{"id":176515,"date":"2026-03-17T15:50:36","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T06:50:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/?post_type=event&#038;p=176515&#038;lang=en"},"modified":"2026-03-19T22:52:54","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T13:52:54","slug":"nishi-park-sakura-fes-26","status":"publish","type":"event","link":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/en\/event\/nishi-park-sakura-fes-26\/","title":{"rendered":"Nishi Park Sakura Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Nishi Park\u2014the only site in Fukuoka Prefecture selected among Japan\u2019s \u201cTop 100 Cherry Blossom Viewing Spots\u201d\u2014hosts this annual spring festival. When around 1,300 cherry trees come into bloom, illuminated night sakura draw large crowds. Food stalls line the hillside park overlooking Hakata Bay, creating a lively atmosphere for hanami.<br \/>\nThe festival opens with a traditional mountain-opening ceremony, followed by the Kuroda Hikyaku Cup, a short uphill race (approx. 200 m) run to the sound of taiko drums. Participants sprint up the grand staircase\u2014named after the Kuroda domain\u2019s 523,000 goku\u2014toward the large torii of Terumo Shrine. Cultural events include a Sohen-ryu tea ceremony sakura gathering (Mar 28), a Yagyu Shinkage-ryu Aratsu-kai martial arts demonstration (Apr 5), and a performance by Japanese cultural troupe Ichigo Ichie, led by taiko performer Shinsuke Ikewaki (Apr 5). Visitors can enjoy hanami by day and illuminated cherry blossoms at night throughout the festival.<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/fn_sakura-nishi-park_2020_WEB-001.jpg?resize=1400%2C933&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Fukuoka Cherry Blossom \/ Sakura Guide 2023 \/ \u798f\u5ca1\u3055\u304f\u3089\u30fb\u304a\u82b1\u898b\u30ac\u30a4\u30c92023\" width=\"1400\" height=\"933\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-151688\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/fn_sakura-nishi-park_2020_WEB-001.jpg?w=1400&amp;ssl=1 1400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/fn_sakura-nishi-park_2020_WEB-001.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/fn_sakura-nishi-park_2020_WEB-001.jpg?resize=1024%2C682&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/fn_sakura-nishi-park_2020_WEB-001.jpg?resize=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Mar. 27, 2026 (Fri.) ~ Apr. 10, 2026 (Fri.)<br \/>\n\u2022 10:00~22:00 (Light up: 18:00~22:00)<br \/>\n\u2022 Free entry (some experiences are charged)<br \/>\n\u2022 Nishi Park<br \/>\n\u2022 <a href=\"https:\/\/maps.app.goo.gl\/1SwcaKSeQVi7E5Ya9\" target=\"_blank\">13 Nishi Park, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka<\/a><br \/>\n\u2022 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/nishikoen.sakuramatsuri\/\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/nishikoen.sakuramatsuri\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Fukuoka Now Reader Special!<\/strong><br \/>\nShow this screen (the Fukuoka Now event page) on the day of the event to receive a discount on the tea ceremony. Foreign nationals only: \u00a51,000 \u2192 \u00a5500.<\/p>\n<p><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/fn_nishi-park-sakura-fes-cl-001.jpg?resize=1400%2C788&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Nishi Park Sakura Festival, \u897f\u516c\u5712\u3055\u304f\u3089\u307e\u3064\u308a\" width=\"1400\" height=\"788\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-176502\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/fn_nishi-park-sakura-fes-cl-001.jpg?w=1400&amp;ssl=1 1400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/fn_nishi-park-sakura-fes-cl-001.jpg?resize=300%2C169&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/fn_nishi-park-sakura-fes-cl-001.jpg?resize=1024%2C576&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/fn_nishi-park-sakura-fes-cl-001.jpg?resize=768%2C432&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nishi Park\u2014the only site in Fukuoka Prefecture selected among Japan\u2019s \u201cTop 100 Cherry Blossom Viewing Spots\u201d\u2014hosts&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30291,"featured_media":151688,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","tags":[],"class_list":["post-176515","event","type-event","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","location-chuo-ku","event-type-culture","event-type-festival","en-US"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/event\/176515","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/event"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/event"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30291"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=176515"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/151688"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=176515"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=176515"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}