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Back in March the boyfriend and I were jet setting across the ocean again for our third trip (my fourth!) to Tokyo after finding a fortunately cheap airline deal. This trip would be special compared to our previous travels as we would be arriving just as the cherry blossoms were coming into season and would able to witness the beautiful floral display first hand.

While we slowly acclimatized to the much colder weather, we spent the first few days exploring some old haunts from our last trip. The first day we explored Ikebukuro’s many shops, restaurants and manga/anime otaku stores including hitting up Sunshine City to visit the Pokémon Center MEGA TOKYO store. The next morning we bought ourselves bentos from the local train station grocery before heading out to Yoyogi Park to enjoy our breakfast while people watching. This was also where we caught our first glimpses of the cherry blossoms, just beginning to bloom along the walkway.

I was determined to find as many parks with cherry blossoms during our visit as possible, anxious about missing any opportunities to see them in their full glory. With a bit of research, I decided I wanted to visit Sumida Park in Asakusa where there are blossoming trees on both sides of the river. We could also explore the Nakamise markets again and visit the new Skytree to get a aerial view of the city.

As the day drew a close, we impulsively decided to check out Ueno Park, known for being a prime cherry blossom location, on the way home. We weren’t disappointed by any means as we walked down the main pathway completely lined with overhanging and nearly fully bloomed cherry blossoms. While it was quite crowded with so many people trying to take pictures and the sides of the path being cordoned off for hanami parties, it was still quite a spectacular sight and I’m glad we didn’t give in to our tiredness and made the effort to visit that afternoon.