Plum Blossoms in Japan: When and where to see Japanese plum festivals in Tokyo

In Tokyo, the plum blossoms gradually come into blossoms from late January. Here are some spots where you can enjoy a unique plum blossom viewing experience in Tokyo, including spots that light up at night and are easily accessible from the city centre.

Plum Blossoms in Tokyo

1. Yushima Tenmangu Shrine 湯島天満宮

This year, the Yushima Tenmangu Shrine Plum Festival is scheduled to be held from 8th Feb to 8th March. Admission is free and there will be dedicated performances and product exhibitions on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. You will be able to enjoy a lively time while admiring the plum blossoms.

During the same period as the Yushima Tenmangu Shrine Ume Festival, the Yakanbai Ume Festival is also held, when the ume trees are lit up. It can be viewed from the evening until the gates close at 20:00, so drop by on your way home from work.

Yushima Tenmangu Shrine Plum Festival

Date and time: 8th Feb (Wed) – 8th Mar (Wed), 2023

3-30-1 Yushima, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo

2. Koishikawa Korakuen Garden 小石川後楽園

Koishikawa Korakuen Garden is where you can enjoy beautiful plum blossoms from late January to late February, as there are early, mid and late-blooming varieties. It is also a unique place to see the white plum tree called Mitsukuni, named after Mitsukuni Tokugawa, the second lord of the Mito Tokugawa family, who completed this garden.

In addition, 144 plum trees of 40 varieties are in bloom, including Fuyusi, Kankombai and Bungo. You can view the plum blossoms for a long period of time, but the best time to see them is when they are in the early stages of flowering rather than when they are in full bloom.

This year, ‘Events to Commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Designation as a Cultural Property’ are scheduled to be held from Saturday 4 February to Friday 10 March. Traditional Japanese performing arts will be presented in the park, including ‘Noh performances’ and ‘sato kagura performances’.

Some performances require advance reservations and others require a fee, so check the ‘Events to Commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Designation as a Cultural Property’ special website for details.

Date and time: 4th (Sat) Feb – 10th (Fri) Mar 2023

1-6-6 Koraku, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo

3. [Komagome] Rikugien 六義園

Rikugien is a famous garden with a circular garden with a mountain and fountain garden, created by Yoshiyasu Yanagisawa, who was a personal servant of the fifth shogun, Tsunayoshi Tokugawa, during the Edo period (1603-1868). From late January to late February, around 20 plum trees are at their best here.

White plum trees bloom at the foot of the Fujishiro Pass and red plum trees near the Fukiage Tea House, creating a colourful and festive atmosphere in the garden. The sweet fragrance of plum blossoms can be smelled in the area.

It is recommended to stop by the Fukiage Tea House on your way to the park and enjoy seasonal sweets and green powdered tea (850 yen). Camellias are also at their best at the same time of year, so why not enjoy viewing them along with the ume while having a smoke at this teahouse?

Rikugien

6-16-3, Honkomagome, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo

4. Kameido Tenjinja Shrine 亀戸天神社

Kameido Tenjinja Shrine is dedicated to Sugawara Michizane, who loved plum blossoms. More than 300 red and white plum trees are planted on the shrine grounds, and a monument to a poem he is said to have composed when he was five years old is also placed here.

The plums come in many varieties, including Shirokaga, Tsukikage and Kohanjima, and are at their best from mid-February, when they can be seen alongside the Tokyo Sky Tree (R), which rises up in the background.

This year’s Ume Festival is scheduled to be held from Saturday 4 February to Sunday 5 March. Although there are no events or stalls planned, visitors can take their time and enjoy the plum blossoms in full bloom.

Plum blossom festival

Date and time: Saturday 4th February – Sunday 5th March 2023

Kameido Tenjinja Shrine

Kameido, Koto-ku, Tokyo

5. Hanegi 羽根木公園

Hanegi Park, with 60 varieties of plum trees, offers a long period of plum blossom viewing from mid-December to early March. There are a total of 650 plum trees, including about 380 white plum trees and about 270 red plum trees, and many of them are in full bloom from mid-February when they are particularly handsome.

If you visit, you should definitely stop by a place called ‘Fujimi Point’. Fuji can be seen from within the plum grove when the weather is fine and the air is clear.

The annual Setagaya Plum Festival is also scheduled to be held this year for the first time in three years. Various events will be held, including a booth and a planting and gardening market.

Setagaya Plum Festival

Date and time: 11th Feb (Sat) – 5th Mar (Sun), 2023

Hanegi Park

4-38-52, Daida, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo

6. Mukojima Hyakkaen Garden 向島百花園

At Mukojima Hyakkaen, a garden built between 1804 and 1830, the plum blossoms are at their best from early February to early March. The garden was once known as Shin Umeyashiki (New Ume House), and today the garden is decorated with around 70 plum trees of about 20 varieties, including Tsukikage, Shirokaga and Kagoshima-beni.

The Onarizashiki and the area around the Hagi Tunnel are the points in the park where most of the plum trees are in bloom. It is recommended to check the blooming status via the official Twitter feed.

A ‘Plum Blossom Festival’ is scheduled to be held from 11 Feb (Sat/Holiday) to 5 March (Sun), when the best time to view the blossoms is at its peak. You can see an exhibition of haiku associated with plum blossoms and traditional performing arts such as the Suzume Dance.

Plum blossom festival

Date and time: 11th Feb (Sat) – 5th Mar (Sun), 2023.

Mukojima Hyakkaen

3 Higashimukojima, Sumida-ku, Tokyo

7. Ikegami Plum Orchard 池上梅園

The Ikegami Plum Garden offers a variety of seasonal expressions and atmospheres. Many plum trees, which are also the flower of Ota Ward, are planted on the slopes of the park’s hills and ridges.

The best time to see them is from early February to early March, when you can enjoy about 30 varieties of plum trees, including the green calyx weeping plum, the as you wish, the wisteria peony weeping plum and the zarun (red) plum.

The beauty of the hill ridge slopes filled with a rich variety of plum blossoms, including dark pink, light pink and white, is a sight to be seen at least once. It is also easily accessible, just a 10-minute walk from Nishimagome Station. The Ikegami Plum Garden page on the Ota Ward official website is updated with the blooming status during the plum blossom viewing season, so it is a good idea to check in advance.

Ikegami Plum Garden

2-2-13 Ikegami, Ota-ku, Tokyo

8. Takao Plum Grove 高尾梅郷

Takao Plum Grove is a 4.5-km-long plum grove that stretches from the promenade plum grove, which is a 15-minute walk from Takao Station and Takaoyamaguchi Station.

From mid-February to mid-March, a total of approximately 10,000 red and white plum trees bloom in the Sekisho Plum Grove, Tenjin Plum Grove, Arai Plum Grove, Yunohana Plum Grove and Narusashi Plum Grove, which are scattered along the old Koshu Highway and the Shobutsu River, in the gardens of private houses, mountain slopes and fields around each plum grove.

The most spectacular of all is the Kinoshitazawa Plum Grove, where some 1,400 plum trees spread across the mountainside. Plum trees stretch as far as the eye can see and you can enjoy viewing the plum blossoms while trekking among them.

This year, it will be open from March 4th (Sat) to 19th (Sun). Many people visit the area to climb Mt Kobutsujo and Mt Keishin in the vicinity.

This year’s Plum Blossom Festival will be held on March 11th (Sat) and 12th (Sun). You can take a bus or walk around. You can spend a wonderful time while feeling the arrival of spring.

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What do you think about Plum Blossoms? Are you excited to see these beautiful flowers? Even when it is still cold in mid-winter, these flowers bloom against the winds and you can enjoy them throughout Japan. Check out these places in Tokyo and hope these plum blossoms can bring some warmth to you!