What time is Hanami?

I had plans to go to Tokyo today, but my friends cancelled last minute so I’d like to go to a local park for Hanami today to meet people but I have no idea what time to go. Is it a lunchtime thing? Dinner? Night? I’ve looked at countless websites and everything lists the dates but not a SINGLE website listed times.

Also I have absolutely no idea which flair to choose so I put FAQ

17 comments
  1. Hanami means getting together to look at cherry blossoms. So anytime before dark probably? You can look up park times before you leave but I think most public is just always open?

  2. Are you looking for an event or a general time when people go to do hanami? I mean, the cherry blossoms don’t exactly have a daily timetable, it’s up to you and your friends when you want to watch them and what their schedules look like.

    People go at all times of the day and night. Some people go during the day to stroll through the park or just hang out and have a picnic. Some do it at night as some parks do lighting up of the trees…and folks can drink as well.

  3. It’s 12pm sharp. Being early is okay, but you can’t be a single second late because the blooms close.

  4. If you go alone, you will be doing hanami alone, which is great! Bring some beverages and some food, along with a beach towel and find a nice tree to take a nap under. Nobody else lies down, but I find that the blossoms are most beautiful from this position, lying under the tree and looking up. Any Sakura tree will do, but the best in Tokyo are in koganei park imo. Only one or two weeks in Japan when the weather is nice like this so do yourself a favor and enjoy it!

  5. There’s no specific time. People go when they have time and feels like it.

    There may be events that are at specific times, but you’d find the time at the even listing, wherever that is.

  6. If you want to join up with some new people, find an event on Meetup.com and go to that. There will probably be a small fee to join.

    If you’re sociable enough you can try and go at anytime to any park, but most groups will be families, friends or colleagues and they won’t be welcoming to random people trying to join them. It’s just not a commonly done thing in most places, especially on a weekday.

    If you really want to join a group of randoms, you should try going to Yoyogi Park at the weekend.

  7. Welcome to your first spring in Japan. 🙂

    As many said, you can do your own hanami at anytime. Bring a picnic mat or an outdoor chair, sit under a blooming tree, and have some snacks with you. Japanese people seem to like to drink alcoholic beverage during hanami.

    I’ve done hanami in the morning, afternoon and even late at night (my host family invited me to a night-viewing picnic). The only time it’s not fun is when it’s raining.

    As for meeting people, not sure if you can just randomly go to a group’s picnic area and chat. But there are events from local government or meetup (app) that you can you join either free or with a small fee.

    It’s a bit rainy spring this year, but the blooms are still beautiful. Hope you enjoy your first hanami.

  8. Hey! I was on Monday in Yoyogi Park. Around 1 till 3 p.m.
    I saw it became more crowded, also when I left! Just look around the famous spots for Hanami ☺️

    Btw Megurokawa in the evening was awesome last Wednesday!

  9. What time is the ocean? I want to see the ocean? What time this week should I go?

  10. Hanami isn’t really a festival. It’s usually a prearranged thing with friends/family and you go on a picnic beneath the sakura. Really weird to just show up at a park and try to meet people who are just trying to enjoy time with family and friends.

    If you’re alone you can just go to a popular spot with sakura and take pictures, see if there’s any other people alone also taking pictures/looking at sakura, and strike up a conversation maybe. Some of the more popular and crowded areas might have stalls and more festive atmosphere, I’m not sure. But any time is ok. People do hanami in the morning, afternoon, or evening.

  11. You can hanami anytime, anywhere. Doesn’t have to be sakura ether. Just go outside and enjoy the blossoms and the end of winter at your local park whenever you like.

  12. Hanami is just a picnic where you normally sit near/with the view of cherry blossoms. You can do it anytime you want. That being said, it’s a private thing, you don’t do it to meet people. It’d be like if someone came up to you and your friends while you were having a picnic.

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