In Shinjuku, Tokyo
Shinjuku Gyoen is an expansive park located in Shinjuku. Visitors can explore a variety of landscapes within the park, from traditional Japanese gardens to English-style lawns. It's a popular spot for both locals and tourists to relax, have picnics, or simply take a leisurely stroll in. The park is home to over 1,000 cherry trees with over 70 varieties. During peak cherry blossom season (mid-March to mid-April), advanced booking in required to enter the park. This year the park collaborated with Naked, a creative company known for their digital art exhibitions, hosting a Shinjuku Gyoen Sakura Night Garden event to showcase the park's cherry blossoms by adding illuminations and by using projection mapping to display digital cherry blossoms over real ones.
My experience
We booked tickets for a Friday night during March as advanced ticket booking online was required to enter the park for the Sakura Night Garden event. It was incredibly crowded! The line was so long it complete stretched over one side on the outside of the entire park. We arrived just before 8:00 PM and had to wait over an hour to enter. For reference, there's usually like a less than 5 minute waiting time on off seasons. The last entry for the event was originally 9:00 PM, but because there were so many people still lined up, they extended the last entry and closing time by an hour. Thankfully we able to enter the park a little past 9:00 PM! We ended up walking around the park for about an hour before heading home! The park itself is huge, but the area that was lit up for the event was limited to the sections with cherry blossom trees. It still took us a good 30 minutes to walk through and see everything.
Upon entering the park, there were colorful lanterns available that you could carry with you during your walk. The lanterns created traditional flower patterns on the ground! The illuminations were a mix of regularly lit trees as well as special trees with moving images displayed on them. There were also a couple food and drink trucks in the park, so you could sit down and picnic on the lawn and enjoy the illuminations. Although I will say it was very dark, so there weren't many people sitting on the lawn. They also sold mats though! You could bring in your own food too, but no alcohol is allowed in Shinjuku Gyoen.
There were interactive stations featuring Ryotaro Muramatsu's Dandelion Project scattered in one area in the park, which you could interact with by scanning a special QR code. Overall it was quite a unique experience and I wonder if they'll collaborate again next year!
Address
11 Naitomachi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-0014
Access
Shinjuku-gyoenmae Station (Marunouchi Line) - 5 minute walk
Sendagaya Station (JR Sobu Line) - 5 minute walk
Kokuritsu-kyogijo Station (Toei Oedo Line) - 5 minute walk
Shinjuku-sanchome Station (Fukutoshin Line / Toei Shinjuku Line) - 5 minute walk
Shinjuku Station (JR, Keio, and Odakyu Lines) - 10 minute walk
Shinjuku Gyoen Regular Admission
Dates
Closed on Mondays (closed the next weekday if Monday is a national holiday)
Open 7 days a week during spring and fall
Times
9:00 - 17:30 during spring
9:00 - 18:30 during summer - fall
9:00 - 16:00 during late fall - early spring
Admission Fee
500 JPY
Official Site
Sakura Night Garden
Dates
March 16 - April 16 in 2023
Times
19:00 - 22:00 for the Sakura Night Garden (last entry was at 21:00)
Admission Fee
1,600 JPY - 1,800 JPY on Mondays - Thursdays, 1,800 JPY - 2,200 JPY on Fridays - Sundays and national holidays for the Sakura Night Garden
Official Site
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