Written by Lily Crossley-Baxter
Researched by Alexandra Ziminski
The Bunkyo (or Nezu Shrine) Azalea Festival is known for its iconic landscape of torii gates surrounded by a sea of pink.
What happens?
Entering the main shrine is free, but there is a ¥500 fee for entering the hillside garden filled with an explosion of neatly trimmed pink, white, red, and purple azalea bushes.
There are food and drink stalls, a market, and performances. It’s usually extremely crowded on the weekends and so going on a weekday is recommended. The best time to see the flowers is around mid-April and you can keep up to date with the flowering status on Nezu Shrine’s Instagram.
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Schedule 2025
The garden is open every day, as well as an antique market and street stalls. There’s also…
- On Sunday, April 6 at 12 p.m. there will be a mikoshi (portable shrine) procession.
- On April 12, 19, and 26 there will be a drum performance at 12 p.m.
Early
~
Late Apr
2026
文京つつじまつり
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Adults:
At the door: ¥500
Official site
⚠️ Link in Japanese
- 323 m from Tōdaimae Station Namboku Line (N12)
- 0.6 km from Nezu Station Chiyoda Line (C14)
- 0.7 km from Sendagi Station Chiyoda Line (C15)
Typical weather at this time:
High: 19 ºC
Low: 8 ºC
