Osaka Photo Gallery - Cherry Blossoms

Cherry blossoms typically bloom around early April, or the Easter long weekend. I came hunting in early April 2024 during the city's peak bloom.

Osaka Castle is one of many hotspots to view these beautiful trees with plenty of space for picnics and for crowds to spread out. In fact, a tree here is the standard gauge for the city's official blooming date.

I started my day at Morinomiya metro station and headed west into the castle park.

Across the river a short walk away is the Mint, which is not typically open to the public. During the sakura season, you need to pre-book a free ticket online and walk a one-way route from south to north along its stretch of riverfront. Over 300 cherry trees are on offer here with a larger variety of species and colours. Despite the language barrier of trying to book on a Japanese website, it was worth the effort and the crowds were very well-behaved. In 2024, they only opened for a week to the public.

Thanks to a cheap yen, foreign tourist arrivals have soared so far in 2024. In April, just over 3 million arrived in Japan, an increase of 56% from the prior year.