Join in on the Fun at Cherry Blossom Festival in Tokyo

What's All The Hype About?

Well…first of all Cherry Blossom Festival is a spectacular sight, poetic and electrifying at the same time.

And yes, I've seen Cherry Blossom trees bloom in Central park, but there's no comparing.

The cherry blossom trees are illuminated gloriously at night. One of the Best Things To Do in Tokyo is to view Cherry Blossom flowers in the evening - it's called Yozakura.

Picture yourself sitting outside Yasukuni Jinja Shrine, where a thousand Cherry Blossom trees were planted,

or near the Imperial Palace Gardens,

or strolling along Sumida River Park.

The Japanese Cherry Blossom Meaning

First of all – it's the national flower of Japan, and a much loved one.
The Cherry Blossom signifies the arrival of spring.

Sakura (Cherry Blossom in Japan) also marks the beginning of the new academic year (Japanese school year starts in April) and the new financial year for business.

To get to know Japans culture, you must understand the Japanese Cherry Blossom meaning.

Sakura (cherry blossom) and Hanami (cherry blossom viewing) have been a Japanese custom since the 7th century when the Japanese Shoguns enjoyed viewing the magnificent Cherry Blossom Flowers.
Japanese artists wrote poems and painted images of it.

The delicate beauty of the Cherry Blossom Flower stirred their imagination, and symbolized purity and melancholy.

The Cherry Blossom meaning and symbolism is translated into the traditional Japanese Samurai spirit, the belief that life is short and beautiful, like the Cherry Blossom Flower's life span.

To the Samurai warriors in Ancient Japanese Culture, or Japanese soldiers during World WarII, it was considered a big honor to die in the battlefield like scattered Cherry Blossom petals.

So a glorious death is the other side - the darker side, of the festival symbolism.

Not all Cherry Blossom Trees in Tokyo open on the same day. A Cherry Blossom Tree in a shadowy place will bloom several days later than a Cherry Blossom Tree in a sunny place.

For this reason, a set of representative sample trees has been chosen, to identify the date of Kaika - the opening of the Cherry Blossom Festival.

In Tokyo, the sample trees which give the representative cherry blossom branch are located at Yasukuni Shrine. When these Cherry Blossom trees bloom, the starting of the Japanese Cherry Blossom festival can be announced.

By the way, the Japanese Cherry Blossom Tree does not grow fruits like cherry trees in other countries. The Japan Cherry Blossom tree is celebrated and admired for aesthetic reasons only.

Planning to visit Tokyo during Japanese Cherry Blossom Festival?
Check out the links at the bottom of this page for more info.


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