Tokyo's best sakura spots: 11-15

From a train…

Board the Toden Arakawa Line at Waseda Station (Shinjuku-ku) and keep your eyes peeled all the way to Minowabashi Station in Arakawa. The route it takes is well known for being dotted with rows of cherry blossoms and famous sakura spots. Look out for the trees lining the Kanda River (around Omokage-Bashi Station), and those along Meiji Dori (keep your eyes peeled near Gakushuin-shita Station). Elsewhere, you can spot an abundance of pink around Asukayama Park (Asukayama Station), a top hanami spot since the Edo period, and in the locale of Arakawa Shizen Koen Station (especially beautiful). The whole journey takes about 50 minutes and costs 160 yen.

From a roller coaster…

Yomiuri Land amusement park is home to no less than 1,000 cherry blossom trees of around 10 varieties – including somei-yoshino, yama-zakura, shidare-zakura and shiba-zakura – making it a fondly regarded hanami spot. Inevitably, the world of the strange has to make an appearance: Yomiuri Land holds a record for having the fastest hanami experience, with the view from the thrilling Bandit roller coaster flitting past at approximately 110 kilometres per hour (note: flowers viewed at this speed tend not to look like flowers at all).

Yomiuri Land; daily, 9am-4pm. 4015-1 Yanokuchi, Inagi, Tokyo (044 966 1111)

From the hustle and bustle of a street festival…

The season’s inaugural sakura festival is invariably held in Ueno Park. Aside from the obligatory flower viewing and over indulgence, there are a few quality antiques and pottery stalls on offer, affording a partial way to avoid the crowds.

Ueno Sakura Festival map and opening hours

From the peace and quiet of central Shinjuku…

Yup, we’re aware of how uncomfortable with itself the above sentence is, but stump up the meager 200 yen admission fee and enter the entirely different world of Shinjuku Gyoen, arguably Tokyo’s most beautiful green space. Come sakura season, the whole place erupts into so much riotous pink, you’d be forgiven for thinking a Pride march had rolled through town.

Shinjuku Gyoen map and opening hours

From the centre of the party…

Yoyogi Park may not have the most trees in the city, but it certainly attracts a huge party crowd, drawn in part by its size (‘surely there must be space there for me, my boss and the rest of my office’) and its central location. Expect street performers, sake, and more embarrassingly drunk company chairmen than the police could possibly hope to deal with.

Yoyogi Park map and opening hours