CONTENTS
Looking for a relaxed cherry blossom spot in Tokyo? Showa Kinen Park is a quick drive from downtown Tokyo and just a few minutes’ walk from Tachikawa station, with flowers galore and plenty of space for family picnics. It’s spring in Tokyo, and the cherry blossoms are calling!
Cherry Blossoms (桜/sakura)
Showa Kinen Park is a sprawling green space outside central Tokyo, and when spring finally arrives each year, people arrive from all corners of Japan to admire the weeping cherry blossoms and picnic under the flowers. The park has somewhere around 1,500 cherry blossom trees, and while even one tree surpassing 50 years would be a sight worth seeing, Showa Kinen Park has whole clusters of them! The park's most popular cherry blossom picnic spot is on the edge of a large field called "Minna no Harappa" (みんなの原っぱ) and it's most easily reached via the West Tachikawa Gate (西立川ゲート/Nishitachikawa Gate), which is about 15 minutes away on foot – just about doable with a little toddler. Clearly, it's a huge park, so if you end up entering via one of the other gates, you might want to hop aboard the adorable "Park Train" shuttle, which does an hour-long loop around the park.
It ended up raining a little during my family cherry blossom outing, but the pretty cherry blossom petals flowing along the little stream between the Minna no Harappa field and a neighboring Keiryu Plaza (渓流広場) was lovely enough to make up for the drizzle.
Canola Blossoms (菜の花/nanohana)
It's not just cherry blossoms at Showa Kinen Park! Nearby, fields of buttery canola blossoms can be found, setting off the pink of the cherry blossoms with their long green stems and warm yellow petals. Of course, with around individual 200,000 canola plants growing in a waist-high field, the wash of yellow certainly has visual impact all on its own. During my visit there were even people taking engagement pictures among the flowers! (I tried to take some cute pictures of my son, too, but he wasn't interested in staying still… I'll just have to try again when he's a little older!) There were plenty of families posing in front of the flowers too, and even people taking photos of their pets. That day, even the dogs seemed spellbound by the bright yellow flowers!
Tulips (チューリップ)
Over in the Keiryu Plaza, the park boasts a tulip garden with somewhere around 250,000 tulips, blooming in a brilliant rainbow of reds, pinks, oranges, and purples. Just about everyone was taking pictures of the flowers as they wandered the garden paths! There's a little pond in the park so I was a little worried about my son, but fortunately it wasn't an issue. Not only was there a safety rope, but my son was so entranced by the first tulips he'd ever seen that I didn't need to worry about him looking for adventure!
Tokyo Cherry Blossom Viewing with the Family
All the flowers we saw on this trip to Showa Kinen Park – the cherry blossoms, canola blossoms, and tulips – are all within an easy 5~10 minute walking distance of each other, which makes it easy for anyone to enjoy the flowers and the warm spring breeze (even families with little kids). Before we arrived on this trip to the park, I was a little worried my young son would get bored with just looking at flowers the whole time, but the grassy fields are teeming with little kids running around and enjoying themselves, running races or blowing bubbles. Nearby, there's also a playground with slides and a trampoline, with rubber pavement for safety. The gorgeous flowers and vast grassy fields at Showa Kinen Park make it worth a visit for anyone looking to enjoy cherry blossom viewing in Tokyo, but if you're looking for a cherry blossom spot for the family, especially one for little kids, I can wholeheartedly recommend this place!
For more info and updates from Japan, check Japankuru for new articles, and don't forget to follow us on X (Twitter), Instagram, and Facebook!
Details
NAME:Showa Kinen Park (昭和記念公園)
PROFILE
Just a mom doing her best to raise a child in Tokyo! Join me on family outings and keep reading for a variety of recommendations for families with little kids in Japan.
COMMENT
FEATURED MEDIA
VIEW MORE・The new Tokyo flagship for Volcom Japan is a center for all things skateboarding, street fashion, art, and culture, all in the heart of Shibuya! ・Volcom日本旗艦店東京澀谷登場 本格派滑板街頭潮流藝文新據點 #Volcom #japankuru #shibuya #日本購物 #日本潮流 #日本街頭時尚 #澀谷 #東京購物 #東京購物推薦 #東京潮店 #澀谷潮店 #滑板 #雪板 #衝浪 #볼컴 #시부야
Which snacks make the best Japanese souvenirs?~ Jaga Pirika ~ 일본과자 선물 뭐하지?~자가피리카 편~ #pr #calbee #jagapokkuru #japanesesnacks #japanesefood #japanesesouvenir #japantravel #japantrip #naritaairport #hokkaido #나리타국제공항 #일본여행선물 #흔하지않은기념품 #일본쇼핑리스트 #일본과자추천 #고구마과자 #일본간식추천 #일본면세점쇼핑 #개별포장 #일본감자칩 #도쿄나리타공항면세점 #현지인추천 #일본여행 #일본기념품리스트 #자가포쿠루 #자가피리카
Asakusa's Sanja Matsuri, one of the biggest festivals in all of Tokyo, is almost here! Make sure you check out the festival route so you don't miss all the festivities this May. #asakusa #sanjafestival #sanjamatsuri #asakusashrine #sensoji #sensojitemple #japanesefestival #shintoshrine #japaneseculture #tokyo #tokyotrip #tokyotravel #asakusasightseeing #matsuri #japantrip #japantravel #springinjapan #tokyotravel #japankuru #산자마츠리 #아사쿠사 #일본마츠리 #일본여행 #일본5월
Odaiba's DiverCity Tokyo Plaza is home to the famous real-size 20m-tall Unicorn Gundam, and the popular shopping center has even more Gundam on the inside! Check out the Gundam Base Tokyo on the 7th floor for shelves upon shelves of Gunpla, and the Gundam Base Tokyo Annex on the 2nd floor for cool anime merchandise. Both shops have tons of limited-edition items! #pr #odaiba #tokyo #tokyotrip #japantrip #japantravel #PR #divercity #divercitytokyoplaza #tokyoshopping #gundam #unicorngundam #gundambasetokyo #anime #otaku #gunpla #japankuru #오다이바 #다이바시티도쿄 #오다이바건담 #건담 #일본건담 #건프라 #건담베이스도쿄
Evangelion, in miniature!? Tokyo's SMALL WORLDS Miniature Museum is actually a must-see for anime lovers, thanks to the tiny Evangelion Hangar and Tokyo-III... plus a whole universe of other scenes both real and fictional. #smallworlds #smallworldstokyo #tokyotrip #tokyotravel #evangelion #eva #anime #miniature #miniatures #animefigure #japantrip #japantravel #에반게리온 #스몰월드 #에반겔리온 #スモールワールズ #오다이바 #아리아케
Have you sat down for a snack at Sumida Aquarium yet? This aquarium next to Tokyo Skytree is known for its penguins and garden eels, but we can't get enough of their cute snacks! There are lots of good seats around the aquarium, too, so it almost feels like one big cafe. 🐧 • Find out more at Japankuru.com! (Link in bio.) • #japankuru #sumidaaquarium #skytree #tokyoskytree #solamachi #sumida #tokyo #tokyotrip #tokyotravel #aquarium #japanesesweets #themecafe #すみだ水族館 #Japan #日本 #일본 #Japon #ญี่ปุ่น #Japão #япония #japantravel #日本旅行 #日本旅遊 #japan_of_insta #japantrip #traveljapan #japan🇯🇵 #igerstokyo #explorejapan
For anime fans, the Evangelion areas at Small Worlds Miniature Museum are a must see! The tiny miniature people in the Evangelion Hangar look like ants beneath the moving Unit-01, Unit-00, and Unit-02! And over in Tokyo-III, characters like Shinji, Rei, and Katsuragi live life on a miniature scale. #odaiba #tokyo #tokyotrip #japantrip #japantravel #ariake #smallworlds #miniaturemuseum #smallworldstokyo #tokyotravel #evangelion #eva #anime #miniature #miniatures #animefigure #japankuru #스몰월드 #에반게리온 #오다이바 #오다이바관광 #오다이바스몰월드 #미니어쳐