Breaking news: No one guarding spots at Ueno Park, patrol officers immediately remove mats

▲ Fully bloomed Somei Yoshino cherry blossoms in Ueno Park.

Photos and text by Jeff Loves Travel

Last Friday (March 28), I happened to be in Tokyo on a business trip, so I got up early and headed to Ueno Imperial Gift Park. Right at the entrance, I saw a fully bloomed weeping cherry tree. As I walked toward the most famous cherry blossom viewing path, I found that about 50–60% of the cherry blossoms had bloomed, with many Somei Yoshino varieties already in full bloom, attracting large crowds. Early in the morning, Ueno Park wasn’t very crowded. By the time I left around 9 a.m., I noticed the number of visitors gradually increasing. According to the Asahi Shimbun, over 200,000 people visited the park on the 28th.

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That day, I arrived at Ueno Park before 7:30 a.m. and saw that many people had already staked out picnic spots. Some looked like they had come in the middle of the night and were still catching up on sleep in their sleeping bags. Since it wasn’t a holiday, there weren’t too many people reserving spots, and there were still plenty of empty areas. While enjoying the flowers, I witnessed what appeared to be a police officer or patrol officer spot a blue mat with no one watching it, immediately take a photo as evidence, and remove it — all in under five minutes.


▲ A mat with no one guarding it gets removed.


▲ People guarding their reserved spots.

I did a quick Google search and found that many of those reserving spots in Ueno Park are new employees at companies. Looking back, I realized there were indeed quite a few young office workers among the spot holders — wonder if they’re the newest hires.


▲ After 9 a.m., crowds heading to the zoo gradually increased.