Cherry Blossoms at Shinjuku Gyoen — Enjoying Spring at the Sacred City Sakura Spot

Straddling Shinjuku and Shibuya wards, Shinjuku Gyoen is a vast national garden in the middle of one of the world's great cities, and it is known as one of Tokyo's foremost places for hanami (cherry blossom viewing). Within its grounds of roughly 580,000 square meters, three gardens in contrasting styles — a Japanese garden, a formal garden, and a landscape garden — sit in harmony, offering the nature of all four seasons. In spring the many cherry trees planted across the grounds bloom one variety after another, making this a cherry blossom paradise in the heart of the capital where the viewing season lasts a long time.

From Imperial Garden to National Park

Shinjuku Gyoen was originally the grounds of a feudal lord's residence in the Edo period. In the Meiji era it first began life as an agricultural experiment station, and later was transformed into a landscape garden that incorporated modern landscaping techniques as an imperial garden. After the war, in 1949 (Showa 24), it was opened to the public as Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden and became a park where the public could relax. The history of a formal garden connected to the imperial household, carefully tended over the years, still lives on in the beautiful scenery and the many valuable trees within the grounds. Its appeal lies in a stillness and dignity that make you forget you are in a city.

Tracing the land's history in more detail, it begins in 1590 (Tensho 18), when Tokugawa Ieyasu granted the area around Shinjuku to his retainer Naito Kiyonari. In 1872 (Meiji 5), the Ministry of Finance established the Naito Shinjuku Experiment Station on these 58.3 hectares. With the aim of promoting and improving modern Japanese agriculture, some 3,000 varieties of fruit trees and vegetables were cultivated there. In 1879 (Meiji 12) the site was transferred to the Imperial Household Ministry and became the Botanical Imperial Garden, and in 1886 (Meiji 19) it was renamed the Shinjuku Imperial Estate.

What determined the garden's present form was the design by the French landscape architect Henri Martinet. It was Fukuba Hayato, the official then in charge, who — on the occasion of Japan's participation in the Paris International Exposition — commissioned Martinet to design a renovation of the garden. After a large-scale five-year renovation beginning in 1902, Shinjuku Gyoen was completed in 1906 (Meiji 39). The paths and garden layout we walk today are based on that design. In the air raids of 1945 (Showa 20) nearly the entire garden burned, sparing only some of the buildings, but on May 21, 1949 (Showa 24) it opened to the public as Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden. Admission at the time was 20 yen, and records show that 1.05 million people visited in the first ten months. The garden later came under the Environment Agency in 1971 (Showa 46) and, from 2001 (Heisei 13), under the Ministry of the Environment, and so it has been passed down to the present day.

A Wealth of Cherry Varieties and Three Gardens

The appeal of hanami at Shinjuku Gyoen lies in the sheer range of cherry varieties. As for the number of varieties and trees, the Ministry of the Environment states about 70 varieties and about 900 trees, while the National Gardens Association gives about 65 varieties and 1,100 trees. Because many varieties are planted here — not only Somei-yoshino but everything from early-blooming Kanzakura to late-blooming double-flowered cherries — the season of good viewing continues for a long time, and there is real pleasure in visiting several times at different points in the season. Spending an unhurried afternoon under cherry branches spreading over the broad lawns is a hanami experience of a special kind. Another major draw is being able to walk and compare gardens of different styles: a French-style formal garden, an English-style landscape garden, and a Japanese garden built around a pond for strolling. In the greenhouse you can also encounter unusual plants all year round.

Cherry Trees Gathered for the Kanokai Blossom Viewing Party

No account of the bond between Shinjuku Gyoen and its cherry trees is complete without the Kanokai, the imperial cherry blossom viewing party. According to the Ministry of the Environment, the Kanokai was first held at Shinjuku Gyoen in 1917 (Taisho 6). To make the garden fit for an event at which guests from Japan and abroad were invited to admire the blossoms, a diverse range of cherries with different flowering times was planted in the grounds. The fact that flowers continue in the garden even after the Somei-yoshino have fallen, allowing hanami to be enjoyed into the second half of April, is the result of that accumulated history. Fukuba Hayato, the man who commissioned Martinet's renovation, had named the double-flowered cherries Ichiyo and Fugenzo as varieties to be admired at the time of the Kanokai. Looking today at the Ichiyo and Kanzan that now play the leading role among the garden's late bloomers, you realize that his choices created the scenery of a century later. In 1929 (Showa 4) the autumn Kangikukai chrysanthemum viewing party also began at Shinjuku Gyoen, and the garden became a place that welcomed guests with flowers season by season.

The Greenhouse and Goryotei — Highlights Beyond the Cherry Blossoms

There is no shortage of things to see outside the blossom season either. The garden's greenhouses have a long history: in 1892 (Meiji 25) a full-scale heated Western-style greenhouse was built, and in 1958 (Showa 33) one of the largest greenhouses in Asia was completed. In 2012 (Heisei 24) a new glass greenhouse incorporating environmental technology was completed, and rare tropical and subtropical plants can still be observed there year-round. The former Western-style Rest House, completed in 1896 (Meiji 29), also survives, letting you see Meiji-era architecture up close. In the Japanese garden stands the Goryotei, completed in 1927 (Showa 2) to commemorate the wedding of the Crown Prince (later Emperor Showa); the view across the pond makes it just the place to step away from the blossom-season crowds and catch your breath. Visitors who came only for the cherry trees are the ones most likely to be surprised by how many layers this garden has.

Best Season and Access

The Ministry of the Environment gives these rough flowering periods: early-blooming cherries from January to early March, Somei-yoshino from late March to early April, Ichiyo from early to mid-April, and Kanzan from mid- to late April — with so many varieties, the flowers can be enjoyed over a long stretch. Bloom timing shifts from year to year. During the crowded blossom season, the hours just after the garden opens are recommended as a relatively relaxed time to visit. The seasons of fresh greenery and autumn foliage are beautiful too, so the garden rewards a visit year-round. Access is easy: about a 10-minute walk from the south exit of Shinjuku Station (JR, private railways, and subway), or just steps from Shinjuku-gyoemmae Station on the Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line. Admission is 500 yen for adults, 250 yen for students from high school age up and for visitors aged 65 and over, and free for junior high school age and younger. Bringing alcohol into the garden is prohibited, as are ball games such as catch and soccer, bicycles, kick scooters and skateboards, drones, setting up tents or parasols, smoking, and the use of open flames. Note that party-style hanami is not possible here.

Practical Information for Your Visit

• Best season for the blossoms: according to the Ministry of the Environment's guide to flowering times, the early-blooming cherries flower from January to early March, the Somei-yoshino from late March to early April, the Ichiyo from early to mid-April, and the Kanzan from mid to late April. The Jugatsuzakura blooms in both autumn and spring. Flowering times shift from year to year.
• Season and opening hours: the garden is open 9:00-16:30 from 1 October to 14 March (last entry 16:00), 9:00-18:00 from 15 March to 10 June and from 1 August to 30 September (last entry 17:30), and 9:00-19:00 from 11 June to 31 July (last entry 18:30). It is closed every Monday (the following weekday when Monday is a holiday) and over the New Year period (29 December to 3 January), but it opens every day during the special spring opening period (25 March to 24 April) and the special autumn opening period (1 to 15 November).
• Prices: 500 yen for adults, 250 yen for those aged 65 and over, 250 yen for students of high school age and above, and free of charge for junior high school students and younger. Groups of 30 or more pay 400 yen for adults.
• Access: about 10 minutes on foot from the South Exit of Shinjuku Station on the JR, private railway and subway lines, or just by Shinjuku-gyoemmae Station on the Tokyo Metro Marunouchi Line.
• Clothing and equipment: the garden is large at about 58.3 hectares and has some slopes, so wear comfortable walking shoes. There are many lawn areas with little shade, so bring protection from the sun or the cold according to the season.

* Please note the rules for the garden. You may not bring in alcohol, animals (except assistance dogs for people with disabilities), bicycles, balance bikes, tricycles or unicycles, drones, or insect nets and insect cages. Also prohibited are ball games such as catch and football, roller skates, rollerblades, kick scooters and skateboards, radio-controlled models, running or jogging in groups of 10 or more, smoking (including electronic cigarettes and the like), bonfires and the use of portable gas stoves and similar equipment, picking plants, playing in the ponds and moats, and pitching tents or putting up parasols. Blossom viewing in the form of a party with alcohol is not permitted.

(Sources: Ministry of the Environment, Shinjuku Gyoen, "Garden Rules," "Highlights of the Garden: Cherry Blossoms" and "Overview"; National Parks Foundation, Shinjuku Gyoen, "Admission Guide")