5 Tokyo Hotels with Cherry Blossom Room Views

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Tokyo Hotels with Cherry Blossom Views

How to Book a Room That Faces the Blossoms

In blossom season the room name decides what you see from bed.

• Garden in the Room Name Look for Garden View or Garden Suite in the room name, and skip anything marked City View. Where a room name says neither, read the room description for the garden before you book.
• Paying for the View At Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo the garden-view room cost about 15% more than the same room facing the city on a peak April night. That is a small price for trees outside the glass.
• Floor Matters Too The Prince hotels say themselves that how much blossom you see depends on the floor as well as on how far the bloom has got. At Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa, Deluxe Twins sit on floors four and five and Deluxe Kings on floors six to nine.

When Tokyo’s Cherry Trees Reach Full Bloom

Somei-yoshino, the tree behind most of Tokyo’s pink, opens in the last week of March.

• Average Bloom Dates Weather records from the benchmark tree at Yasukuni Shrine put first bloom in the last week of March and full bloom about a week later. A single tree holds full bloom for five to seven days before the petals start to fall.
• Forecasts Land in Winter The first forecasts for a season come out from late December and are revised every week or two until March. Booking before then means picking dates from the long-term averages.
• Early and Late Varieties Hotel gardens plant other cherries alongside somei-yoshino. The Takanawa garden’s 17 varieties run from Kohigan in mid-March to Kanzan in late April, and the Hotel New Otani Tokyo Garden Tower garden’s best viewing stretches from mid-March to late April.

Night Light-Ups in the Hotel Gardens

The Takanawa garden and the gardens at Hotel New Otani Tokyo Garden Tower and Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo all light their cherry trees after dark in spring.

• Bamboo Lanterns at Takanawa Bamboo lanterns line the Takanawa garden, and the trees are lit during the Prince hotels’ spring cherry festival. It’s the same garden the garden-view rooms look down on.
• Garden Map at New Otani Lights come on in the garden at Hotel New Otani Tokyo Garden Tower just before sunset and stay on until late at night in cherry season. The hotel publishes a garden map showing where each cherry variety stands.
• Chinzanso After Dark The cherry trees in the Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo garden are lit at night as well. From a garden-view room you watch the light-up from bed, with no park gate and no queue.

Public Cherry Spots Close to the Gardens

Each hotel garden has a famous public spot within reach.

• Kanda River Below Chinzanso The cherry trees along the Kanda River bloom at the same time as the somei-yoshino in the Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo garden. A walk down the hill gives you a second, quite different view of the same week.
• Gotenyama Garden in Shinagawa Gotenyama Garden has more than 100 somei-yoshino and has been a blossom spot since the Edo period, when it appeared in Hokusai and Hiroshige prints. It’s about a 10-minute walk from the Takanawa exit of Shinagawa Station.
• Chidorigafuchi by Boat Chidorigafuchi’s moat path runs about 700 metres under some 260 cherry trees. Rowing boats go out on the water beneath them.

Booking for Cherry Blossom Week

The forecast keeps moving until March, so build some give into the booking.

• Refundable Rates First Book a refundable rate, because the forecast shifts by several days before it settles. When it does, move your dates instead of paying twice.
• Three Nights Around Full Bloom Three nights or more around the expected full-bloom date is the safe bet. Bloom dates move three to five days from year to year, so a longer stay still catches the peak.
• Weekdays at the Parks Public spots pack out most on peak-week weekends. Spend the weekend in your hotel garden and do the parks on weekdays.

Where Else to Stay for Tokyo Blossoms

Without a garden view, stay next to a park and walk out early.

• Ueno for the Classic Park Ueno Park has about 800 cherry trees, many along the avenue through the middle of the park. Hotels by Ueno Station put you a few minutes from it.
• Nakameguro for the River The Meguro River has about 800 trees along a canal lined with cafés. The paths pack out on peak-week evenings, so walk it in the morning.
• Kudanshita for Chidorigafuchi Kudanshita Station is a 5-minute walk from the Chidorigafuchi moat path. Stay near the station and the moat is a short walk.

FAQs

1. Do Tokyo hotels cost more in cherry blossom season?

Yes, and by a lot. At Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa, The Prince Sakura Tower Tokyo, Autograph Collection, Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo and Hotel New Otani Tokyo Garden Tower, bloom-week rates for the same room run from more than a quarter more to more than double their January rates. The rise is steepest at Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa and The Prince Sakura Tower Tokyo, Autograph Collection, where April passes double. October weekends sit in a similar range at most of them, so spring isn’t the only expensive season.

2. Do Tokyo and Kyoto bloom at the same time?

Close to it. Both cities reach full bloom between the last days of March and the first days of April in an average year, a few days apart. That makes a split trip easy: a few nights in each city covers the peak in both. The Shinkansen links the two, so moving between them takes a morning.

3. Are there still cherry blossoms in Tokyo in mid-April?

Some, though the main show is over. Shinjuku Gyoen has around 900 cherry trees of about 70 varieties, and its double-flowered yaezakura, such as Ichiyo and Kanzan, take over from mid-April. By then most somei-yoshino across the city have dropped their petals. Shinjuku Gyoen is about a 10-minute walk from Shinjuku Station, so it makes an easy late stop.

4. Are there cherry blossoms in Tokyo during Golden Week?

Only a few late ones. Kanzan and other late varieties hang on into late April in some gardens, but Tokyo’s main bloom is long over by the holiday. The season moves north instead: Sapporo’s cherries open around the start of Golden Week, and late cherries flower in Tohoku and the mountains of Nagano and Niigata from mid-April into early May.

5. Can you see cherry blossoms and Mount Fuji on one trip?

Easily, if you go in order. The Fuji Five Lakes area sits high enough that its cherries peak about two weeks after Tokyo, in mid-April in an average year. Chureito Pagoda in Fujiyoshida, where the pagoda, blossoms and Fuji line up, is about two hours from Shinjuku by train. Do Tokyo first in early April, then head to Fuji for the second bloom.

6. What is the weather like in Tokyo in cherry blossom season?

Cool, with a wide gap between afternoon and night. Tokyo’s March highs sit around 16°C with lows near 6°C, and April highs pass 20°C with lows around 11 to 12°C. Wind picks up in this season, so pack a sweater or windbreaker for the parks. Evening light-ups feel colder than the afternoon, so bring the warm layer out after dark.

7. Where do people have hanami picnics in Tokyo?

Ueno Park and Yoyogi Park are the big picnic spots, with groups laying out mats under the trees from morning. Locals bring full spreads of homemade food and drinks and stay for hours. Yoyogi Park is reached from Harajuku and Shibuya stations. For a quieter picnic, try a smaller neighbourhood park or the riverbanks.