Gallery - Cherry blossoms in Otsu Hana no Sato, western Tokyo

On Saturday the 8th of April I went to take a look at the cherry blossoms in Otsu Hana no Sato in Akiruno City in western Tokyo. Otsu is situated 15 minutes away from Musashi Itsukaichi station. As it is a rather remote location going by car might be convenient. Parking spaces that are only 500 yen for the whole day are available. I went on a Saturday and even though the weather was very nice only a few people other people were there, so you can enjoy the cherry blossoms without having to deal with crowds of people and maybe even bring your tripod to take some nice photos. The parking space was almost empty so it was no problem to get a spot. There is not really a space where you can put your blue sheet and sit down, though. Otsu Hana no Sato is better suited for taking photos and enjoying the cherry blossoms while going on a walk. By the way, I would recommend shoes that are easy to walk in as the area is quite hilly.If you would like to take a break and sit down for a while, there are a few small coffee shops and restaurants available. On Saturday a lot of the cherry blossoms were in full bloom, while some had already started to fall slightly. You can enjoy a lot of Shidare Zakura, as well as sakura that bloom in white and pink on the same tree. Nanohana flowers bloom close to the sakura trees and provide a nice yellow contrast to the white and pink cherry blossoms, which is really nice for landscape photos. Whereas in central Tokyo the cherry blossoms mostly have already fallen, in general the beginning of April is the recommended time for a visit if you want to enjoy the cherry blossoms in full bloom in Otsu.