Cherry blossom Osaka 2024 forecast — 13 best places to see sakura in Osaka & best place to see cherry blossoms in Osaka

At the end of the Lunar New Year every year, the cherry blossom season is about to bloom, people start to prepare their luggage to traveling to Japan to enjoy cherry blossoms in Taiwan, Korea, Thailand … But if you have a chance to come to Japan – the land of cherry blossoms to admire the cherry blossoms season is the desire that every “traveler” always want at least once in their life, right? So, are you looking for the best places to see sakura in Osaka (best places to see cherry blossoms in Osaka, best sakura spot in Osaka). Let’s check out our suggested 13 best hanami spots in Osaka, best place to see cherry blossoms in Osaka and cherry blossom Osaka 2024 forecast (Osaka cherry blossom 2024 season forecast) to find out the answer!

Cherry blossom Osaka 2024 forecast & What you need when traveling in Japan in Cherry Blossom Season?

The blooming of cherry blossom usually only lasts 1 to 2 weeks, so you should choose a time and place that really suits to your schedule and itinerary to have the perfect cherry blossom viewing experience! Also, do not forget to shop for the magical “things” below when traveling in the land of the rising sun:

• Japan 4G Tourist Sim Card
• Tokyo Subway Ticket 24/48/72 hours
• JR Pass ALL JAPAN
• Kansai Airport Express Haruka
• Multi function ICOCA IC Card

 

Japan cherry blossom 2024 forecast by destinations and regions

Prefecture	Location	Flowering date	Full bloom date
Hokkaido Region
Hokkaido	Muroran	May 2	May 7
Hokkaido	Hakodate	April 28	May 2
Hokkaido	Sapporo	April 30	May 4
Tohoku Region
Aomori	Aomori	April 21	April 25
Iwate	Morioka	April 17	April 23
Miyagi	Sendai	April 6	April 11
Akita	Akita	April 16	April 21
Yamagata	Yamagata	April 11	April 16
Fukushima	Fukushima	April 2	April 7
Kanto-Koushin Region
Ibaraki	Mito	March 30	April 6
Tochigi	Utsunomiya	March 29	April 5
Gunma	Maebashi	March 27	April 3
Saitama	Kumagaya	March 26	April 2
Chiba	Choshi	March 31	April 7
Tokyo	Tokyo	March 23	March 30
Kanagawa	Yokohama	March 24	April 2
Yamanashi	Kofu	March 19	April 29
Nagano	Nagano	April 9	April 14
Hokuriku Region
Niigata	Niigata	April 7	April 12
Toyama	Toyama	March 31	April 6
Ishikawa	Kanazawa	March 31	April 7
Fukui	Fukui	March 30	April 5
Tokai Region
Gifu	Gifu	March 24	April 1
Shizuoka	Shizuoka	March 25	April 3
Aichi	Nagoya	April 10	April 15
Mie	Tsu	March 27	April 1
Kinki Region
Shiga	Hikone	March 30	April 6
Kyoto	Kyoto	March 25	April 2
Osaka	Osaka	March 26	April 2
Hyogo	Kobe	March 27	April 4
Nara	Nara	March 28	April 4
Wakayama	Wakayama	March 26	April 3
Chugoku Region
Tottori	Tottori	March 27	April 1
Shimane	Matsue	March 26	April 3
Okayama	Okayama	March 25	April 2
Hiroshima	Hiroshima	March 22	April 1
Yamaguchi	Shimonoseki	March 25	April 3
Shikoku Region
Tokushima	Tokushima	March 28	April 5
Kagawa	Takamatsu	March 25	April 3
Ehime	Matsuyama	March 25	April 4
Kochi	Kochi	March 20	March 28
Kyushu Region
Fukuoka	Fukuoka	March 19	March 29
Saga	Saga	March 25	April 2
Nagasaki	Nagasaki	March 22	March 31
Kumamoto	Kumamoto	March 22	March 31
Oita	Oita	March 22	April 3
Miyazaki	Miyazaki	March 21	March 31
Kagoshima	Kagoshima	March 22	April 2

Among the famous cities to see cherry blossoms such as Tokyo, Kyoto, Hokkaido, Hiroshima … Osaka is also an equally ideal place to choose to start your journey, because cherry blossoms will bloom throughout Japan from the South to the North. Osaka has a warmer weather than the central and northern regions of Japan (suitable for those who can’t stand the cold), and less crowded than other famous tourist cities. This year, the cherry blossom season in Osaka is expected to start from March 26 and will be in full bloom from April 2!

Best place to see cherry blossoms in Osaka: Osaka Castle Park

Osaka is famous for its castles, so taking photos at an ancient castle in the sakura setting is an indispensable feature when viewing flowers in Osaka. And the most famous place is Osaka Castle, located in Osaka-jo park with more than 3,000 blooming cherry trees. If you want to sit down to enjoy the cherry blossoms under the trees (hanami), don’t forget to drop by the Nishinomaru garden on the west side of the park with an admission fee of ¥350. There are about 300 cherry blossom trees that are characterized by Somei Yoshino species with 5 wings and a lovely pink-white color.

• How to get there: You can stop at JR Osakajoukoen Station (JR大阪城公園駅) or Morinomiya Station (森ノ宮駅) and then walk for 2 more minutes to get there
• Opening hours: all day, all days of the week. The Nishinomaru Garden is open from 09:00 – 21:00, so you can admire the shimmering cherry blossom garden in the evening!
• Admission: free (except Nishinomaru garden costs 350 yen)
• Website: www.osakacastle.net

Best places to see sakura in Osaka: Kema Sakuranomiya Park

Located between Temmabashi Bridge and Kema Araizeki, Kema Sakuranomiya Park is located on the banks of Okawa River that will make you fascinated with the cherry blossom scene blooming along the river banks. Kema Sakuranomiya Park is also very close to the Osaka Mint Bureau (Sakura Mint), so you can combine to visit both locations.

In addition to leisurely strolling, carpeting while eating cake, sipping tea and watching flowers like the locals, you can also experience admiring flowers from Okawa River Sakura Cruise. If you’ve been walking all day and feeling very tired, try “watching the flowers lazily” a little, by taking a 25-minute cruise on the Okawa River to be able to admire the panoramic beauty of Thousands of cherry blossoms trees in full bloom on both banks of the river in a gentle and quiet way. Please note the operating time of the cruise is from 10:00 to 19:00 and there will be a trip in every 10 – 30 minutes, at a cost of ¥1.200.

• How to get to the park: walk 4 minutes from Sakuranomiya station (桜ノ宮駅)
• How to get to cruise dock: to the left of Temmabashi Station, exit #2, #17
• Opening hours of the park: all day, all days of the week
• Cost: free admission
• Website: http://www.osakapark.osgf.or.jp/kema_sakuranomiya/

Best sakura spot in Osaka: Osaka Mint Bureau / Zouheikyoku

Normally, the road to the Osaka Mint Burea will be closed, but in every season, when the cherry blossoms bloom, this area is opened for a week to welcome tourists from all over the world to visit and admire the beauty of 134 cherry blossoms trees! This road is also voted as one of the 100 most beautiful cherry blossom viewing spots in Japan, so even though it is just over 500m long, it attracts more than 1,000,000 visitors in one day! So you should schedule to visit, and should go early and avoid coming on weekends to avoid crowded and chaotic.

• How to get there: 15 minute walk from Temmabashi Station, or Osaka-Temmangu, or Osakajo-Kitazume
• Opening hours: from 10:00 – 21:00 (weekdays); 09:00 – 21:00 (weekends). The opening date will be updated on the website in mid-March so please pay attention.
• Admission: free of charge

Best places to see cherry blossoms in Osaka: EXPO Park

As one of the famous sights of Osaka city, EXPO park is even more prominent when the cherry blossom season coming because of the brilliant pink color that floods the 260,000m2 of the park. There are more than 5,500 cherry blossom trees of different types, so you can freely walk, enjoy and take photos without being too crowded! Besides, the park has many areas for you to explore, such as the Sun Tower – the unique symbol of the park, the museum, the natural gardens, the hot springs … so you can feel free to enjoy and spending a whole day to play at EXPO park.

• How to get there: 5 minutes walk from Banpakukinen–koen station
• Opening hours: 9:30 – 17:00 (closed every Wednesday)
• Website: https://www.expo70–park.jp/
• Admission: ¥250

In this article, the places for you to “sit-and-admiring-flower” (hanami) in the true style of Japanese people in Osaka city are:

• Nishinomaru Garden in the castle park of Osaka
• Kema Sakuranomiya Park
• EXPO park

There are many other places to see cherry blossoms but they are just a bit further from Osaka central, so you can arrange to visit. Because it is far from the center, it will be less crowded and you will be able to easily find beautiful angles for yourself to enjoy sakura and take stunning photos:

• Daisen Park (50 minutes by train from central Osaka) – ¥200 ticket price
• Settsukyo Park (1 hour by bus from central Osaka) – free
• Kishiwada Castle (30 minutes from Osaka by train) – ticket price of ¥300
• Himeji Castle (1.5 hours by train from Osaka) – ticket price of ¥1000
• Nagaraku Dam
• Hiryu San Meioji Temple
• Katsuo Temple
• Hirakata park
• Satsukiyama Park

Wish you will have a successful “bombardment” trip to Osaka and see the cherry blossoms very nicely.

Some best day tours, trips, activities and transfer services, tickets in, to and from Osaka you can refer to

• Osaka Amazing Pass (Osaka Pick Up & HK/TW Delivery)
• OSAKA Unlimited Travel Pass (1 or 2 Days)
• Osaka Amazing Pass (HK/TW/ICN/Osaka Pick Up & MY Delivery)
• Kyoto-Osaka Sightseeing Pass (1 Day/2 Days, Kyoto Pick Up)
• JR West Kansai Pass (1, 2, 3 and 4 Day Rail Pass)
• Kyoto Temples & Shrines Day Tour from Osaka: Fushimi Inari-taisha, Arashiyama, Kiyomizu-dera & More
• Limousine Bus Transfers between Kansai International Airport (KIX) and Osaka or Kyoto
• 4G Prepaid Sim Card (JP Airports Pick Up) for Japan
• 4G WiFi (Japan Pick Up) for Japan
• JR Pass for Whole Japan (7, 14, or 21 Days)
• Osaka One-Day Walking Tour
• Arashiyama, Nara & Yasaka Shrine & Hanakomiji OneDay Tour from Osaka
• Osaka Amazing Pass & Osaka e-Pass
• teamLab Botanical Garden Osaka Ticket
• Kyoto and Nara Day Tour from Osaka/Kyoto
• Arashiyama & Nara Todai-ji Day Tour from Osaka
• Solaniwa Onsen Ticket in Osaka
• Nara, Todaiji Temple & Kuroshio Market One Day Tour from Osaka
• Sanda Outlet Market, Nara Park & Todaiji Temple Day Tour from Osaka
• ICOCA IC Card
• The Osaka Museum of Housing and Living Ticket

Are you looking for more Osaka travel guide and top things to do in Osaka: Tours, activities, attractions and other things? Read more: Osaka travel blog — The fullest Osaka city guide for a wonderful trip to Osaka for the first-timers.