Cherry Blossom Viewing at the Mint Bureau in Osaka

Cherry Blossoms at the Osaka Mint

The Osaka Mint’s only open to the public for one week each year for cherry blossom viewing. There’s a 500m walk with cherry blossoms on both sides, and so many street food stalls – it’s amazing!

2026 Dates

It’s always mid-April – this year it’s 9th – 15th April 2026. It’s a slightly later than the main wave of cherry blossoms, because certain varieties of trees bloom earlier or later.

Make a Reservation

It’s completely free, but you need a reservation to get in. Reservations open on Wednesday 18th March 2026 at 9am Japan time. You can reserve online here.

It’s first come first served, so set yourself a reminder and be quick!

How to Get There

The Mint is in the Osaka Castle area. Go to Temmabashi Station on the subway, then follow the crowds – everyone will be going to the same place. There’ll be pink signs in the station to direct you to the cherry blossom viewing.

Video

See what it’s like in my video – it’s a few years old so it’s quite shaky (my newer videos are much better quality, I promise!).

What it’s Like

It’s a few years ago when I went – at that time, you didn’t need a reservation. When I checked into my hotel in Osaka, I spotted a leaflet in reception. It was extremely lucky that my visit coincided with the single week in the year that the garden’s open to the public, so I decided to go along that evening.

I was nowhere near prepared for what it was like! I’d expected a cherry blossom viewing to be a peaceful and serene, appreciating the delicate beauty of the flowers. It was more like a cherry blossom frenzy, as it was so busy, with everyone excitedly taking pictures!

As soon as we got out of the station and saw all those people walking across the bridge, I could already see how popular it was. Usually I’m not a fan of busy places, but the crowds gave it such an amazing atmosphere – it really felt like an event.

There’ wa’s a 500m walkway of cherry blossom trees – that’s half a kilometre! I couldn’t believe how long it was. There were even police there to move people along if they were taking too long. It was absolutely amazing.

Japanese Street Food

Parallel to the walkway, alongside the river there are two rows of food stalls (both double-sided – that’s 2km of stands!). There’s every type of Japanese street food you can imagine: yakisoba, takoyaki, grilled fish, okonomiyaki on a stick, choco bananas, chilled cucumbers, taiyaki and lots more.

If you’re going to a Japanese festival, I’d recommend going hungry, because there are lots of types of food that you’ll only find there. It’s freshly cooked, excellent quality and not expensive.

Remember to bring cash with you for the food stalls!

We even went back another night just for the food, and had the most delicious butter potatoes (jaga bata). I don’t know how they made them so tasty; I’ve tried several times to recreate them at home on the barbecue!

Catching Cherry Blossom Season

The blossoms don’t last very long, so it can be tricky to catch them. They’re around the end of March / start of April, but it can vary due to the weather.

The year I went to the Mint, the cherry blossoms started early so I didn’t think we’d get to see any. It was a lovely surprise to discover a few in Fukuoka (I was so excited), and then in Osaka they were in full bloom at the Mint. So if you think you might not see them, don’t give up hope!

Really for me it was the experience of the festival, with everyone so excited to see the sakura, that made it so magical – maybe even more than the flowers themselves. And at twilight, it was so atmospheric when the lanterns came on.