Tips for getting the most out of Cherry Blossoms viewing in Kyoto
When and Where
The 2024 cherry blossoms season is starting a little early, but not too much. In Kyoto, there were already sensational clusters in early and mid-March. But the main variety, Somei Yoshino, is expected to start blooming from March 25, and will probably peak around April 2. The late-blooming ones will peak later. It is important to know that after peaking, unless there is heavy rain, the flowers can stay in their prime for another 5 days or so. And the scattering doesn’t come right after the prime. For some species there are a few more days when the flowers stay on while green leaves emerge. And the scattering of the petals is itself a sight to behold.
In this blog we want to equip you with information about timing, geographical distribution of viewing spots, and evening light-ups schedules at various temples, shrines and gardens. We want to help you make the most of a “Hanami (flower-viewing) window” for a rewarding journey.
If you arrive at peak season, some strategic planning can help you cover more ground and avoid spots that are too crowded. It will save time and energy if you can fit your activities into a time and location frame that works with where you have booked your favorite meals. If you are winging it for a more spontaneous experience, knowing the good places to rest and refuel can add a layer of cultural enjoyment to your adventure. For pit stop recommendations you can see our blog here: https://genjikyoto.com/en/blog/pitstop-recommendations-for-exploring-kyoto-by-area
Below is our sakura map and info on flower-viewing spots by area. Some venues have evening "light-ups", and these are a sight to behold. Extra charges apply, and one can usually buy tickets at the entrance. But sometimes advance booking is required, and schedules may change. Please check first or contact us for information.
Southern Central Kyoto
Tōji 東寺
Most famous for its "Fujizakura" (不二桜), Tōji is home to some 200 cherry trees including early and late blooming ones. This important temple is one of the best places for night viewing due to its vast grounds, with a pond and a 5-story pagoda forming a most picturesque backdrop.
Light up: Mar 16 ~ Apr 14 18:30 - 21:00
*Best to arrive after 19:30 to avoid long lines for getting in earlier.
Shōsei-en Garden 渉成園
This is a Shoin style strolling garden that is part of the Higashi Hongan-ji temple. It is thought to have been the site of a garden mansion that served as the model for one such mansion in the Tale of Genji, a novel of the Heian period. It has some 50 cherry trees of different varieties, enhancing the “13 sceneries” for which this garden is known.
Light up: Mar 25 - Apr 7 18:30 - 20:30
Sanjūsangendō 三十三間堂
Not particularly known as a sakura viewing spot, this temple with 1,001 Kannon statues nonetheless has a few cherry trees that add great beauty to the grounds.
Chishaku-in 智積院
Popular amongst locals but less known to tourists, this temple with famous gardens and panel paintings is one of the more serene settings for enjoying several varieties of cherry blossoms.
Gion Higashiyama
Kiyomizudera 清水寺
One of Kyoto's top spots with 1,500 cherry trees. Best to arrive early morning or later in the afternoon to avoid over-crowdedness.
Light-up: Mar 23 ~ Mar 31 18:00 - 21:00
Kōdai-ji and Entoku-in 高台寺 + 圓徳院
This temple even has a variety named after it called Kōdai-ji cherry blossom. It is also famous for their weeping sakura with branches bending over the Hashin-tei dry-mountain-water garden. Entoku-ji is a sub-temple with a more serene ambience.
Light up: Mar 15 ~ May 6 17:00 - 21:30
Maruyama Koen 円山公園
The oldest park in Kyoto, with some 650 cherry trees. The iconic centerpiece weeping cherry is over 70 years old, with a height of 12 meters and a branch span of 10 meters. There is no admission fee for entering this park, even for the light-up.
Light up: Mar 23 ~ Apr 7 18:00 - 22:00
Chion-in 知恩院
This temple has some 200 cherry trees with a Sanmon Gate that's a national treasure and famous gardens.
Light-up: Mar 23 ~ Apr 3 17:45 - 21:00
Gion Shirakawa 祇園白川
With cherry trees and green willows amidst teahouse buildings and cobblestone paths, and pink and white petals gently falling on the river, these small streets are quintessential Kyoto.
Light-up: Mar 22 ~ Mar 31 18:00 - 22:00
Kennin-ji 建仁寺
Head south from Hanamikoji-dori and you will see beautiful cherry trees beyond the walls of Japan's oldest Zen temple. The grounds are surprisingly quiet despite being in the middle of a lively entertainment district.
Yasui Konpiragū 安井金比羅宮
This small shrine, often visited when people want to pray for good relationships, has vermillion lanterns and plenty of spring vegetation that form a colorful tableau when juxtaposed with pink and white cherry blossoms.
Heian Jingū | Okazaki area
Heian Jingū 平安神宮
With some 300 cherry trees of 20 different varieties, this shrine with a grand Torii gate visible from the Okazaki Canal and park is one of Kyoto's top sakura viewing spots. You can walk through 4 gardens with sceneries written into literature by famous authors.
Light-up: Apr 3 ~ Apr 7 18:15 - 20:30
Okazaki Canal 岡崎疏水
This canal which connects Kyoto with Biwa Lake wraps around the Okazaki Park, which has Heian Jingū's huge Torii gate towering in the middle, and is also linked to the Kyocera Museum area, the Kyoto City Zoo, and in turn the Keage Incline. It is lined with some 400 cherry trees. Perfect for having picnics in the Okazaki Park, or strolling on the banks, or taking a 25-minute cruise on a flat-bottomed boat called Jikkokubune (十石舟). Information for the boat ride: https://kyoto-tabi.or.jp/tour/240320jfe/
Light-up: 18:00 - 21:30
Kyoto City Zoo 京都市動物園
Located along the Okazaki Canal, with Okazaki Park on one side and Keage Incline's stretch of cherry blossoms on the other side, it is a good stop for families with children. It has a lot of cherry trees but also overlooks the ones on the canal banks.
Keage Incline 蹴上インクライン
This rail incline was built in 1891 to transport boats between Lake Biwa and Kyoto’s canal. It went into disuse in 1948 and has been planted with some 90 cherry trees of the Yoshino variety. Somehow the spectacle of a tunnel of cherry blossoms on an abandoned rail line is captivating.
Nanzen-ji 南禅寺
Nanzen-ji with its magnificent Sanmon Gate, vast temple grounds and a Meiji-era aqueduct, has 100 cherry trees and is a good starting point for a stroll up Philosophers Path.
Philosopher's Path 哲学の道
This 2km path along a canal is shaded by some 430 cherry trees, with lots of cafes, shops and small shrines along the way. Kumano Nyakuoji shrine, with its own cherry blossoms in a quiet spot, marks the beginning of the path, which ends near Ginkaku-ji.
Shinnyo-dō 真如堂
This temple has 70 cherry trees, and is beloved as a picturesque spot by locals. Less well-known to tourists, it has a calmer atmosphere.
Konkai Kōmyō-ji 金戒光明寺
This temple has 100 cherry trees, and though famous as a Hanami spot since the Muromachi period, it is less well-known by tourists and can be considered a hidden gem.
Northern Kyoto
Takaragaike Park 宝ヶ池
This is a man-made pond built in 1763 as a water source for irrigation that has been developed into a park. With 660 cherry trees scattered in a "cherry blossom forest", around the pond and on a 1.5km promenade, it is a popular hanami spot for locals that is little known to tourists.
*Kamigamo Jinja 上賀茂神社
This ancient shrine has about 100 cherry trees, many of which are treasured species with a long history. One Saiō-zakura (斎王桜), a deep pink weeping cherry, is 150 years old, 10m tall and has a trunk circumference of 2.5m.
* more late blooming
*Kyoto Botanical Gardens 京都府立植物園
This is one of the best sakura viewing venues because it has over 500 cherry trees of 180 species, meaning there will be both early and late blooming ones that make the viewing season longer than anywhere else. The Kanhi variety (寒緋桜), for example, starts blooming in early March, and the Chrysanthemum cherry (菊桜) will last until mid- or late-April. There are also rare species not found elsewhere in Kyoto.
Light-up: Mar 23 ~ Apr 7 sunset - 20:00
*has both early and late blooming varieties
Nakaraginomichi Path 半木の道
This 800m pedestrian path along Kamogawa river, from the Kitaōji Bridge to the Kitayama Ohashi Bridge, is not only shaded with 70 pink weeping cherries, but also has panoramic views of the continuous stretch of cherry blossoms along the river. One end of it is near an exit of the Kyoto Botanical Gardens. It would be ideal to visit both.
Central Kyoto
*Kyoto Imperial Palace 京都御所
There are 1,000 cherry trees on the vast grounds and gardens of this national park that used to be residences for imperial and court nobles. With numerous cherry tree varieties, the viewing season tends to be longer.
*has both early and late blooming varieties
Rokkaku-do 六角堂
This small temple in the middle of a business district has a unique weeping cherry tree called Miyukizakura (御幸桜) that blooms early. It starts out white, but turns deep pink as it reaches full bloom.
Nijō Castle 二条城
With 380 cherry trees of some 50 species within a castle built in the 1600s (by Shogun Tokugawa), this World Heritage site has always been a special viewing venue.. It is particularly atmospheric during light-ups. This year it is holding a "NAKED Sakura Festival" with creative company Naked Inc, with spectacular mapping projections around the moat and gardens.
For information: https://event.naked.works/nijojo/spring/
Light-up: Mar 8 ~ Apr 7 18:00 - 21:00 (last entry)
Ninna-ji area
Hirano Jinja 平野神社
This shrine has a long tradition for Hanami, with 400 cherry trees of some 50 species, including the earliest and latest blooming ones. The viewing period is good from early March to the end of April.
Light-up: Mar 23 ~ Apr 14 sunset - 21:00
Jōshō-ji 常照寺
This lesser known temple has 100 cherry trees. The approach to the temple's Yoshino red gate (赤門) is like a cherry blossom tunnel.
Haradani-en Garden 原谷苑
This garden is on a higher altitude and a little cooler than in the city, so its 400 cherry trees of over 20 species tend to bloom a little later. No light-up here but this year there is a Cherry Blossom Festival with paid admission between Mar 24 ~ Apr 25 09:00 - 16:30
*Ninna-ji 仁和寺
Ninna-ji has a long history for Hanami and is known as the "Cherry Blossom Temple". Amongst its hundreds of cherry trees are 200 of the Omuro-zakura (御室桜) variety, which have a low height of 2-3 meters and are very late-blooming. With a 5-story pagoda as a backdrop, the sight is one of Kyoto's most photogenic. It has no light-up event but a day-time festival.
Omuro Cherry Blossoms Festival：Mar 23 ~ May 6 8:30 - 17:30 (last entry 17:00）
*known for their late blooming varieties
Taizo-in (in Myōshin-ji) 退蔵院（妙心寺内）
This temple, famous for its strolling garden, has abundant seasonal plants and flowers including 10 cherry trees. Cherry blossoms falling on the Yin Yang zen garden with white and black sand is a unique sight.
Arashiyama 嵐山
*Daikaku-ji 大覚寺
With 500 cherry trees scattered around gates, halls, a pagoda and a large pond, this temple provides one of the most fulfilling viewing experiences for enthusiasts of Japanese architecture and landscaping.
*has late blooming varieties
Tenryū-ji 天龍寺
This mountain temple has over 100 cherry trees but it's not the quantity that matters here. The incorporation of the seasons in the design of the temple halls and gardens is exemplary and indescribably magnificent.
Arashiyama Kameyama Park 嵐山亀山公園
Easily accessed from Arashiyama Station or Bamboo Grove, this area is an ideal spot for admiring the 1,500 cherry trees all around the mountains and along the river.
Matsuō Taisha Shrine 松尾大社
Enjoy views of cherry blossoms between Torii gates and amongst Yamabuki flowers in this massive shrine along a river.
Jōnangū 城南宮
This special shrine, best known for seasonal sceneries and its Rakusui-en Garden (楽水苑) with all the plants mentioned in the Tale of Genji, have only a few cherry trees. But they are so artistically incorporated into the setting that it's just picture perfect!
Jikkokubune Canal 伏見十石舟
The canal in Fushimi's sake brewing district is lined with cherry trees. You can stroll on the banks or take a 50-minute cruise on flat-bottomed boats that in the Edo period carried sake and cargo.
Daigo-ji 醍醐寺
This vast temple that takes up a whole mountainside from base to summit and has 1,000 cherry trees around its gardens, halls and ponds. One of Japan's top Hanami spots.