The season for hanami – viewing cherry blossoms – is finally upon us again this year! Here we'll take a look at some recommended hanami spots in the city of Nagoya and elsewhere. Check out this helpful info and enjoy Nagoya's cherry blossoms to your heart's content!
- For info about blooming times, check the website below!
- The Bloom of Cherry Blossoms
- Cherry blossom forecast for 2019
Nagoya Castle, famed for its two rooftop golden shachihoko figures, was constructed in 1609 at the command of Tokugawa Ieyasu, and ranks among Japan's three greatest castles. Within the castle precincts are around a thousand cherry trees of some ten varieties, chief among them being Somei-Yoshino and weeping cherry. Here you can enjoy the beautiful contrast of the pale pink of the blossoms against Nagoya Castle's golden shachihoko and green roof.
Nagoya Castle entrance fee: Adult – 500 yen (children through junior-high age admitted free)
Getting There
About 24 minutes by Meitetsu μ-Sky train from Central Japan International Airport Station to Kanayama Station
About 10 minutes from Kanayama Station to subway Meijo Line Shiyakusho Station, then about 5 minutes on foot from exit #7
Useful Info
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Nagoya Omotenashi Bushotai
The Nagoya Omotenashi Bushotai is a troupe of samurai-era warriors who greet visitors daily at the castle gate. The members comprise six generals from the Aichi area, including Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu, as well as four foot soldiers. Their performances on Saturdays, Sundays, and national holidays are tremendously impressive!
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Shiyakusho Station
The closest railway station to Nagoya Castle is subway Shiyakusho Station. The station itself is actually a photogenic location, too. Go out exit #7 and turn around, and you'll see an entranceway modeled after Nagoya Castle's Korai-mon Gate! You'll definitely want to take a photo here to preserve the memory. Nagoya City Hall, located across the street from here, is also a historic building that has earned fame as the location for numerous theatrical films and television dramas.
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Meijo Park
Meijo Park north of Nagoya Castle is another well-loved hanami spot. Here you can enjoy the cherry blossoms along with views of the castle. To get to Meijo Park, we recommend getting off the subway at Meijo Koen Station, the first station after Shiyakusho Station on the Meijo Line. If you go out exit #2 and proceed left, you'll also find a convenience store.
This opened as the city of Nagoya's first public park in 1909, and is another go-to destination for blossom-viewing. The park grounds are planted with 750 cherry trees of the Somei-Yoshino variety. Listed as one of Japan's 100 Best Cherry-blossom Sites, Tsuruma Park throngs with exuberant crowds during hanami season.
Getting There
About 24 minutes by Meitetsu μ-Sky train from Central Japan International Airport Station to Kanayama Station
About 3 minutes from Kanayama Station to JR Tsurumai Station, then just outside exit #4
Useful Info
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Vendor Stalls (Yatai)
Part of what makes blossom-viewing so fun is enjoying the tasty fare from food stalls. Along with such standards as stir-fried yakisoba noodles and takoyaki octopus dumplings, you'll also find stalls selling so many different Tokai-region favorites that you'll have a hard time choosing! Enjoy picking your selections with a beer in hand!
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Buildings
Some of the sights worth seeing at Tsuruma Park include such historically important buildings as the Nagoya Civic Assembly Hall and a music pavilion, as well as fountain tower that's practically revered by Pokemon Go players. The retro-style architecture and cherry trees together create views that symbolize spring.
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Nighttime Cherry-tree Illumination
From Friday, March 22 through Sunday, April 7, while hanami season is in full swing, the park's cherry trees are lit up nightly from 6:00 to 9:30! As part of a party under the trees, or strolling through the park to admire the blossoms...you can enjoy hanami amid a wondrous ambience that's nothing like daytime. A beer garden will also be open in the park from Friday, March 22 through Sunday, April 7.
Sakae Park, reached in some five minutes on foot east from famed symbol Oasis 21, is itself a commercial-district oasis. This offers a spot where you can make a quick detour to take a break and enjoy viewing cherry blossoms while shopping in Sakae, Nagoya's foremost commercial district. One recommended blossom-viewing route is a stroll from Oasis 21 to Sakae Park via the second-floor connecting bridge at the Aichi Prefectural Museum of Art. This route is lined by a number of cherry trees, with more blooming in the park. In the park you can eat desserts or bento meals sold in the basements of Sakae's department stores and enjoy a relaxing pause from shopping.
Getting There
About 24 minutes by Meitetsu μ-Sky train from Central Japan International Airport Station to Kanayama Station
About 7 minutes from Kanayama Station to subway Meijo Line Sakae Station or Meitetsu Seto Line Sakaemachi Station, then about 7 minutes on foot
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A Blossom-viewing Site Right in the Center of the City
This is a little-known location where you can enjoy hanami right in the middle of the Sakae area, one of Nagoya's most prominent shopping and entertainment districts. Students and office workers on break relaxing under the blossoms, mothers leisurely pushing strollers – the place is an urban oasis. You can easily drop by while shopping.
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Shopping
Sakae is a popular shopping area for local residents as well. The underground commercial streets and department stores that are directly accessible from subway stations, with ground-level shops selling apparel, sundries, and more lining the streets. Why not combine some springtime shopping with blossom-viewing!
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Underground Streets
Nagoya is known for its network of underground streets beneath the topside city. The underground streets of the Sakae area are extensive, and comprise a full array of businesses that range from everyday shops to leading-edge fashion – drug stores, restaurants, apparel, and more. The underground area also enjoys easy access – including direct access from subway stations – and offers a different shopping ambience than aboveground stores.
The city of Inuyama is where the Kiso River of northwestern Aichi Prefecture flows out to the Nobi Plain, and has long flourished as a strategic point for transportation, distribution, and government. During Japan's 15th- and 16-century Sengoku period, the city was the site of battles, and in the following feudal Edo period it grew as a castle town, and evidence of such history is apparent even now.
Recommended places for enjoying cherry blossoms are the Inuyama Castle grounds and the walking path along the Kiso River. You can enjoy the blossoms of Inuyama to the fullest if you arrive by walking from Inuyama Station through the castle town to Inuyama Castle, then return along the Kiso River to depart by train from Inuyama-Yuen Station.
Getting There
To Inuyama's castle town: About 55 minutes by Meitetsu μ-Sky train from Central Japan International Airport Station to Inuyama Station, then about 10 minutes on foot from the western exit
Useful Info
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Tasty Walking-around Food Selections
The Inuyama castle town offers a plethora of items on skewers and sweet treats that make it an ideal place for eating as you walk around! Flat gohei-mochi rice on sticks, skewered dango dumplings, fruit-flavored soft-serve ice cream, and more – all examples of tasty Inuyama fare you'll want to try.
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Elegant Blossom-viewing Boats
The furyu o-hanami ("elegant blossom-viewing") boat let you enjoy views of cherry blossoms and Inuyama Castle from the water. Their period of operation this year from Friday, March 29 through Sunday, April 7. No advance reservation is needed – just go directly to the Station cruise-boat boarding area. Don't miss the chance to enjoy a boat excursion of elegance! Note: Service is subject to suspension in inclement weather or high water levels in the Kiso River.
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Inuyama Festival
The Inuyama Festival is held on the first Saturday and Sunday in April each year, and this year it takes place on April 6 and 7. The annual festival for Haritsuna Jinja Shrine celebrated since 1635, it has been designated a National Important Intangible Folk Cultural Asset. Thirteen traditional wooden dashi floats are pulled through the streets of the castle town while the cherries are in glorious full bloom, with mechanical karakuri dolls giving performances to the accompaniment of flutes and drums.
Okazaki, a city whose name is known to all aficionados of shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu and Japan's Sengoku period, is also famed as an excellent destination for enjoying cherry blossoms. The Oto River that you can get to by walking from Okazaki Station toward Okazaki Castle, in Okazaki Park, and along the nearby Iga River are prime sites for viewing blossoms in Okazaki. The sight of some 800 Somei-Yoshino trees when in full bloom is glorious.
Getting There
About 21 minutes by Meitetsu μ-Sky train from Central Japan International Airport Station to Jingu-mae Station
About 24 minutes from Jingu-mae Station to Meitetsu Nagoya Main Line Higashi-Okazaki Station, then about 10 minutes on foot
Useful Info
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Vendor Stalls (Yatai)
The Sakura Festival from Wednesday, March 27 to Friday, April 12 brings out many food-stall vendors! The prices are a bit high, but you won't have to go short on food or alcohol. Have fun eating and drinking in the park and along the rivers.
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Boating in the Castle Town
Boats from which you can enjoy group blossom-viewing are in service Thursday, March 21 through Sunday, April 7, with departures every 15 minutes between 10:00 am and 8:00 pm. No reservation is required, so you can drop by as you please and experience hanami aboard a boat. Each excursion takes around 30 minutes.
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Ieyasu Procession
The magnificently gorgeous Ieyasu Procession takes place Sunday, April 7. The procession sets out from Iga Hachiman-gu Shrine, the clan shrine for generations of Tokugawas and passes by Higashi-Okazaki Station, eventually arriving at the banks of the Oto River. The re-enactment of a Sengoku-era battle here is also an impressive sight that's not to be missed.
Selected as one of Japan's 100 Best Cherry-blossom Sites, this location is found in western Aichi Prefecture. The 1,400 cherry trees along both banks of the Gojo River running through the city center of Iwakura, Aichi, are the highlight. You can enjoy the sight of rows of trees lining the embankments on either side of the river, as well as views from bridges of the blooming trees reflected in the water.
Getting There
About 41 minutes by Meitetsu μ-Sky train from Central Japan International Airport Station to Iwakura Station, then about 5 minutes on foot from the eastern exit
Useful Info
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Nombori-arai
The Iwakura Cherry Blossom Festival taking place Friday, March 29 to Sunday, April 7 features performances of nombori-arai, a traditional method of rinsing away adhesive paste used on carp streamers. The sight of brilliantly colored streamers floating in the Gojo River together with the cherry blossoms symbolizes spring in Iwakura.
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Dashi Float Procession
The Iwakura Cherry Blossom Festival is loaded with other events besides the blooming trees. On Saturday, March 30, showy traditional floats called dashi are paraded along the banks of the Gojo River in a lovely show together with the blossoms. Performances by traditional karakuri mechanical dolls also take place.
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Nighttime Blossoms
On the days of the Cherry Blossom Festival, the blooming cherry trees are illuminated from 6:00 to 9:00 pm, making for views of the blossoms, river, and bridges that are different from daytime. The stretch of approximately 1 kilometer from Showa Bridge to Hikota Bridge is bathed in illumination.
- For info about blooming times, check the website below!
- The Bloom of Cherry Blossoms
- Cherry blossom forecast for 2019