Cherry blossom flower viewing is not only extremely popular during a normal and sunny daily light but also very appreciated during the nighttime as most viewing places have a light-up allowing to keep the fun and sake flowing on for a long hanami party!

Smiley Kashiwagi, a tour guide, is actually giving an interesting anecdote on how hanami parties are planned within companies in Japan. Enjoy & kampai!

Smiley's Travel Tips

Cherries in Tokyo start blossoming forth.

Japanese people enjoy cherry this way. First they send a freshman to the company
to cherry place. He must go there extremely early as 5am or 6am and spread plastic sheet under the cherry tree. All day long he stays there, drinks beers, takes a nap or
reads magazines but he is paid for this, because he is working for his colleagues.

5pm when the company finishes the work, the company people come and join him.
They take off their shoes sit on the plastic sheets on their knees and drink sake or beer. Some of them sing songs and make a very noisy sake-party. If the freshman is too late in coming and get the sheet far away from cherry blossoms, his popularity will go down in his company.

If you want to see the blossoms, you can find it in Ueno Park, Chidorigafichi, Sumida park and so on. There are many Cherry spots. If you are in Kyoto, riverside of Kamo-river near the botanical garden, you can have a wonderful view of the cherry.

They say there are 340 kinds of cherries if we go on a very fine classification.
There is even a green cherry which is not too good looking.

One problem about cherry viewing is that they do not last long. Normally after a week they are apt to scatter to the ground. One good way to see them is to plan your travel in Japan from north to south. By this way you will come across the cherry front some place.

Japanese cherries are mostly for viewing not for eating. One area named Yamagata can produce extra-fine cherry for eating but they are quite expensive so we buy black cherry for eating from USA.

If you miss right time for cherry by 1-2 weeks try a high place like Nikko or Takayama. They may be in bloom yet in these places. Also try the passage between the New Otani Hotel and the Grand Prince Hotel Akasaka, in Tokyo.

There they have double peｔal cherries which blossoms forth after normal cherries are over. If you can be in Osaka the Mint Bureau has a beautiful passage of double pedal cherries. They open this passage for about one week to the public. (The passage is one-way so check right entrance at your hotel).

Wish you all good luck.
- Tour guide, Smiley Kashiwagi