many other attractions for people not able or willing to spend too much time on a plastic sheet eating and drinking and talking. There are several major museums in and next to the park, it has a zoo, several shrines and the Ueno area is famous for shopping at more reasonable prices than downtown Tokyo. (For more information see a separate journal on Ueno Park.)

Ueno is a major rail station with several JR commuter, main line and shinkansen (bullet train) connections. In addition it is the terminus of the Keisei Line to Narita Airport. It is also served by the Ginza and Hibiya subway lines.

Around the Imperial Palace in central Tokyo is an abundance of greenery. Several parks flow into each other to form an enormous green lung for downtown Tokyo. The best vantage points for cherry blossom viewing and parties are Chidorigafuchi Park (across from the British Embassy) and Kitanomaru Park.

Chidorigafuchi Park is a long narrow strip of greenery next to a very busy road. The attraction, however, is to the other side: it borders the Imperial Palace and has beautiful vistas of the moat and palace walls and fortifications. In addition the park is about half a kilometer long and lined with cherry blossom trees.

At the north end of the park it automatically runs into what is popularly knows as Cherry Blossom Avenue - a narrow road almost a kilometer long and lined with cherry trees. You can either stroll along the road or on top of an embankment for wonderful views of the moat and cherry trees, only occasionally spoiled with views of the busy expressway to remind you that you are still in the heart of the metropolis. This road slows down to a crawl in cherry blossom season and it is ideal to take a taxi if you want to see how the fare increases while the car is merely idling!

At the end of the avenue you would usually turn to your right into the East Gardens of the Palace. However, during the cherry blossom season, if time is limited, the better choice is Kitanomaru Park to your left. Kitanomaru Park is usually not very spectacular although it is pleasant enough to stroll in and there are a couple of museums as well as the Nippon Budokan Hall, venue for all kind of events from rock concerts to martial art tournaments. In cherry blossom season the park does come into its own though. The cherry trees are numerous and several moats and surviving guardhouses and fortified gates enhance the views. Amateur and professional photographers vie for the best positions in the most scenic areas. This park is very close to the Marunouchi and Otemachi, the heart of financial Tokyo, ensuring that the huge crowds during lunch hour and late afternoon make for the best-dressed cherry blossom viewing parties in town.

Across the road from the Budokan are the massive grounds of the controversial Yasukuni Shrine. The shrine grounds have beautiful trees and the official trees to determine the state of bloom of cherry trees in Tokyo. (See separate journal entry.)

Chidorigafuchi Park is best reached from the Hanzomon Station and Kitanomaru Park from the Kudanshita Station - both on the Hanzomon Subway line.

Nighttime cherry blossom viewing has been popular since times immemorial but really came into strength after the advent of electricity to local shores. Many local authorities and shrines lit up the cherry trees for viewing at night and it attracts huge crowds and prolongs cherry blossom viewing parties, which traditionally start in the late afternoon for office workers.

Minor streets in central Tokyo are seldom tree-lined so it is a nice surprise to happen on one lit up at night with amazing cherry blossoms. The narrow hilly street encircling the ANA Hotel and the posh office-residential ARK Hills development in Tokyo’s fashionable Minato-ku district offers a wonderful opportunity of serene beauty. The total length of the road sloping first gently uphill and then dramatically downhill again is probably close to a kilometer.

This is not a traditional cherry blossom viewing spot so the crowds are mainly limited to people working and living in the area. This makes it a pleasant and romantic place to stroll during the day but especially at night.

In addition the lack of crowds makes it easy to get a seat at the numerous restaurants in the ARK Hills building or adjacent ANA Hotel. As these restaurants cater mostly for the office workers of the district, and get very busy during lunchtime, dinnertime is pleasantly quiet without being uncomfortably empty. The range of restaurants is large and includes Aux Bacchanales - a French bistro and restaurant, Anderssons - a Danish bakery and sandwich shop, a soup kitchen, various Japanese restaurants, inevitably a Starbucks, Italian restaurants and upscale French restaurants. Outdoor seating is available at many eateries in the huge Herbert von Karajan Platz in front of Asia’s largest concert auditorium, the Suntory Hall.

The ANA Hotel is a large modern up market hotel and a very pleasant place to stay. It is well located with roomy accommodations and pleasant airy lobbies. It is often used for banquets of all kinds and sizes.

ARK Hills and the ANA Hotel are located in Akasaka close to the Tameike-Sanno and Roppongi-1-chome stops on the Namboku subway line.