Cherry-blossom picnic rules in Japan differ from park to park.
Alcohol, saving a spot, fire and rubbish: the lines for a big family in Tokyo
There is no nationwide rulebook for hanami, the Japanese custom of picnicking under the cherry blossoms; each park's manager sets its own. Even within Tokyo, some parks ban bringing in alcohol, and others fix where and until when you can hold a party.
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The big pictureThe big picture: the rules are set by each park's manager
In Tokyo, each park has a different manager, and the rules on alcohol, saving a spot, party hours and what you can bring all differ. If you go without knowing, you may be told off on the spot, or asked to leave if you do not comply (Shinjuku Gyoen and Yoyogi Park notices).
The answer: hanami rules are issued park by park, by the government body or organisation that manages each park.
- Shinjuku Gyoen is managed by the Ministry of the Environment (as a national garden); Ueno Park and Inokashira Park by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Bureau of Construction; and Yoyogi Park by the Tokyo Metropolitan Park Association.
- Tokyo's own hanami guide also says to “follow each park's rules”.
- Metropolitan parks have an ordinance banning dumping rubbish and picking or damaging plants (Tokyo Metropolitan Park Ordinance, Article 16; violations carry a non-penal fine of up to ¥50,000 under Article 25). The ordinance says nothing about alcohol, though.
- Shinjuku Gyoen is a national garden run by the national government (Ministry of the Environment), not a metropolitan park. Its rules come from the national management regulations and the ministry's garden rules, not from the Tokyo ordinance.
Quick guide to 4 parks (2026 notices)
The answer: only Shinjuku Gyoen bans alcohol in writing, but at all 4 parks you cannot save a spot with an unattended sheet, and you cannot use fire.
| Park (manager) | Alcohol | Sheets and parties | Saving a spot | Fire | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shinjuku Gyoen (Ministry of the Environment) | Not allowed in | No tents or parasols. No occupying the same spot on a bench or lawn for a long time | The term “saving a spot” is not used; occupying the same spot for a long time is banned | Not allowed (bonfires, portable gas stoves, etc.) | 9:00–18:00 (last entry 17:30) |
| Ueno Park (Tokyo) | Not stated officially | Parties in the areas shown on the map. Visitors are asked not to set up party seating on Sakura-dori (including its side paths) | Saving a spot with an unattended sheet is banned | No fire of any kind, no generators | 5:00–23:00 (no entry outside these hours) |
| Yoyogi Park (Park Association) | Not stated officially | No tents, tables or chairs | Saving a spot with ropes, pegs or notices is banned. Unattended sheets are removed and disposed of without notice | Not allowed (you may be asked to leave) | Always open. In 2026 the rubbish area closed at 20:00, so visitors were asked not to picnic after 20:00 |
| Inokashira Park (Tokyo) | Not stated officially | Parties until 22:00. Keep them short and small | Allowed within the set places and hours. Unattended spots and paid spot-holders are banned | Not allowed (bonfires, stoves, etc.) | Always open |
- “Not stated officially” does not mean “drinking is fine”. Follow the signs on site and the staff.
The 5 rules all 4 parks share
The answer: at the 4 parks in this article, the following 5 rules are the same. Many other parks have the same rules, but check that park's notice before you go.
1. Saving a spot: no unattended sheets Each park's official pages
If you save a spot early at a metropolitan park (Ueno, Yoyogi, Inokashira), someone stays with it. Paid spot-holding services are not allowed (Inokashira and Tokyo notices). At Shinjuku Gyoen, occupying the same spot on the lawn for a long time is banned even if someone is there.
2. Fire: no stoves, bonfires or barbecues Each park's official pages
Ueno, Yoyogi and Inokashira are not on the list of metropolitan parks where barbecues are allowed.
3. Rubbish: take it home Park Association
In 2026, Yoyogi had fewer bins than usual because of construction work, and the rubbish area closed at 20:00.
4. Cherry trees: no breaking branches or climbing Each park's official pages and the ordinance
Shinjuku Gyoen and Yoyogi state that climbing trees is banned, and the ordinance bans damaging plants in metropolitan parks. In 2026 Ueno banned deliberately touching the cherry trees and entering fenced-off planted areas.
5. Sound and sky: no loud music, no drones Each park's official pages
No loud speakers, instruments or karaoke. Drones are banned at all 4 parks.
Children's toys, and what you cannot bring in
The answer: balls, tricycles and balance bikes are where parks differ most. At Shinjuku Gyoen, bicycles, tricycles and balance bikes cannot be taken through the gates.
Compiled from each park manager's notices as of September 2026.
- Shinjuku Gyoen: you cannot bring in alcohol / bicycles, balance bikes, tricycles or unicycles / trolleys and carts that take up 5,000 cm² or more when used / insect nets or insect cages / tents or parasols. Ball games, frisbees and skipping are banned, but in the Children's Square (Kodomo Hiroba), children of elementary-school age and younger may use soft rubber balls for small children and skipping ropes.
- Ueno Park: no tents, tables or floodlights. Children catching insects or picking up acorns is said to be fine.
- Yoyogi Park: tents, tables and chairs cannot be brought in at any time of year, not just in cherry season. Bringing things in on trolleys or carts is banned during the hanami period (hand luggage only).
- The official pages do not say whether a stroller counts as one of Shinjuku Gyoen's “trolleys and carts of 5,000 cm² or more” or Yoyogi's “trolleys and carts”. If you are worried, ask each park's management office or service centre before you set out. Shinjuku Gyoen has multipurpose toilets you can enter with a stroller.
- If you have small children and grandparents with you, Shinjuku Gyoen's facilities (free wheelchair loans, multipurpose toilets you can enter with a stroller) and how to plan the day are in choosing the day for the Shinjuku Gyoen cherry blossoms.
Shinjuku Gyoen even differs in how you get in: booking on blossom-season weekends
The answer: Shinjuku Gyoen requires booking 10:00–16:00 on blossom-season weekends, but parents or guardians with children of junior-high age or younger can enter without booking (2026 operation).
- The 2026 booking days were 28 and 29 March and 4 and 5 April, 10:00–16:00 (4 April was switched to no booking the day before). No booking was needed 9:00–10:00 or 16:00–17:30.
- Who could enter without booking: junior high and under / parents or guardians with children of junior-high age or younger, and pregnant women (not groups) / annual pass holders / holders of a disability certificate and one carer.
- The official pages do not say whether grandparents count as “guardians”. If the grandparents will go in between 10:00 and 16:00, book for them, or go in 9:00–10:00 or after 16:00.
- Entry is ¥500 for adults, ¥250 for those 65 or over, and free for junior high and under. For two parents, two children (elementary school) and two grandparents (65 or over), that is 500×2 + 250×2 = ¥1,500 for 6.
- The garden is normally closed on Mondays, but in the cherry-blossom season (25 March – 24 April) it opens on Mondays too. It closes at 18:00, so you cannot see the blossoms there at night.
- Whether there will be booking in 2027, and on which days, has not been announced yet (as of October 2026). In 2026 it was announced on 2 March, and booking was required 10:00–16:00 on 28 and 29 March and 4 and 5 April. The entry guide only says the garden “may introduce advance booking, mainly on weekends and public holidays”.
At Ueno Park, the path for walking and the places for sitting are separate
The answer: Ueno Park's Sakura-dori is a path for viewing the blossoms as you walk, and visitors are asked not to set up party seating there (it was marked as no parties on the 2026 map). If you want to sit and eat, go to the party areas shown on the map.
- Sakura-dori has cones down the middle and keeps to the left. Walk with the flow if you have a stroller.
- The party areas are limited, so share the space. Do not set up seating where people need to pass.
- In 2026, temporary toilets were set up in 2 places each for men and women (official map). Most permanent toilets are open 6:00–20:00.
- For combining the Ueno cherry blossoms with Asakusa in one day, see our one-day plan for Asakusa and Ueno.
Chidorigafuchi and the Meguro River are for viewing on foot
The answer: the Chidorigafuchi promenade is not a place to spread a sheet; you view the blossoms as you walk. Along the Meguro River, Meguro City asks people to keep moving one way without stopping, so it too is a place to view on foot.
- Chidorigafuchi: the only places where you can spread a sheet and eat and drink are Chidorigafuchi Park and Sotobori Park (not the promenade). Saving a spot with just a sheet, pinning sheets down and using fire are banned, and you take your rubbish home.
- The Chidorigafuchi night illumination ran from 26 March to 6 April 2026, from sunset to 21:00. On weekends during that period the path was one-way from the Yasukuni-dori side.
- Meguro River: in 2026 Meguro City asked for three things: no littering, no loud noise, and on the riverside from Naka-Meguro Station, follow the security staff, keep to the one-way flow and do not stop.
What the official notices actually ask of you
The answer: the consideration the official notices ask for comes down to four things: share the space, keep it short and small, keep the noise down, and do not stop where people are walking.
- Share the space (Yoyogi, Ueno).
- Keep it short and small (Inokashira).
- No loud noise, no stopping (Meguro City).
- No sound systems, loud music or karaoke (Ueno, Yoyogi, Chidorigafuchi).
- Keep valuables and bags with you. Watch out for theft (Yoyogi).
Honest notes (7 things we could not confirm or did not cover)
These are things we have not been able to verify, so we do not assert them.
Alcohol at Ueno, Yoyogi, Inokashira and Chidorigafuchi
The official pages do not say whether drinking is allowed. This article goes no further than “Shinjuku Gyoen is the park that says it is banned”.
Bag checks at Shinjuku Gyoen
A notice issued by the Ministry of the Environment in 2012 said that “as bringing in alcohol is banned, bags may be checked”, and that notice stayed on the official site until February 2026. The current official page (garden rules) says nothing about bag checks, and we could not confirm whether they still happen.
Whether strollers count as “trolleys and carts”
The official pages do not say whether a stroller falls under Shinjuku Gyoen's “trolleys and carts of 5,000 cm² or more” or Yoyogi Park's “trolleys and carts”.
Ueno Park opening hours
The Tokyo Bureau of Construction (5:00–23:00, no entry outside these hours) and the Park Association (always open) describe them differently. This article follows the Bureau of Construction, which manages the park.
Inokashira Park's “parties until 22:00”
The notice has no year on it. It has stayed up with the same wording since March 2023 (still posted as of October 2026).
Sumida Park
We could not find an official notice setting out hanami rules, so it is not included.
The 2027 notices
Each park's notices change every year. The 2027 notices have not been published yet (as of October 2026). The 2026 notices came out in early March (2–10 March).
Hanami rules in Japan with children: FAQ
Can we drink alcohol in Japanese parks?
It depends on the park. In Tokyo, Shinjuku Gyoen bans bringing in alcohol. The 2026 notices for Ueno, Yoyogi and Inokashira have no item on alcohol, but they do not say drinking is allowed either. Follow the signs on site and the staff.
Can one of us go ahead in the morning and lay out a sheet?
Laying a sheet and then leaving it is an “unattended spot”, which is banned at Ueno, Yoyogi, Inokashira and Chidorigafuchi. At Yoyogi, unattended sheets are removed without notice. One person stays with it. At Shinjuku Gyoen, occupying the same spot for a long time is banned even if someone is there.
Can we bring our child's tricycle or balance bike?
Shinjuku Gyoen does not allow bicycles, tricycles or balance bikes. Balls are allowed only when children of elementary-school age and younger use soft rubber balls in the Children's Square. Metropolitan parks each treat balls differently, so check each park's notice.
We would like to eat under the cherry blossoms at night.
Shinjuku Gyoen closes at 18:00. Inokashira Park allows parties until 22:00, and in 2026 Yoyogi Park asked visitors not to picnic after 20:00. In the evening there are also places you view on foot rather than sitting down, such as the Chidorigafuchi night illumination (until 21:00 in 2026).
📍 One of the articles in our Shinjuku trip plan (Shinjuku | Trip plan for large families / all Tips articles)