One of the most important reasons to visit Japan during spring season is SAKURA or Cherry Blossom. The link between sakura and japan is deeply rooted and it seems like it's not complete to visit Japan without seeing sakura at least once in your life. First time I saw sakura, I was blown away by the beauty, and to my surprise, it's white pinkish instead of pink like I used to imagine before
Since I am living in Tokyo, I have explored so many places in town to find the best Sakura Spot and without further ado, let's share my recommendations of Instagrammable Sakura Spots in Tokyo
NAPULE RESTAURANT - ROPPONGI
The prettiest restaurant in town for me is NAPULE Restaurant located at Tokyo Midtown Roppongi. There are a few restaurants at this shopping mall that also offers the same view and I do believe all of them are instagenic BUT Napule is one level ahead because they also decorate the outdoor seating area with other flowers as well. The round table also helps giving it a feminine feeling. Come to this restaurant as early as possible because usually it has a long reservation list! I also had to make sure that I got the outdoor seating next to the glass window for the best view
Order the pizza for sure because it's famous for the pizza, and besides it tastes good, it also looks amazing on picture. It will take your time but believe me, it will be the prettiest sakura picture you'll have!
TOKYO MIDTOWN BRIDGE - ROPPONGI
Walk to the bridge side outside the Tokyo Midtown, and you'll be able to see Roppongi's road full of sakura trees blooming on both sides. The best picture is of course the landscape of the road, but a portrait picture wont hurt either! However I do recommend a wide angle lens to shoot portrait to make it easier since the bridge area will be very crowded along with other tourists
ROPPONGI ARK HILS
By this time you must have noticed that I love Roppongi area for the Insta spot and yes, I spend a lot of time in Roppongi both in sakura season or other seasons, so maybe I am a bit biased. BUT, these are hidden gems in Tokyo that not many foreign tourists know yet, hence less people taking pictures, less crowd, less people sitting around for hanami, so making the photoshoot easier!
You can take pictures from Ark Hills bridge to get the bird eye view shot, or just stroll around the street to enjoy sakura along and take pictures. The sakura trees at its peak is really beautiful in here, even during the night!
AOYAMA CEMETERY
Hidden between Shibuya and Roppongi, it's the Aoyama Cemetery. This place is amazingly beautiful with a few tourists! The road is practically almost empty when I was there, making it easy to get a shot of you walking or running on the street that's surrounded by sakura trees all lover
Just make sure to stay polite and not loud as it's a real cemetery. Taking pictures is allowed in here, but please respect other people as well!
CHIDORIGAFUCHI - IMPERIAL PALACE
Though this is one of the most popular spots for sakura and experience, I do not really recommend you to take pictures here because the difficulty is pretty high. The lake is really big, the tourists boat is so crowded, and people fight for the insta spot from the water. It took me 2 hours to take picture of me on the boat enjoying the ride, but I couldn't even master it. I think the best way is to have 2 boats, one is your boat and another is your friend, and take pictures of each other from the other boat. Also, come early in the morning to make sure that there are less customers! The queue is really crazy every year, usually 2 hours on weekday and 3-5 hours on weekend
UENO PARK
Ueno Park is famous for its amazing park and hanami spots BUT what I want you to do is to rent a boat and get the shot of boat lake there. You read that right, we can get the shot of boat riding with sakura background! It's less crowded than Chidorigafuchi, and the sakura trees are lower as well, making it easier to get a shot of it. I LOVE this place more than Chidorigafuchi because it's less crowded, and the difficulty level is not too high, and the lake is also not too big!
They also have food festivals around the park, so make sure to take a shot of it with sakura trees background!
CANAL CAFE - IIDABASHI
Not many tourists seem to know about this cafe, BUT it's one of the most popular cafes in Tokyo to see Sakura among locals. The canal inside is beautiful BUT my favorite is the entrance area. The entrance has a beautiful gate with sakura trees on top of it. I came before the restaurant is opened otherwise there would be a lot of people queuing in front of the restaurant already and it's impossible to have a proper picture otherwise!
YAESU SAKURA STREET
This Yaesu Sakura Street is located within a few minutes walking distance from Tokyo Station, and it totally owns up to its name. The whole street is decorated with sakura trees, and it also has restaurants and shops that's open since morning. If you want to take picture of a city's street with sakura trees, I suggest you to visit this street!
When you're walking around Yaesu street, you'll also find Yaesu Underground that's decorated with Sakura trees! It's located on the main street across Tokyo Station. I think it makes such a great picture combination!
TOKYO TOWER - SHIBA PARK
Come to Shiba Park during the peak of spring, and you'll find the prettiest frame of Tokyo Tower along with sakura trees! I love how I can capture Tokyo Tower and sakura trees together in one frame, and there's no other place to take a picture like this besides in Tokyo!
There are a few spots around the Shiba Park, so just explore and enjoy it! You can also do hanami here or sit on the bench to enjoy the weather
TOKYO SKY TREE - SOLAMACHI
After Tokyo Tower, of course we shall not forget about the other tower which is Tokyo Sky Tree! Just visit the Sky Tree from below, and they have a few sakura trees (and usually, they bloom earlier than other sakuras!) near the river area. Take pictures of Sky Tree along with with sakuras from below and you'll get this kind of picture! You can take the pictures both day and night as it has different feeling since at night the Sky Tree Tower is lit up showing its beauty even more!
MEGURO RIVER - NAKAMEGURO
Nothing beats Nakameguro in my heart during sakura season. It has been one of my top three favorite sakura spots for the last 7 years, even before Instagram made it famous. My best tip is to not settle for the closest river area near the station. Instead, walk further away, maybe 10-15 minutes from the crowd, and you'll have the whole area for yourself. Or even better, come early in the morning!
Not only there are hundreds or thousands of sakura trees along the river, they also have a lot of restaurants and cafes and food stalls on the street. The most popular is probably this Strawberry Champagne! Although the sakura during its peak at Meguro River is pretty, you can also visit when it's fallen down as it made the whole river into pinkish white carpet, covered with sakura fallen petals
ONIBUS COFFEE - NAKAMEGURO
Come to ONIBUS for a good coffee, but also for its beautiful sakura trees. Onibus has a big sakura trees located next to its cafe, and if you go to the second floor, you can get a view of it even closer! Just bring your ordered coffee upstair and sit next to the window and enjoy the sakura from up close. Onibus is only a few minutes walking distance from Nakameguro so it should be pretty easy to access!
The coffee shop itself is pretty small and there are many people coming there just to take picture at that one spot when it's full bloomed. Get a shot of yourself enjoying the coffee, or just a quick close up shot of the coffee, Onibus Logo, and sakura!
STARBUCKS RESERVE ROASTERY - DAIKANYAMA
Starbucks Reserve Roastery in Daikanyama was opened in Tokyo Spring 2019, and it was also the peak of sakura seasons in Tokyo hence you could imagine how crowded it was. I am not sure about this year or next year, but I do suggest to come early in the morning an hour before it's opened so you can secure the seat that you want. Don't forget to get the number ticket to queue!
The prettiest spot so far according to my experience is the window from the stairs and also the rooftop area. The coffee and meals provided in this Starbucks is definitely on the pricier side of Starbucks, but the quality is also really different
And so that's all for my Recommended Instagram Sakura Spots in Tokyo
The list is definitely going to be updated every time I have a new recommendations
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Enjoy Sakura in Tokyo and have fun!