Tokyo Travel Guide: Cherry Blossoms at the Meguro River
We just came back from our 3 week trip to Japan and I’m so excited to be sharing everything we did along with introducing more topics on culture and the importance of instilling that into our homes. I’m sharing everything we did in Tokyo (see below)! This itinerary is great for kids too, as we took our 18 month old everywhere and I can assure you, she had a fun time!
I’m so excited to be sharing my favorite country, my motherland more on this blog.
Since we explored so many spots, I’ll break this into a series and write about each location so it’s not information overload haha! Here are 8 things we did in Tokyo below, and today we’re talking about Cherry Blossoms!
Cherry blossoms at the Meguro River
Ghibli Museum
teamLab Planets
teamLab Borderless
Tsukiji Fish Market
Tokyo Disney Sea
Tokyo Disneyland
Asobono Playground at the Tokyo Dome City
CHERRY BLOSSOMS
MEGURO RIVER
Every year, they forecast when the cherry blossoms will bloom but as you plan your travels to Japan during this season, a lot is left to fate when it comes to actually being able to see it because it really depends on temperature and location. So we were very lucky to have been there when it was in full bloom.
We decided to check out the Meguro River, which is one of the top viewing spots for the Cherry Blossoms. And there’s a reason for that. It really is soooo beautiful! There’s one con though. And I’m sure you can guess what it is, and that’s the crowd. Cherry blossoms in Japan attract so many tourists along with locals.
I only have one tip for this. Go early! But it doesn’t need to be at the butt crack of dawn. If you can go around 9am or 10am, you can avoid the crowd significantly. I’m speaking from experience. We went twice, once at 10am and once at 1pm. Let’s just say at 10am, I felt like a local just walking around vs. feeling like a tourist at 1pm.
You can check the cherry blossom predictor here: https://sakura.weathermap.jp/en.php
Suggested train station: Get off at the Naka-Meguro station. That’s the closest station to the river. Google Maps will tell you to to get off at the Meguro station and to take a bus. While that will get you there, the easiest and closest is Naka-Meguro station. Meguro station and Naka-Meguro station are not the same station. So I suggest to input Naka-Meguro station into google maps and then once you get off at Naka-Meguro, input Meguro river. Should be a 5 minute walk.
FOOD AND DRINKS BY THE RIVER
There’s restaurants and cafes by the river. I think this attracts even more people because it offers places where you can eat while you watch the cherry blossoms. But if you go right at lunch time (12pm-1:30pm), it will be so. crowded. So I would suggest eating early or later at 2pm or 3pm to avoid the crowd. During cherry blossom season, the cafes and street vendors have special food and drink items dedicated to this season.
We didn’t eat at any restaurants but did drink this strawberry beer courtesy of a small street vendor. I honestly got it for the photo opp but was surprised how good it was, haha.
WORLD’S LARGEST STARBUCKS ROASTERY
It’s worth nothing that the world’s biggest Starbucks Roastery is now at the Meguro river. It’s known to be the perfect spot for cherry blossom viewing because of it’s outdoor terrace where you can sit and relax. It opened back in February of this year so when we went in April it was still attracting a lot of customers. This massive Starbucks Roastery is 4 stories! Each floor has something unique to offer.
Find more info about this Starbucks here.
4 tips to enjoy the Cherry Blossom viewing at the Meguro River:
Go early! 9am or 10am is good.
Get off at the Naka-Meguro station for the closest walk (3-5 minutes from the station!)
There are plenty of restaurants by the river. It’s a nice way to sit and relax while looking at the cherry blossoms! But avoid lunchtime (12-1pm). Japanese people are really big about having lunch at 12pm. So almost any restaurants are packed at that time.
Cherry blossom viewing at night! We didn’t get to check it out, but I know this is a different experience than seeing it during the day. From all the pictures I’ve seen, it’s so pretty and I think it’s worth checking out!
You can check the cherry blossom predictor here: https://sakura.weathermap.jp/en.php
I hope this helps you during your Japan travel plans especially if you plan to visit Japan during cherry blossom season. I think everyone needs to visit Japan at least once and if you can go during cherry blossom season, well, that’s a cherry on top ;)