Sakura Weekend is held at the Horticulture Center and Centennial Arboretum in West Fairmount Park, Philadelphia. Please note that Sakura Weekend programs do not take place inside the Shofuso Japanese Cultural Center, which is also located nearby. Additional festival programs are scheduled to take place at venues across the city of Philadelphia.

Yes, programs scheduled for Sakura Weekend will happen rain or shine. There is no rain date.

Sakura Weekend is held at the Horticulture Center and Centennial Arboretum in West Fairmount Park, Philadelphia. Google Maps >>

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  SEPTA is a preferred transportation partner with JASGP for Sakura Weekend. For information about traveling to the festival on public transit, SEPTA operators are available to assist at 215-580-7000. You can also plan your trip online with the SEPTA Trip Planner
  • From Center City, Manayunk: take Bus 38; get off at Belmont Ave & Lansdowne Dr; walk 350 feet to reach the Horticulture Center and Centennial Arboretum
  • From University City, Center City, Parkside: take Bus 40; get off at Parkside Ave & W Memorial Hall Dr; walk 0.3 miles toward the Please Touch Museum; walk across the museum’s parking lot to reach Shofuso
  • From East, North, West Philly: take Route 15 Trolley (a.k.a. Trolley “G”); get off at Girard Ave & 39th St; walk 0.7 miles toward the Please Touch Museum; walk across the museum’s parking lot to reach Shofuso.
• Driving from the East Take Interstate 76 West to Montgomery Drive Exit (341). Turn left at light onto Montgomery Drive; follow signs to parking.
• Driving from the West Take Interstate 76 East to Montgomery Drive Exit (341). Turn right onto Montgomery Drive; follow signs to parking.
• Taxi and Rideshare We recommend setting your destination as the Please Touch Museum on the Avenue of the Republic and walking over to the Fairmount Park Horticulture Center from there (7-minute walk).
• Bicycle Please note that the MLK Drive Bridge from the Art Museum is expected to be closed for renovations until spring 2025. The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia has prepared a map of suggested detours and made it available online.

Additional Cherry Blossom Festival programs are scheduled at venues across the city of Philadelphia during late March and the month of April. Please check individual programs for specific directions and parking information.

Vehicles are not permitted to park at the Horticulture Center in Fairmount Park.

During Sakura Weekend, parking is available nearby for $10 per vehicle at The Mann Center (5201 Parkside Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19131). Free street parking is also available nearby on Lansdowne Dr., and additional paid parking is available along the Avenue of the Republics.

Yes. Tickets can be purchased online or at the gate.

General Admission: $15 for Adults, Children under 12 Free
JASGP Member Admission: Free
Access Card Holders: $5 at the gate

Special Programs
Tickets are Timed Entry, Quantities are limited

• Shofuso Tour: $5
  Members Free, Registration for Timed Tickets Required
• Ikebana Class: $10
• Tea Ceremony: $5

Admission requirements will vary for other festival programs scheduled during March and April.

PURCHASE TICKETS

Yes, the Festival was free during Covid. We have now gone back to ticketed entry, but we kept our 2019 prices.

JASGP Members still get free entry to the Festival and to Shofuso. If you are interested in becoming a member, you can find more information on our Individual Membership page.

Each spring, Philadelphia’s largest concentration of blossoming cherry trees can be found on the grounds of the Horticulture Center and Centennial Arboretum in West Fairmount Park, and a ticket is not required for access.

There is a small selection of cherry trees in the gardens at Shofuso, but most of the cherry blossoms in that area can be found outside the grounds of Shofuso, in the surrounding park, and are entirely accessible without needing a ticket.

The Cherry Blossom 10K and 5K road races will not be taking place during the 2025 festival.

Yes, there will be plenty of options. Food vendors from our in-person market, and a beer garden will be just outside Shofuso’s walls for the entire duration of the festival.

We encourage attendees to bring their own food and picnic in Fairmount park under the trees, for an authentic ohanami experience. Alcohol consumption is not permitted in West Fairmount Park outside of the designated beer garden area.

Dogs are only permitted on a 6-foot leash on the grounds of the Horticulture Center at Fairmount Park.

Sakura Weekend is a family-friendly event, and attendees are asked to dress accordingly. JASGP Staff reserves the right to ask an attendee to change or leave if their attire is deemed inappropriate.

Cosplay Props & Weapons

In all cases, final decisions on what constitutes an inappropriate prop belongs to JASGP Staff. If your prop is deemed inappropriate or dangerous to others, you may be asked to leave the event. Please use common sense when bringing prop weaponry to Sakura Weekend. If you would not carry your item in public, in plain sight, then you should not have it at Sakura Weekend.

• All prop weapons must be easily identified as being replicas.
• The maximum prop size is six feet (6’) in any direction.
• Misuse of your prop, by swinging it or endangering others with it, will result in forfeiture of the prop and/or expulsion from the event.
• Any weapon that can shoot a projectile or has moving parts will not be permitted. Prohibited examples include, but are not limited to: Water guns/pistols/rifles/blasters, BB/Pellet guns, Crossbows, dart guns, or blow guns.

The following are also not permitted at Sakura Weekend:

• Live steel: Live steel is defined as any object made of metal that is capable of taking an edge, whether or not the object is actually sharp, and whether or not the object is sheathed.
• Nunchaku
• Explosives or chemicals of any kind
• Handcuffs
• Airsoft guns
• Paddles

Props, resin casts, and toys simulating the appearance of firearms will be allowed only if they:

• Are easily identifiable as toys or props
• Have no moving parts
• Are marked with a non-removable orange tip
• Accepted props
• Wooden swords including boken, bo sticks, and shinai.
• Anything made of paper mache or other material that is not dangerous to others (e.g. has no sharp edges, or parts sticking out that might trip people as they walk by).
• Any metal chains less than three feet (3’). This includes, but is not limited to, chain wallets or chains on non-costume clothing. While you can have chains, you cannot hold the chain like a leash and lead others around the event.
• Bows will ONLY be permitted if they are strung without tension.

The hundreds of Yoshino Cherry trees planted in West Fairmount Park and along the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia are estimated to reach peak bloom between the last week of March and the first week of April.