The Best Places To See Late-Blooming Cherry Trees In Tokyo
Many a cherry blossom party has been thwarted by wacky weather or unavoidable business trips, but even if the gods throw a wrench into your best-laid plans, don’t despair! Late-blooming yaezakura come into their full glory after the regular sakura fade to black. The late-bloomers don’t deliver the big pink cloud thing in quite the same way, but I secretly think they’re much more beautiful than the early kind.
This is the order they bloom in: little frilly weeping kind first, then the pom-pom varieties explode from light to dark.
And just so you won’t waste time looking for yaezakura in less-than-amazing parks, here are my favorite places to see them in Tokyo…
SHINJUKU GYOU-EN GARDEN
The really choice ones start blooming near the bridge over the big pond.
Yaezakura bloom in lots and lots of little pink clouds.
As you walk around the big pond, you come to a whole grove of late-blooming trees.
I think that yaezakura are more beautiful up close than the more famous kind.
Every year I’m amazed at how HUGE the cherry trees in Japan are, compared to San Francisco!
Worth the wait, right?
Even if it rains, pull on yer boots & get thee to the yaezakura grove!
•
IMPERIAL PALACE EAST GARDEN
Double yaezakura start blooming just as the regular sakura start to fade.
The flowers on this rare kind start out white , then turn green!
•
IMPERIAL PALACE MOAT
At the end of the cherry blossom walk closest to Hanzomon Station, there is a row of lovely late-blooming trees.
Sorry, I checked this morning (4/11), and these aren’t quite blooming yet, because it’s been so cold! (>
•
KYU-SHIBA-RIKYU GARDEN
This small garden has the latest-blooming yaezakura I’ve found – they’re still gorgeous well into the third week of April!
You can stand under the trees at Kyu-Shiba-Rikyu and feel like you are in a pink and white room.
•
ASUKAYAMA PARK
You seldom see tourists at this wonderful northwest Tokyo park.
And they have an amazing variety of late-blooming trees.
•
Jonelle Patrick is the author of the Only In Tokyo mystery series, published by Penguin/Intermix.
