If you’re in Tokyo to see the cherry blossoms, there’s no place bigger and better and pinker than Shinjuku Gyōen National Garden. The problem is, everybody and their brother knows that, so now you have to book a time slot in advance to get in.
If you’re a buttoned-up planner who is adept at navigating ticket websites, here’s the page where you can do that. But if this new policy catches you by surprise or there are no tickets left when you try to book, don’t despair!
Those who hold annual passes (unlimited admission for a year) don’t need reservations.
There’s a small catch: you’ll pay ¥2000 per person instead of ¥500, but how many thousands have you forked out to be here for the pinkness? Fifteen bucks (USD) per person is a small price to pay for No Regrets!
Here’s how to get your pass:
- Find the table with the pens and applications. When I was there, it was inside the gate, to the right of the long line, but before the lanes leading to the ticket machines.
- Fill out the application. It’s all in Japanese, but here’s what goes where: First, your name (doesn’t have to be in Japanese, but print it clearly). Circle the “Adult” ticket price. Phone number in Japan (you can put your hotel number if you don’t have a Japanese SIM on your phone.) Write your birth year, month, day.
- Stand in line for ticket window #3. When you get up to the window, hand them your application and cash (no credit cards).
- After they give you your receipt, show it to the person at the window by the gate and take it around the corner of the ticket building to your right. You’ll see a door with a curtain over it and a sign over the door telling you this is for year long passes. This is a photo booth manned by a staff member. Give them your receipt, sit in front of the camera, and in just a few minutes, they’ll hand you your card.
This card enables you to go in the members’ gate for free without standing in the huge long lines, as many times as you like in a year. Even if you only go once, the cherry blossoms are worth it!
There are, of course, other great places to see the big pink things in Tokyo. Here are The Best Places to see Cherry Blossoms in Tokyo, with Maps
More useful info:
Practical Japan travel advice (using the trains, how to travel in Japan with food allergies, where to get cash, and stuff like that) is at Travel Tips and Tricks
And if you’d like to see the places I take my friends when they come to Tokyo, all my favorite destinations are on The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had
and my top picks are organized into
Click here for all the other Japan goodness on Jonelle Patrick Writes About Japan:
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Jonelle Patrick writes novels set in Japan, produces the monthly e-magazine Japanagram, and blogs at Only In Japan and The Tokyo Guide I Wish I’d Had
Jonelle Patrick writes about Japan 