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–¥1,000 fee for adults entering the hillside garden filled with an explosion of neatly trimmed pink, white, red, and purple azalea bushes. The admission price changes according to how far along the blooms are. Children aged 12 and under get in free.
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.
What’s on
The garden is open every day during the festival, along with an antique market and street stalls. Nezu Shrine posts the full program a few weeks before the festival starts. The 2026 schedule also included:
- A mikoshi (portable shrine) procession at 12 p.m. on Sunday, April 5.
- Drum performances at 12:30 and 3:30 p.m. on April 11, 18, and 25.
- 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)
