What is Shofuso Cherry Blossom Viewing?

Spring Starts at Shofuso! In Japan, cherry blossoms are the ephemeral marker of spring’s arrival, appreciated and admired by picnicking under the cherry trees and walking through groves and allees of the pink blossoms. JASGP planted 1000 cherry trees from 1994 to 2004 to augment the 1600 cherry trees gifted by the Japanese government to Philadelphia in 1926.

Shofuso opens for visitation on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. Philadelphia’s cherry trees generally bloom at the end of March through the end of April.

As in Japan, Philadelphians are invited to picnic among the sakura in bloom around Shofuso at the Horticulture Center and under many other cherry trees throughout the city, as shown here. Look for pink and white flowers near the Philadelphia Museum of Art, along the Schuylkill River, in Fitler Square area near the Rosenbach Library and Museum, and on streets and parks throughout the Philadelphia region. Japanese artist Hiro Sakaguchi hand-painted a new map of Philadelphia Cherry Blossom Ohanami – helping visitors find Cherry Blossoms throughout Fairmount Park as well as other spots around the City of Philadelphia. Download the map here!

Will the Cherry Blossom Festival be held in 2022?

2022 marks the limited return of in-person Cherry Blossom programming in West Fairmount Park that will celebrate both Japanese and American culture in a new format that better incorporates the local neighborhood of Parkside, West Philadelphia. Instead of a single day festival, we will be presenting the Cherry Blossom Concert Series over three days on the weekend of April 8-10. Free and open to the public, these events will explore the intersections of Japanese and African American culture, from traditional to contemporary, through a range of musical performances by multi-ethnic Hip Hop, Jazz, and Percussion musicians. While the concerts themselves are not ticketed, food and drink will be available for purchase.