Cherry Blossom's in Tokyo area

Ah! Cherry Blossom season. A time of drunken revelry underneath beautiful trees. Indeed this season is the best time to visit Japan. If you are a real keener, then time it so that you'll arrive in Southern Japan a few days prior to the forecasted blossom season and travel North following the blossom trail. There is no guarantee that the season will be beautiful as the weather at this time of year is tempermental, but you should be able to enjoy something if you follow the pink trail from the South to the North. (You can watch nightly forecasts on TV explaining where the blossoms are a blooming.)I've only seen Tokyo so I'll tell you where I've enjoyed and what you can expect.

This year I went to:

Ueno park. It's famous for its cherry blossom parties.

Ueno park's crowd

As you can tell from the photo it's also a bit of a crowded stroll. I recommend going here just so that you can see some of the wilder parties. It's great fun if you don't mind crowds.

Aoyama Cemetary. I know this may sound like a morbid place to hang out and have a party, but I thought it was nice. After all just because you're dead doesn't mean you shouldn't have fun. It is a more sedate crowd than at Ueno. You won't find people belting out songs over portable Karaoke boxes here, but you'll still get to see a few lively parties and some of the most beautiful trees in Tokyo. The Cemetary is huge and there are maps posted along the way in case you get lost or want to find a certain plot. The entire main road of the Cemetary is lined with Cherry trees.

I didn't stop to count, but I think there are thousands.

Imperial Palace. The walk around the Imperial Palace is beautiful at night when the trees are lit up by lamps. The trees are huge and form a ceiling of blossoms above and walls of blossoms to the side. You can peep out between the blossoms and across the moat where the banks surrounding the Palace are covered in blossoms. It looks as if it has snowed on the hillside. Very otherworldly and fairytale like. This is also quieter than Ueno park. During the day you can rent row boats and paddle around in the moat looking at all the blossoms. I haven't yet developed my pictures of this area, so stay tuned.

Last year I also went to:

Asakusa and area. Here I took a stroll along Sumida river. It was very crowded, but friendly. Lots of people invited me to join their party. This area is down to earth. The riverside is usually inhabited by homeless (unless the government is in one of those 'we don't want you to see our homeless' moods where they evict all the dwellers in the area) who have built places out of cardboard and tarp. Lots of parties going on in this makeshift town. I was depressed to find out that one guy, who was hosting a B.B.Q, had a nicer and bigger handmade place than my apartment. I considered asking him to help me renovate where I live. Lots of food stalls in this area. Lots of friendly grandmothers who want you to eat what they're cooking so go hungry and enjoy!