Best Way to Enjoy Spring 2022 in Tokyo!
Sho Yamamoto
Is it your first time in Tokyo and wondering what to do this spring, or just wanting to know the types of things you can do? The city is full of things to do in the springtime, so there’s no need to worry there! Spring 2022 in Tokyo is all about getting outside, eating what you want, and enjoying the good life!
Japan is all about the seasons, and spring may be the most important one of them all as it represents renewal and the start of the new year for schools and businesses. It’s also time for the world famous sakura (cherry blossom) trees to begin blooming for their short but impressive display!
In Tokyo this year, they were forecasted to start blooming on March 20 and be in full bloom around March 29. It’s tough to really know exactly when they’ll bloom, but the anticipation and timing to go see them is part of the cherry blossom experience!
For the TokyoTreat Team, we were looking forward to all of the sakura fusion flavors of 2022! This year was full of classic favorites, like Mister Donut, Shake Shack, and Starbucks Japan’s yearly sakura flavored treats and drinks!
We also saw the iconic Japanese cherry blossom being infused with Godiva’s Sakura Saku Chocolixir, Lindt’s LINDOR chocolates, and Pocky’s limited edition Sakura Matcha flavor!
Of all the amazing sakura flavors from this spring’s cherry blossom season, no one could outdo Starbucks’ food and drinks. They came out with three drinks that were available for a limited time: the Sakura Strawberry Shiratama Frappuccino, Sakura Saku Milk Latte, and Sakura Cassis Strawberry Shiratama Frappuccino. The TokyoTreat Team got to try the Sakura Strawberry Shiratama Frappuccino, and without hesitation gave it an A+ rating!
Among those three drinks, there were other amazing treats available, like a cherry blossom donut and chiffon cake! And if you love collecting Starbucks mugs and tumblers, they had so many awesome options this year! You can check out Starbucks Japan’s Sakura 2022 selection, here!
We appreciate healthy eating and taking care of ourselves, but sometimes we need a good guilt-free binge of treats, and spring 2022 has no shortage of amazing things to try from around Tokyo!
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Krispy Kreme released four donuts that took famous flavors from different places around the world: Tiramisu Italia, Macadamia Chocolate Hawaii, Passion Fruit Brazil, and Muchi Mochi Maple Canada! They all sound great, but my money’s on the maple one to be the best!
McDonald’s Japan brought out a new sakura menu, and those items definitely made the top Japanese guilty pleasure foods for spring 2022 list! They brought out a full lineup of new burgers that included their famous Teritama (teriyaki + egg) burgers. I was curious to try the Thick-Cut Spicy Bacon Teritama, and it was honestly an interesting experience. Would I try it again…maybe not, but I think it was worth trying at least once!
The best item on the new menu was easily the Sakura Mochi Pie! It had a sakura flavored mochi and red bean paste filling, and a light and flaky pink colored pie! The packaging even has a sakura mochi design!
If you’re into a more traditional treat for your visit to Tokyo, you can try a Persona shaped taiyaki from SEGA Taiyaki in Akihabara! Taiyaki is a classic Japanese street food typically made with cake flour, baking powder, sugar, eggs, filled with anko (red bean paste), and baked in a special taiyaki pan to a perfect golden brown.
The SEGA Taiyaki store comes out with limited time shapes that differ from the original sea bream shape. In the past they’ve done popular anime characters from Demon Slayer, but for this spring, they’ve collaborated with the PlayStation game series Persona for their 25th anniversary! You can get the taiyaki in the shapes of Koromaru, Teddie (Kuma), and Morgana!
Okay, enough about food (although it’s really never enough food). Let’s talk about the awesome things you can do this spring in Tokyo! Spring obviously means hanami (flower viewing) season, which means it’s time to get outside and go check out the sakura trees!
If you’re wanting to plan a sakura day in Tokyo, I have plenty of options (because the city has an endless list of places to see)!
First, you’re going to want to head to Asukayama Park, which is where Tokugawa Yoshimune, the 8th Shogun during the Edo period, planted the first sakura trees! Maybe more impressive than the history of the park itself is the ride to get there.
Rather than taking the JR Keihin-Tohoku LIne to Oji Station, I recommend you take the Toden Arakawa Line (aka the Tokyo Sakura Tram) from Minowabashi Station! Its nickname came from the fact that you can see many Somei Yoshino (the Yoshino Cherry Tree, the most common species) along the way to the park. Get a day pass so you can hop on and off along the many stops!
Ueno Park is another great place to spend a day to enjoy the cherry blossoms! It’s one of the biggest parks in Tokyo, and has a number of cool things to check out, like the Ueno Zoo, a temple, shrine, and museums!
If you’re looking to do some night time hanami, or yozakura, I recommend going to Nakameguro and see the spring flowers blooming along the Meguro River. That’s right, you can check out the sakura at night during spring in Japan!
Last but not least, why not go see the cherry blossoms from Tokyo’s biggest amusement park! If you’re wanting to take hanami to the extreme, you can hop on the Bandit roller coaster and fly past the blooming trees at speeds of up to 110km/h (68mph)!
See, Tokyo is some of the best places to be for spring 2022 for all the yummy food to eat and spots to hangout at! Being able to say you’ve tried a couple of these things this year would be amazing, and you’d have plenty of things to post for Instagram! Anything else you’d want to do in Tokyo this spring? Let me know in the comments!
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