Many thanks for choosing Tokyo Free Walking tour in Asakusa and Yanaka & Nezu among many tours on March 19th. We welcomed 18 people from America, Philippines, Latvia, Great Britain and Germany. The long-awaited cherry blossoms have just started to bloom in Tokyo, as officially announced on March 19th. As promised, the photos we took during the tours have been posted.
ASAKUSA TOUR
These people are holding fortune slips of Sensoji Temple and have a dejected look on their faces. I wonder why? Everyone’s fortune slip was bad. The fortune slips at Senso-ji Temple are popular, and the chances of getting a bad fortune aren’t that high. It is extremely rare that all four people have drawn bad fortunes from their fortune slips.
YANAKA & NEZU TOUR
Although the most representative variety of cherry blossoms, Somei-Yoshino have been officially announced in Tokyo, they are expected to fully bloom in about a week or so toward the end of the month if the warm temperatures continue. The full bloom will remain for a week or so from that time. It’s going to be one of the best times of the year.
Ueno Park is famous as a cherry blossom viewing spot in Tokyo, but the Yanaka Cemetery is one of the best-kept secrets for cherry blossom viewing in the city center. The central road, which stretches for about 300 meters, is called “Sakura Street” and is lined with 170 Somei-Yoshino cherry trees planted at intervals of several meters. At the time of their peak, it looks like a tunnel of cherry blossoms, which is truly spectacular. Not many cars pass by, so it is a perfect cherry blossom viewing spot. As the area is surrounded by graveyards, parties and reserving spots are prohibited, allowing you to enjoy the cherry blossoms in a very quiet atmosphere. If you want to silently enjoy the cherry blossoms, Yanaka Cemetery is highly recommended.
There was Kan’ei-ji Temple, the family temple of the ruling Tokugawa clan during the Edo period which was located at what is now Ueno Park. Amid the storm of the Shinto-Buddhism separation and anti-Buddhist movements in the early Meiji period, most of the grounds of Kan’ei-ji Temple and some adjacent temples in Yanaka were devastated during the military battle between the forces of the Tokugawa shogunate and the new government. Tennoji Temple which was protected by the Tokugawa Shogunate was one of them. After the battle, the most of the grounds of Kan’eiji Temple and Tennoji Temple were confiscated by the new government and converted into a public park and the Yanaka Cemetery respectively. Then, the land in Yanaka was opened as a public cemetery in 1874.
The Yanaka Cemetery is one of Tokyo’s largest cemeteries, covering an area of 100,000 square meters and containing 7,000 graves. It is integrated with the Tennoji Cemetery and Kan’eiji Cemetery.
The cemetery is the resting place of many famous people from various fields, including the last shogun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu, the father of modern Japanese economy, Shibusawa Eiichi, and modern Japanese painting master Yokoyama Taikan.
Yanaka Cemetery’s Sakura Street has been home to historical houses and shops as well. For example, the flower store “Hanaju” since the cemetery was established, and the building is designated as a registered tangible cultural property of Japan. A cozy café is attached to the store. If you become fatigued, you can take a break.
The recommended route to enjoy the cherry blossoms in this neighborhood is to get off at Nippori Station, passing through the quiet Yanaka Cemetery, and continue on to the lively Ueno Park. The distance between Yanaka Cemetery and Ueno Park is less than 1 kilometer.
We, Tokyo Free Walking Tour, also offer tours to Yanaka & Nezu, and Ueno Park, all of which take you to cherry blossom viewing spots.
The cherry blossoms at Yanaka Cemetery have just begun to bloom, but please remember that the cherry blossoms will soon be in full bloom and the peak of the blossoms is short.
Again, thank you for your participation and we look forward to seeing you at many more occasions in the future.
(Yoshi)