Photo By: Elin Chow

It is the most wonderful time of the year in Japan when the whole city turns into a pink wonderland cherry blossom fever. There are several recommended cherry blossoms viewing spots in Tokyo, and among all, Ueno park and Shinjuku Gyoen are the most famous. Originally, we planned to visit Ueno park because admission is free. But we changed our mind later because we read that the park was often extremely crowded due to free admission. The atmosphere will also be noisy since visitors are allowed to bring alcohol and picnic under the trees.

So, we decided to visit Shinjuku Gyoen instead after reading that it will be less noisy and less crowded than Ueno Park. Unlike Ueno park, alcoholic drinks are not permitted within the park, as well as music, pets and ball games. It is a peaceful oasis in the busy city of Tokyo where people can enjoy taking a stroll, chit chat with friends and relax.

There are three entrance gates - Shinjuku Gate, Okido Gate and Sendagaya Gate. Most visitors enter via the Shinjuku Gate, thus there is usually a long queue at this gate. You might want to enter via the Okido Gate or Sendagaya Gate to avoid the long queue.

We entered the park via the Shinjuku Gate because it is the closest to the train station we were at. Shinjuku Gyoen is located just a short 10 minutes walk away from JR Shinjuku Station. The best way to get from Ikebukuro Station to JR Shinjuku Station  is by the JR Yamanote train line. It will take about 5 minutes to get from Ikebukuro Station to JR Shinjuku station and an one way fare will cost 160 Yen.

Once we arrived at JR Shinjuku station, we relied on Google Maps to navigate our way to Shinjuku Gyoen. You will see plenty of tourists heading towards the same direction too. There was a long queue at Shinjuku Gate at the time when we arrived due to security check. Security requires all bags be inspected for alcohol, which caused a huge delay at the entrance.
Passing through the security check, we arrived at the ticket gate next. Admission fee is 500 Yen and tickets can be bought from the ticket machines in front of the ticket gate.There was another long queue for buying ticket.

The park is usually closed on Monday, but it was open everyday during the cherry blossom season, from 9 am to 6 pm. Admission ends 30 minutes before closing. Near the entrance, there is a rack where you can find maps in wide variety of languages. Feel free to grab one and you can easily spend half a day exploring this huge park.
Shinjuku Gyoen is one of the largest and popular parks and gardens in Tokyo with a land area of 58.3 hectares, which is equivalent to the size of 12 Tokyo Dome. It is also one of the best cherry blossoms viewing spots in Tokyo, featuring over 1,000 cherry trees of 65 varieties that bloom at different times during Spring.




Some varieties bloom early, while some others bloom late. Due to that, the blooming period at Shinjuku Gyoen (from mid March to late April) is much longer than many other places in the city. As a result, you will able to enjoy cherry blossoms even if you are a week earlier or late for full bloom in Tokyo.
It was late March when we visited and the weather was still very chilly. The sky was pretty dull and grey, which was not so ideal for photos. It was very windy too, with occasional drizzle throughout the day.

Shinjuku Gyoen is the former residence of the Naito family in the Edo Period (1603-1867) and was later transferred to the imperial family 1903 who used it for recreation and entertainment of guests. The park was almost destroyed during World War II but was redeveloped and opened to the public in 1949.

The expansive grounds comprise of three themed gardens: an expansive English Landscape garden, a systematically designed French Formal garden, and a traditional Japanese Landscape garden. Each is beautifully manicured and absolutely picturesque.

Shinjuku Gyoen is popular with both locals and foreign tourists alike. However, I noticed there were actually more locals than foreign tourists when we were there.  I believe this is mainly because it is hard to find such wide-open green spaces in Tokyo. It is a great place to take a break, escape the noise of the city and enjoy nature in Tokyo.

There are more than 20,000 trees in the park, including cherry trees. You will find trees that are not native to Japan such as Tulip trees, Plane trees, Himalayan trees and Bald Cypresses. Majority of the cherry trees here have already reached its peak bloom and are scattered throughout the expansive grounds.



The pink and white blooms are indescribably beautiful, yet fragile. As the wind blows, hundreds of white and pink petals of cherry blossoms flutter and fell gently on our skin.  There are lots of photo opportunities all around the park.
The English Landscape Garden features expansive lawn surrounded by cherry blossoms. You can bring some food and enjoy a picnic underneath the trees. Just remember not to leave any trash behind. The atmosphere at the park was very peaceful and relaxing.  It is a great place to slow down your pace, have a snack or a drink and unwind. We enjoyed a stroll along the path, watching people and doing absolutely nothing. This is where you will find a moment of tranquility in the bustling Tokyo.




Even with hundred thousands of tourists invading the grounds, the park does not lose its charm or its calmness. The park is really large enough that you would not feel crowded during this peak season. There are plenty of space for you to lay out your picnic mat to enjoy the sun and perhaps for a nice nap.

< The park is very well-maintained and mostly wheelchair accessible. Most of the main paths in the park are wide and nicely paved, but there are still some areas that are entirely unpaved. Visitors in wheelchair might find these unpaved areas extremely difficult to access.


The Japanese Garden is made up of large and picturesque ponds, bridges and pavillions. It is much more smaller than the English garden, but is meticulously crafted and landscaped with two arched bridges.


The most striking feature is the DTT Docomo Yoyogi building standing majestically in the pond's background. At 892 feet, the DTT Docomo Yoyogi building is currently the fourth tallest building in Tokyo. It is also the tallest clock tower in the world after a clock was installed into the face of it in 2002.





The rest of the park consists of heavily wooded paths and is a nature lover's delight. All around the park, you will find plenty of benches to rest on while enjoying the beauty of the flora. There is also a beautiful greenhouse inside the park that we missed out for whatever reason. It is a pity because the greenhouse featuring over five hundred species of plants, is one of the must visit attraction in the park.





Is Shinjuku Gyoen worth a visit? Definitely yes! The park is beautiful at any time of the year, but particularly so in Spring and Autumn. It is an urban oasis with  spacious lawns, meandering walking paths, gardens and lakes. You can easily spend half a day here soaking up the stunning scenery.


If you are interested to know more about our trip, you may want to check out our 9D8N Tokyo - Kyoto - Osaka Trip Itinerary + Overview for the list of attractions that we had visited during our 9 days in Japan. For anyone planning your first trip to Japan but have no idea where to start, you should read my "How To Plan A Trip To Japan" post.

Be sure to follow me on Facebook or Twitter for the latest updates on my 9 days adventures in Japan! You might also want to check My Wanderlust page for some of my other travel adventures.