Ueno Park Cherry Blossom Festival Food

One of my favorite places to visit during cherry blossom season is Ueno Park, in Ueno Ward, Tokyo. This park is filled with tons and tons of cherry blossom trees and lots of food to enjoy! Most years, you’ll find people setting blankets and tarps out under the trees and setting up picnics to watch the cherry blossoms while they eat. They call this “hanami.” There are food vendors of all kinds at this festival, but here are just a few of my favorite street foods from the past few years.

Above is a photo of some delicious yakitori I ate in 2019 at the festival. You’ll notice the skewers are labeled with the cut of meat on each skewer. They were all coated in a delicious teriyaki sauce and marinated very nicely. They were fresh and juicy and definitely one of my favorite things at this festival.

Next, we have some delicious street corn. They’re grilling it fresh at the food stall with some butter for flavor. During this visit, it was still a little cool outside, and this nice hot corn was the perfect snack.

Another favorite is something I’ve never seen in the US… grilled crab on a stick. It is imitation crab, so more of like a crab flavored fish cake on a stick, grilled. They season it, grill it over a charcoal grill, and top it with Japanese mayo. This was my #1 favorite food item at this festival. Absolutely incredible!

In 2019, we found this delicious snack. They’re called “American Long Potatoes” at most of the food stalls around town. This was so funny to me, since we don’t have fries this long in the US. But these fries are literally about 1 foot long, and then they’re drizzled in the topping of your choice. I chose liquid cheese and parmesan. It was really satisfying and crunchy. They make these extra long fries not by cutting potatoes into strips like American fries, but actually by mashing the potato, putting it into a presser, and pressing out these long potato strings into the fryer. So really, it’s almost like fried mashed potatoes.

Finally, no meal would be complete without a drink! And what better drink that a cherry blossom themed drink! Japan has tons of cherry blossom themed snacks and drinks during the spring season, and alcohol is no exception. This is a brut rose Chandon tastes pretty much like the normal Chandon but with a hint of cherry blossom flavor. And the bottles are beautiful. You can buy a glass or an entire bottle to share with friends during hanami. We saw this in 2018 and 2019.

There’s so much more here besides these delicious foods. Don’t forget, the cherry blossoms here are world renowned. I definitely recommend visiting this festival in the spring and trying something new. Enjoy!

Hakone Gora Park - More Than a Park

About an hour and a half from Tokyo, you’ll find Hakone and Gora. These two mountain towns are a must see for those who love the Japanese hot springs (also called onsen). Between the breathtaking mountain views and the relaxing hot waters, this area will make you feel refreshed and rejuvenated. From many parts of town, you can even see Mount Fuji.

One of my favorite places in this area is a lovely park called Hakone Gora Park. It is right off of the Hakone Tozan Cable Car line, a block from the Koen Shimo Station.

This is so much more than just a park. This is an all day experience. Seriously. I suggest you plan to spend the whole day here. It costs 500 yen to enter, or about $5 USD. That is definitely worth the price! In this park, besides the park itself, there are botanical gardens, a tea ceremony house, a craft park with multiple types of craft workshops you can try, 3 restaurants, and even a gift shop. The entire park is a registered national monument due to its value.

The botanical garden consists of several indoor greenhouses with unique environments in each. It is beautifully decorated with flowers in every building. You will even find fountains throughout the botanical garden, which adds to the relaxing sounds around you.

Next is the park itself. This park has something to see during all parts of the year. There are flowers during the warmer months, cherry blossom trees in the spring, fall leaves, winter snowy views, and even a holiday display!

There are 3 food options: 2 cafes and 1 sweets shop. We tried some delicious rose ice cream during the spring at the sweets shop and dined at one cafe in the afternoon. The food was delicious at both places we tried. We even ate our ice cream by the fountain.

We did not get to experience the tea house. We ran out of time spending most of our day crafting. It looked very nice, though.

Now, the crafts. You can choose from several craft workshops and try your hand at making something new. Each craft workshop has a fee, but you get to take home what you make. We did glass blowing and glass bead making/jewelry making, which I will write about in an upcoming post. They also had pottery, glass etching, and floral arrangements when we were there. The crafts really make this place special. You can make your own souvenir and remember the experience every time you use the item. If you rather buy something pre-made, you can also check out the amazing work of their local artists in the gift shop.

Definitely check out my upcoming blog posts for more on glass blowing and glass bead making in the park. And put Hakone Gora Park on your list to check out, next time you visit Japan.