February in Tokyo | Time Out Tokyo — Photo: Yushima Tenjin

Photo: Yushima Tenjin

10 best parks, gardens and shrines to see plum blossoms in Tokyo

The best shrines, temples, parks and festivals featuring Tokyo's most beautiful white and pink plum blossoms

Friday 16 January 2026

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Written by Time Out Tokyo Editors & Shota Nagao

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The winter-blooming plum – or ume – flowers may not be as spectacular as cherry blossoms, which bloom about a month later and are the symbol of spring in Japan. But the white and pink ume blossoms are still a sight to behold. And they are beloved for their pleasant fragrance that fills the air from early February to mid-March.

Plum trees can, of course, be found all over the city, but the parks, shrines, temples and gardens listed here rank among the top ume-viewing spots, many of which have been popular since the 1600s. Some of these Tokyo attractions are even celebrating the occasion with dedicated plum blossom festivals filled with street food stalls and Japanese cultural performances.

RECOMMENDED: Winter cherry blossoms are also blooming around the same time in Tokyo and you can catch them here.

Festivals

Yushima Tenjin Plum Blossom Festival

Things to do
Yushima
Until 8 Mar 2026

画像: Masa/Pixta

A popular place for plum blossom fans since olden times, Yushima Tenmangu shrine still draws crowds every year. The plum blossoms might get less hype than the cherry blossoms that follow, but they still make for some gorgeous late-winter scenery.

This year marks the 69th run of the Yushima Tenjin Ume Matsuri. The annual festival is one of Tokyo's most popular late-winter events, and it takes place for a month from February 8 until March 8. The shinto shrine is home to about 300 plum trees, and most of them are around 80 years old. Approximately 80 percent of them produce white plum blossoms.

On weekends and holidays – February 8, 11, 14-15, 21-23, 28, March 1, 7 – you can look forward to events such as live Kagura (ceremonial silent theatre), Nihon-buyo (traditional Japanese dance) and taiko drumming as well as flamenco and belly dancing performances.

You’ll also find several stalls selling souvenirs from Bunkyo ward as well as local products from Ibaraki (February 8), Ishikawa (February 8, 14), Aomori (Feb 14-15), Kumamoto (February 21-23), Hyogo/Shimane (February 28-March 1) and Fukushima (March 7-8).

Ikegami Plum Garden

Attractions
Parks and gardens
Ikegami

Photo: kogai tomo/PhotoAC

Ota ward’s Ikegami Baien (plum garden) makes the most of the hilly landscape surrounding Ikegami Honmonji temple, flourishing like a curtain of fragrant red and white blossoms every February. The garden of 370 plum trees in 30 varieties can be admired from a hillside observation deck or from the garden’s three traditional tea rooms.

Special evening illuminations take place in the plum garden from mid-February to early March. Keep your eyes peeled for the official 2026 schedule, which should be released shortly.

Kids
Koganei

Photo: Tokyo Metropolitan Park Association

Enjoy the Musashino spring at Koganei Park, where around 100 plum trees burst into bloom in February. This year, the park's ume trees are expected to bloom from early February. Rather than having the trees spread out over the area, Koganei Park is home to a gorgeous plum grove.

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Keio Mogusaen

Attractions
Parks and gardens
Tama area

Keio Mogusaen

Boasting a total of 500 plum trees, some of them more than 300 years old, Hino's Mogusaen has long been famed as one of Tokyo's best ume-viewing spots. Once frequented by literary greats like novelist Kenjiro Tokutomi and poet Bokusui Wakayama, the park is still an impressive sight in February and March, when the flowers burst into bloom.

Attractions
Parks and gardens
Yokohama

Photo: Sankeien Garden

Although best known for its sakura, Yokohama's sprawling Sankeien Garden is also a decent destination for plum blossoms. Bursting into white and pink blooms from early February to mid-March, the 600 trees here include a few rare varieties.

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Ushi Tenjin Kitano Shrine

Things to do
Kasuga

Ushi Tenjin Kitano Shrine

Kasuga's Ushi Tenjin shrine is dedicated to the ninth-century scholar and poet Sugawara no Michizane, who is said to have loved the sight of plum flowers. It's therefore only fitting that the shrine grounds feature dozens of plum trees, the blooming of which is celebrated in February. The ancient shrine also houses a cow-shaped sculpture that's said to make wishes come true for anyone who strokes it.

Things to do
Suidobashi

小石川後楽園梅香る庭園へ

Constructed under the watchful eye of 17th century Tokugawa daimyo Mito Komon, Koishikawa Korakuen's plum tree garden remains beautiful to this day. The best time to visit the grounds is in late February, when the trees become filled with purple and white flowers.