Cherry‐blossom viewing in Tokyo

If you can have chance to come to Japan in spring, I strongly recommend you to schedule to stay in Japan from the end of March to the beginning of April. During the special term, you can enjoy cherry-blossom viewing here and there.

Only during the cherry‐blossom viewing term, it is allowed to enjoy the viewing with alcohol and food outside in some specific parks. Thus many of people in Japan enjoy cherry-blossom party with picnic sheet under cherry‐blossom trees, drinking beer/Sake in such special area during the special timing.

 

Some of the place allow people to enjoy cherry‐blossom not only day time but also at night, illuminating the area. The sight of cherry‐blossom viewing at night is also awesome, standing out delicate beauty of cherry-blossom petals

 

Of course, you can enjoy cherry‐blossom viewing, just walking around the area without party. Or if you are lucky, you can have cherry‐blossom view table at restaurant or café.

 

 

●Popular place for Cherry‐blossom viewing in/around Tokyo

• Chidoriga Fuchi
• Meguro River
• Yoyogi Park
• Shinjuku Gyoen
• Kamakura

 

●Others

If you can have time to go old local town such as Kyoto during the term, it should be further gorgeous to enjoy chilly blossom with traditional temples and gardens.

Azabu Juban Summer Night Festival

Azabu Juban Summer Night Festival is one of the most popular summer festival in Tokyo that about 600,000 people enjoy every years.

(C)Hironobu Nishizawa　http://vms333.com/nee/

The festival is operated by Shopping District Promotion Association of ‘Azabu Juban’, a traditional town which has a lot of traditional Japanese restaurants and Japanese antique shop, and also a gourmet town which has a lot of modern popular restaurants.

(C)Hironobu Nishizawa　http://vms333.com/nee/

Such popular restaurants or shops open special street stalls during the festival for selling their special foods, drinks and goods that are much more gorgeous than the usual festival’s stalls. Also many embassies of other countries open the street stalls to introduce the local foods.

(C)Hironobu Nishizawa　http://vms333.com/nee/

While the festival don’t arrange any show such as fireworks or traditional dance, you can enjoy the hundreds of street stalls and the awesome foods.

(C)Hironobu Nishizawa　http://vms333.com/nee/

You can also enjoy seeing local peoples who wear summer Kimono. Many of female would wear variety color of gorgeous Kimono. Recently young girls tend wear summer Kimono with modern way; you would enjoy the variety.

 (C)Hironobu Nishizawa　http://vms333.com/nee/

 

Date & Time (2013)

Sat. 24^th to San. 25^th, Aug, 2013
From afternoon to night
 

Access

Oedo line ‘Azabu Juban’ station
 

Note

Go to bathroom before going to the festival. It would be difficult to find toilet at the festival site.

Others

The festival official site (only Japanese)

Premium beer garden in Japanesel garden ‘Meiji Kinenkan’

Drinking at a beer garden is popular activity in summer in Japan. If you travel in Japan in summer, you could find a lot of beer gardens which are seasonally opened on the roof of commercial buildings during summer season. You could enjoy drinking beer between cheerful drunk local people there.

While such usual beer gardens are enough to enjoy, I would like to recommend you to go to a premium garden, ‘Beer Terrace SEKIREI’ in Meiji Kinenkan.

 
Meiji Kinenkan is a traditional facility with beautiful Japanese gardens which were built more than 130 years ago. While they usually run wedding hall, restaurants and cafes, they open the special beer terrace only during the summer season for providing premium experience to enjoy viewing Japanese gardens with drinking beer.
 

Restaurant

‘Beer Terace SEKIREI’ in Meiji Kinenkan
 

Access

See the official website

 

Open (2013)

Term: Mon. 27^th of May – Fri. 6^th of Sep

Time: 17:00-22:30 (last order: meal 21:30, drink 22:00)

*Closed on every Saturday and Sunday, and national holidays

 

*While the beer terrace is opened only during the summer season, other restaurants are opened during all season.

 

Others

Because the beer terrace is very popular, the tables are always full. If you don’t mind to pay additional charge, you can reserve a premium table for 4 persons. Please see detail of contact on the official website

 

More detail and the picture

See the official website

Hydrangea, ‘Ajisai’ in Kamakura

‘Hydrangea in Kamakura’ is the one of the most popular tourism attraction in June around Tokyo.

While Kamakura is famous sight of an old city in all season, it is especially lovely in hydrangea season. Phenomenal huge number of hydrangeas bloom from the middle of June to the first of July in the garden of temples in Kamakura. You would enjoy walk, fascinated by combination of the traditional temples and the hydrangeas garden.

 

 

 

How to get to Kamakura

See the access on the official website of Kamakura.
 

Place to see hydrangea

• Hase temple
• Enkaku temple
• Toke temple
• Myoingetsu templ
• Zuisen temple
• Kamakura miya
• Goryo Jinjya

*See the access to each temples on the official website of Kamakura.

*While Hase temples has the largest hydrangea garden, moving around multiple temples is recommended. You can use lovely traditional train, ‘Eno den line’, to move around there. When you become tired to walk, you can take rest at a traditional cafe

 

The bloom peak timing:  

The bloom peak is faster in this year than usual year, would be ended in the end of June.

* At Zuisen temple, it is available until the first of July.  

 

Others

Kamakura has a lot of traditional sight to see other than hydrangea as many of you already know. I also would like to introduce those on this blog later.

 

The big three Japanese fireworks: 'Tokyo Bay Grand Fireworks Festival'

At the Tokyo Bay Grand Fireworks Festival, you can enjoy seeing fireworks with great night view of the Tokyo bay area. You also would be fascinated with a combinations of fireworks and the reflection on the surface of the water.

 

The fireworks display date (2013)

Sat. 10^th of Aug, 2013

 

The fireworks display time (2013)

18:50 – 20:10
 

# of the fireworks

About 1２,000

 

Places to see

Toyomi Sports Park

• Access: 10 min on foot from Kachidoki subway station (Oedo line)

         *See the map

 

Harumi site

• Required to get entrance ticket. See detail on the official website (only in Japanese)

 

Others

• Some cruising companies provide special cruising tour to see fireworks.

• Also some hotels by bay area provide special stay plan to see fireworks from the sea view room.

 

More detail

See detail on the official website (only in Japanese)

The big three Japanese fireworks: 'Sumida River Fireworks festival'

If you would like to enjoy fireworks in really traditional atmosphere, I recommend you to go to see ‘Sumida River Fireworks festival’. The fireworks will be displayed in Asakusa, the most popular traditional downtown in Tokyo. You can enjoy fireworks, also seeing the traditional houses on the street, traditional stalls and local peoples who wear summer Kimonos.

                                                                Photo; Taito Ward / 写真提供：台東区
 

The fireworks display date (2013)

Sat. 27^th of July, 2013

 

The fireworks display time (2013)

7:05 pm - 8:30 pm

 

Fee

free *as usual Japanese fireworks display
 

How to get to the display sites

Location: Sumida River water front

• Closest subway stations: Aasakusa station (Ginza line, Asakusa line) , Kuramae station (Asakusa line, Oedo line), Tawaramachi station (Ginza line), Honjo Azumabashi station (Asakusa line)
• Asakusa station is the closest to the fireworks display sites, so is the most crowded at the day. I recommend you to getting off at Tawaracho station for reaching to the display sites smoothly.  
• After reaching the stations, you just need to follow to crowd of audiences to reach the display sites. You might need to see fireworks display, sitting down on the streets, but I believe that you would enjoy it among local audiences who wear summer Kimono.

 

Note

Please, go to the bathroom before heading to the fireworks display sites. It is awfully difficult to find public restroom around the sites.
  

More detail

See the Sumida River Fireworks festival official sites

The big three Japanese fireworks: ‘Jingu Fireworks’

If you would like to enjoy Japanese fireworks without consuming time to find place to sit down or sitting down on the crowded street, I recommend  you to go to see ‘Jingu Fireworks. If you buy the ticket, you can have reserved seat to see the fireworks.

Normally you don’t need to buy tickets to see other Japanese firework display. However only ‘Jingu Fireworks’ sells ticket, providing reserved seats in some sport stadiums which are best places to see the fireworks.

As the additional uniqueness of ‘Jingu Fireworks’, you can enjoy Japanese musician show before the firework will be displayed. It can be interesting experience for you to enjoy musician’s modern events with traditional fireworks.

Furthermore, there are a lot of nice restaurants, bars and cafes around Jingu area. You can have nice dinner or drinks after enjoying the fireworks.

 

Jingu fireworks display date (2013)

Sat, 17^th of Aug, 2013

 

Jingu fireworks display time (2013)

19：30～20：30

 

# of the fireworks

About 10,000

 

Places to see

1. National Stadium

• Ticked price: JPY 8000-

• Where to buy the tickets: convenience stores (Seven Eleven, Circle K, Sanks), Ticket PIA

• Access: see theofficial site

        *Bottles/cans of drinks are prohibited to bring in the stadium for safety matters.
        *Only in the arena seats, drinks except mineral water are prohibit to bring in.

 

2. The Jingu Stadium

• Ticked price: from JPY 5,500

• Where to buy the tickets: convenience stores (Seven Eleven, Circle K, Sanks), Ticket PIA

• Open: 16:00- / Start: 17:30-

        *Musicians will give show before the firework display

• Access: see the official site

3. Chichibunomiya Rugby Stadium

• Ticked price: from JPY 4,000

• Where to buy the tickets: convenience stores (Seven Eleven, Circle K, Sanks), Ticket PIA

• Open: 16:00- / Start: 17:30-

        *Musicians will give show before the firework display

• Access: see theofficial site

        *Bottles/cans of drinks are prohibited to bring in the stadium for safety matters.

More detail

• Seethe official site (only Japanese)

Japanese Fireworks, 'Hanabi'

If you can have chance to travel in Japan in summer, I strongly recommend you to enjoy Japanese fireworks. While it is awfully crowded and humid at firework display site, you can see the most beautiful and dynamic fireworks in the worlds.


The big three Japanese fireworks displays

• Sumidagawa Fireworks (see ditail)

Photo; Taito Ward / 写真提供：台東区

• Tokyo bay Fireworks (see detail)

 

Jingu Fireworks (see detail)

 

 

How to get to the sites

It is so crowded at most of the popular firework display site. Therefore you need to head for the site 60 min earlier than usual traffic condition. You might be stressed in crowded train and on the crowded street on the way. However I believe that you wouldn’t regret such effort after seeing amazing fireworks. You even could become to enjoy crowdedness after fireworks display will be started, impressed with it and shouting ‘Tamaya (like “bravo” for fireworks)’ with huge number of audiences together.

 

What to bring

• Beer, and something to eat and drink: it is allowed to drink alcohol at fireworks display site. You can find a lot of street stalls to sell beer, bento box, etc. around the site.

• Picnic sheet: Japanese usually see fireworks, not standing but sitting down on the street or grass on liver sides. Otherwise, you can use plastic bag as the substitute, which you got when you buy beer.

• Round fan/folding fan: because fireworks display site is hot and humid, fans are necessary articles to cool yourself. Using such Japanese traditional fans, you can enjoy Japanese taste more

• Camera or Smartphone: at fireworks display sites, you can find that a lot of Japanese people shoots pictures with smartphone and share those with friends on SNS such as Facebook. Because Japanese fireworks are so gorgeous and bright, you can take nice pictures even with smartphone’s camera.

Epilogue

I am starting this blog to introduce Japanese hot place and the event to foreign tourist. Hope the information help to make your stay enjoyable