Tokyo Sakura Viewing & Photography: Tips and Etiquette
Cherry blossom season is fast approaching again, which means I’m starting to get enquiries for taking photos during Sakura season. For many people, this will be their first time taking photos during Sakura season... or first time to Japan for that matter. Due to unfamiliarity, many of them relies on the internet to find famous sakura spots, fell in love with one/two particular places and contacted me to take their pictures in their chosen spot. The problem is, not all of the famous spots are suitable for taking sakura photoshoot.
The famous Ueno Park during Cherry Blossom season
Mats everywhere even in the early morning
The biggest problem: Crowd. Tokyo is already one of the most dense cities in the world. But during peak sakura season, not only the locals, but tourists from all over the world come out to enjoy the park. Just to get in to a park during a peak sakura season in the midday will take 20-30 minutes due to the crowd looking to get in (it could take much longer at certain popular parks). In parks where there is no official operating hours and people can come in anytime, the locals start reserving spots by laying mats as early as 3-4 am. That is just how crazy the situation is. Unless done properly, chances are you will end up taking photos of people, not sakura.
So how can you take nice pictures of yourself with clear background of Sakura? The two important considerations are timing and space.
Timing: the earlier OR the later the better. The best sakura pictures I have taken are done in the morning or very late afternoon before the sunset. Even then, in well-known parks opening 24 hours such as Ueno or Yoyogi Park, this is sometimes still not good enough, as even without the crowd you will see blue mats everywhere, ruining the pictures as well as the atmosphere.
the later the better
the best Spot known only to locals
Note: For those hiring photographer for short 1-2 hours session, things like taking photo of boat rowing on the lake during sakura season like in Chidorigafuchi is not suitable. This is due to the queue sometimes stretching 2-3 hours making it impossible to predict the timing of when you can get on the boat. Vacation photographers like me will have multiple sessions in a day during Sakura season and it is hard for us to adjust our schedule depending on your queue.
Another consideration: Space. Some places like Nakameguro are great for seeing Sakura, but not the best place for taking pictures as they are located along two narrow roads. Everyone has to walk through the same routes. Same with a few other parks where you have to follow certain prescribed routes. You can never avoid the crowd there and stop to take photo as long as you wish. The best place is large parks with lots of space which allow people to move freely. The larger the groups are, the more important the consideration that needs to be paid here.
My recommendation is for you to be flexible, talk to your photographer and trust their expertise. As a local, they will know the trick or even secret place like local parks not frequented by tourists. Those smaller local places are sometimes better than the popular but crowded places for photo taking purpose. This is especially more important if your/their schedule only allows for shoots later in the morning/ afternoon.
In my case, most of the time I will aim to reserve a nice spot under the Sakura tree in a park like Shinjuku Gyoen first thing in the morning, and take 2-3 sessions at the same spot with different clients there. That way, even with later clients I can still get some nice pictures on that spot. But this does require cooperation/ flexibility from clients’ part too. Hence, while I will try my utmost to fulfill clients’ request, in case they insist to choose a spot which I think is unsuitable and I do not have confidence in being able to take decent photos on their chosen time/ place, I may have to refuse the session to keep a certain standard.
Cherry Blossom Viewing Etiquette
Please do not touch, pluck, pull or make any physical contacts with the flowers. Cherry blossoms are meant for everyone to enjoy with eyes, not hands.
Watch over your children and pets, to ensure that they do not get lost in the crowd, disturb others or destroy the flowers.
Do not climb on any trees (regardless of cherry blossom season or not).
Do not occupy a spot for a long time when taking photo. Once you finish taking your photo, move away from the scene so that others can enjoy/ take their photos.
Minimize loud voice in any public area.
Here are some of my favorite places for sakura photoshoot:
Shinjuku Gyoen
My all time favorite. Lots of spaces, free to move around, 9 am opening hour allowing for us to come relatively late and get good spot, and various other non-Sakura spots to take photos on! And central location in the middle of Tokyo!
shinjuku gyoen national park
Shiba Park
Another favorite, big park lawn combining sakura and Tokyo Tower in the background, and also a nearby temple allowing you to get all the essence of Tokyo in 1 spot!
shiba park & Tokyo Tower
Yoyogi Park
Still a relatively good choice for a shoot in early weekday morning, with relatively large lawn allowing you to combine sakura with a glimpse of traditional Japan at nearby Meiji Shrine or hip scenes at Harajuku. However midday onwards this location is impossible.
Yoyogi Park
Tokyo MidTown/ Roppongi
Beautiful cherry blossoms in the heart of Tokyo surrounded by modern buildings. Those wonderful trees astonish viewers not only during the daytime, but also at night with the light-up.
tokyo midtown roppongi