Tokyo In Spring: Sakura And Festivals

Like everywhere in Japan, spring in Tokyo means sakura (cherry) blossoms. This is an obvious reason to visit but by no means the only one. There are also traditional festivals, sumo, seasonal delicacies and a whole lot more in bloom in the city's parks and gardens. Bear in mind that spring is the most popular time of year to visit Japan and book your accommodation well in advance. Be especially wary of the string of national holidays, known as Golden Week; it's a peak travel period for Japanese that can drive up hotel rates. In 2018, Golden Week will run from 28 April to 6 May.

Like someone took a paintbrush to the city, large parts of Tokyo go from grey to blush pink when the cherry-blossom season arrives. Parks like Yoyogi-kōen and Ueno-kōen are famous for cherry-blossom-viewing parties called hanami. Waterside promenades, such as the one alongside Naka-Meguro's canal, Meguro-gawa, and the one opposite the Imperial Palace's moat, Chidori-ga-fuchi, erupt with explosions of blossoms. Sakura (cherry) season, which begins in late March or early April is like Carnival – one collective, citywide excuse to let go of daily cares and live for the moment. It’s a centuries-old tradition, inspired by the fleeting beauty of the blossoms, which last no longer than two weeks. What does last longer is all the sakura-themed treats sold at convenience stores and chain cafes

May is the start of matsuri (festival) season, when shrines take their kami (gods) out for a spin on mikoshi, decorated portable shrines that are paraded through the neighbourhood. Tokyo's matsuri go back centuries – to the founding years of the city in the 1600s – and the mikoshi-bearers look the part. Expect to see plenty of colourful happi (short, cotton kimono-style jackets), hachimaki (bandanas tied as headbands) and, for the men, fundoshi (clothes that you see on sumo wrestlers). The Sanja Matsuri, put on by Asakusa-jinja, is the biggest matsuri of them all, known to draw over a million spectators. It's held on the third weekend in May (in 2018: 18 to 20 May), with the big parade happening on the Saturday. In June, Hie-jinja hosts the Sannō Matsuri, a similar (but smaller) spectacle that happens only on even-numbered years. The festival runs from 7 to 17 June and in 2018 the parade will take place on Friday 8 June.

The second of Tokyo's three annual grand sumo tournaments takes place in mid-May (from 13 May to 27 May in 2018) at the national sumo stadium, Ryōgoku Kokugikan. A few weeks earlier, on 29 April, Sensō-jihosts its annual Naki-zumo event, which pairs sumo wrestlers and babies in a cry-off. The wrestlers pull faces, competing to make their baby cry the loudest. This may sound bizarre (and a little mean) but the Japanese have an age-old belief that a crying baby will grow up to be big and healthy. Sometimes the babies are dressed up as tiny sumo wrestlers.