Tokyo Imperial Palace Opens Grounds to Public

Mar 22, 2026 | News On Japan

TOKYO - The Imperial Palace’s Inui Street opened to the public for its annual spring viewing on March 21st, drawing around 18,000 visitors under clear skies as cherry blossoms began to bloom across Tokyo.

“The cherry blossoms at the Imperial Palace are starting to bloom little by little. This is a place that is usually difficult to enter, but the vivid pink and white blossoms signal the arrival of spring,” a reporter said on-site.

The spring public opening of Inui Street, which began on March 21st, allows visitors to stroll along an approximately 750-meter tree-lined path featuring around 100 cherry trees, including Somei Yoshino and weeping cherry varieties.

A visitor from the United States said, “(Q. Where are you from?) New York. The trees were beautiful, and the colors were wonderful.”

Another visitor from Osaka said, “It was amazing. It was really pink.”

The public opening will run through March 29th, with visitors able to enter without reservations between 9:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.

According to the Imperial Household Agency, approximately 18,000 people visited on the first day.

Source: TBS

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