The Tokyo sakura spot you may not have thought to visit

There are such a wide array of destinations across the country to enjoy cherry blossom season, including well known parks and gardens, peaceful temple and shrine grounds, and plenty more. I love that Japan even has a list of the Top 100 Cherry Blossom Viewing Spots – it's a great compilation to peruse if you're needing a little bit of sakura inspo. Each prefecture has at least one entrant on the list, so go and have a peek when you have a moment.

If you're looking for a sakura spot that's a little different, though, let me share my one of my favorites from when I lived in Tokyo. I mentioned in my other blogs here on City-Cost that when we lived in Tokyo I wasn't the biggest fan of sakura season, because so many destinations had a crowded and overwhelming feel to them. Some people love that hectic, packed to the rafters energy – but I'm not one of them. My ideal sakura spots are ones where there are minimal crowds, and the ability to simply appreciate the natural beauty for what it is.

So, what then, was my favorite Tokyo-based sakura spot?

None other than Aoyama Cemetery.

It may seem like an odd choice, but I loved the tranquility and peace that came with sakura season at Aoyama Cemetery.

Although it's not exactly unknown as a Tokyo sakura destination, whenever I visited I never really saw other people around, or if I did it was only a couple of people here and there.

So what makes sakura season at Aoyama Cemetery so special? Other than the lack of crowds, it's the kind of place where you can really draw some parallels between life and the seasons. We don't live forever – and sakura season doesn't last forever, either. It's over in the blink of an eye, and the older I get the more life seems to feel that way. It was always a reminder to me to simply enjoy things as they come, appreciate the beauty that life (and cherry blossoms!) brings, and be at peace with things that I can't change.

The cemetery is an interesting spot for history buffs, as well. There are several interesting graves (a list can be found on the Aoyama Cemetery Wikipedia Page), but the most famous is probably Hachiko, the loyal dog depicted in the statue outside Shibuya Station.

Slightly off topic, but if you do plan to visit Aoyama Cemetery this sakura season, I highly recommend stopping into Kaotan Ramen while you're in the area. It's my favorite Tokyo ramen shop, it's been around for ages, and while it doesn't look like much from the outside, the ramen is our family's number one choice. We always try to stop by when we're in this part of Tokyo.

Getting There:

Aoyama Cemetery can be accessed in around 8 minutes on foot from Nogizaka Station (Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line), or approximately 15 minutes on foot from Omotesando Station (Tokyo Metro Ginza, Hanzomon, and Chiyoda Lines).