A Guide to Cherry Blossoms (Sakura) in Osaka

For many travelers to Japan, seeing the sakura (cherry blossoms) in full bloom is a memorable experience — no matter if it's your first or 10th time seeing them. Even with this season being one of the busiest times to travel around Japan, local residents will still brave the crowds to glimpse these beautiful, ephemeral flowers.

You can see cherry blossoms in any prefecture you decide to visit, including Tokyo and Kyoto. The bloom forecast typically follows the temperature, with warmer areas getting an earlier bloom compared to colder areas. After flowering, cherry blossoms will typically bloom a week later and stay on the trees for about a week. Weather conditions such as rain and wind can affect how long the flowers stay on the trees.

Irregular temperatures over the past few years have made it a bit harder to predict when full blooms will happen in different regions, so it’s good to be flexible about where you might want to catch sight of the cherry blossoms.

Don’t fret, though, if you don’t arrive on the “exact date” that the cherry blossoms bloom, as there are varieties that bloom earlier or later than the light pink somei-yoshino cherries that are commonly seen throughout Japan.

If you’re traveling to Japan in late March or early April in hopes of catching the full bloom, you can always go to Kyoto to see the blossoms, but we recommend taking a trip to Osaka. Osaka has been nicknamed the food capital of Japan, making it an already desirable destination to travel to, so why not enjoy some good eats while admiring the magnificent pink flowers that take over the city’s streets and parks?

In this guide, we’ll talk about getting to Osaka, how and where to enjoy the cherry blossoms, and some places to stay during the sakura season.

In order to get to Osaka, there are several recommended options that include planes, buses, or trains. For the cheapest option, you can take an eight to 10-hour overnight bus from Tokyo which can cost you around 5,000–8,000 JPY.

If you’re planning to travel by plane, the trip will take around one and a half hours from Tokyo and will cost you roughly 20,000 JPY. You can also opt for the shinkansen (bullet train) which will take around two and a half to three hours for roughly 15,120 JPY or a bit less if you select non-reserved seating.

As the sakura season is famously known to be a high-travel season for both domestic and international travelers, we recommend booking your transportation in advance for cheaper rates and securing yourself a seat.

So, you’ve booked your transportation to Osaka and are going during the peak of the cherry blossom bloom. In Japan, many people will host a hanami (flower viewing) party with friends and family.

Cherry blossoms often bloom in parks, and people will bring tarps to sit on the park grounds. It is recommended that you cook and pack some food to enjoy, but if you don’t have a kitchen readily available, you can go to a convenience store to purchase some snacks or get a takeaway bento (boxed lunch). You can enjoy the dreamy atmosphere created by the abundant pink flowers while you tuck into a meal.

There will be plenty of people besides yourself who are in town to see the cherry blossoms, so it can be helpful to try visiting the cherries either earlier in the morning or later at night. It is also best to avoid more popular viewing spots during the weekends and go on the weekdays instead.

Kema Sakuranomiya Park

Located in the heart of Osaka is Kema Sakuranomiya Park, a local favorite cherry blossom viewing spot. Okawa River is right next to the park and stretches for several miles. Along the river and in the park, there are nearly 5,000 cherry trees of several varieties, including the usual somei-yoshino variety as well as yama-zakura and sato-zakura.

If you decide to stroll along the river, there are grassy spots in the park where you can have a picnic. You can easily spend three or four hours in the park looking at the towering skyscrapers in the distance and the passing boats. During the cherry blossom season, you’ll also find food stalls that sell typical festival foods.

If you’ve opted for the river cruise, you’ll be able to take a seated boat ride and soak in the beautiful scenery with the Osaka skyline in the background. Taking the boat allows you to avoid the crowds in the park and to have views of cherry blossoms on both sides of the river.

Osaka Mint Bureau

You wouldn’t typically associate a government agency that focuses on the supply of coins and medals with a place to see sakura, but for one week when the yae-zakura (double or multi-layered cherry) is blooming, the Osaka Mint Bureau opens its garden doors for the general public. The event is called the “Cherry Blossom Passage”. With over 100 varieties of cherry blossoms growing on site, you won’t want to miss this rare opportunity to enter this normally inaccessible garden.

There are some points to note before visiting the bureau. Firstly, there is one-way traffic to observe the trees meaning that the path can only be accessed through limited entrances. The promenade is also lit up at night, making nighttime a popular time to visit, and the weekends are expected to be busy as well. Secondly, yae-zakura are known to bloom slightly later than the typical somei-yoshino variety; rather than late March, the peak bloom for the Osaka Mint Bureau is typically later. Finally, in 2023, reservations were needed to enter and were available on a first-come, first-served basis.

While you aren’t able to picnic in the area, you should take a quick look at the Osaka Mint Museum, and you can casually make your way to Kema Sakuranomiya Park for your meal. 

Osaka Castle Park

Osaka Castle Park, one of Osaka’s most popular attractions, is a well-known cherry blossom viewing spot in Japan. The park has over 3,000 cherry trees scattered about a plot of nearly 250 acres, making it possible to find a spot to sit and picnic despite the high volume of people that pass through every day. The combination of cherry blossoms alongside Osaka Castle is surely a picture you’ll want to capture during your visit.

If this isn’t enough sakura for you, you can also check out Nishinomaru Garden where over 300 blossoming trees will be on view. Do note that to enter the garden, you’ll need to pay a small fee (somewhere around 350 JPY but dependent upon the season). No payment is necessary for just the castle park itself.

At night, Osaka Castle is also lit up, creating a dazzling contrast with the cherry blossoms. While it can be great to stay until evening to catch the lights, coming early would allow you to avoid the crowding.

Expo ‘70 Commemorative Park

Located about a 30-minute train ride from the center of Osaka City is Expo ‘70 Commemorative Park, the former site of the 1970 World Exhibition. After the exhibition, the space was turned into a large public area with a Japanese landscape garden, artwork from the exhibition, and two cultural museums. With plenty to do at the park, it’s worthwhile to note that around 5,500 cherry trees are planted throughout the grounds.

Spacious in its own right, the Commemorative Park is a popular place for visitors to hold their hanami party as they are able to enjoy viewing the plentiful cherry trees with the famous “Tower of the Sun” looming in the back. During cherry blossom season, the park is open until 9:00 p.m., so travelers can see the beautifully lit cherry blossoms at night.

Satsukiyama Park

Traveling a bit north from central Osaka City to Ikeda City, you’ll find Satsukiyama Park, a popular nature excursion for families and couples and a well-known cherry blossom viewing spot during the season.

There are two main attractions at the park, including the Satsukiyama playground and a 32,000 square-foot zoo with free admission. At the Satsukiyama Zoo, visitors can see rare Australian wombats and wallabies, and there are plenty of other uncommon animals there as well. To get to the top of the mountain, there are several hiking trails available.

Moving on to the cherry blossoms, 35,000 somei-yoshino and yama-zakura cherries are planted at the park, which means that your vision will be swimming with pink flowers. At night, lanterns are lit up around the cherry blossoms, creating a magical atmosphere. It is important to note that the weekends can get quite crowded, so it’s best to visit on a weekday.

Yamanakadani

Yamanakadani is located in the southern part of Osaka near its border with Wakayama. It’s about a 25-minute drive from Kansai International Airport.

Roughly 1,000 cherry trees bloom in the spring here, including somei-yoshino and yama-zakura. For a limited time, you can enjoy the beautifully lit cherry blossoms at night, and the Yamanakadani Cherry Blossom Festival is also held each year.