Last Updated: Apr 1, 2023

Asukayama Park

One of Tokyo’s Top Cherry Blossom Spots

his story was originally published on donnykimball.com and has been syndicated here on Medium

At least insomuch as my own personal outings have been concerned, the 2023 cherry blossom season has largely been a wet one. I guess that is part and parcel of being what the Japanese call an ame-otoko (lit. “rainy guy”). Not wanting to let the spring downpours cancel my chance to see the cherry blossoms though, I recently decided to make an excursion to Asukayama Park up in Kita-ku on the northern edges of Tokyo. Unlike with the extremely popular Meguro River, I’d be far less likely to lose an eye to a stray umbrella spoke at a hidden gem like this.

If you’ve never heard of Asukayama Park before, know that you’re likely not alone in this regard. While public parks like Yoyogi Park and the aforementioned Meguro River are well known these days (even by foreign tourists), Asukayama Park has largely yet to pop up on the radar. Home to nearly 700 cherry trees, this hilltop space hosts an annual festival when the cherry blossoms bloom in late March. At least when not during a global pandemic, this event also attracts a number of food trucks that sell a succulent variety of grub to savor.

Though its history is certainly not the reason that one ought to visit Asukayama Park, there is a bit of a historical legacy here should that be your…