[Tokyo] Enjoying Late Cherry Blossoms at the Detective Chinatown 3密室 Filming Location

The once-in-a-lifetime cherry blossom season has arrived as promised. This year's cherry blossom season is a bit special because it is the first cherry blossom season after Japan opened its doors to the world following the mask mandate. There are many tourists from all over the world coming to Japan to enjoy the cherry blossoms. Tokyo has many extremely popular cherry blossom viewing spots. These cherry blossom viewing spots blend Tokyo's history and culture, and are must-visit places during the cherry blossom season. I have listed several must-visit cherry blossom viewing spots in Tokyo as a reference for friends who will go to Tokyo to view cherry blossoms in the future.

[Sumida Park (Skytree position cherry blossoms)]

At Sumida Park, you can capture cherry blossoms and the Skytree in the same frame. It is also a recommended classic cherry blossom viewing spot. On days with good weather, you can walk along the Sumida River, which is very comfortable.

[Shiba Park, Zojoji Temple (Tokyo Tower position cherry blossoms)]

Having visited the best cherry blossom spot for the Skytree, of course I cannot miss the cherry blossoms by Tokyo Tower. There is a green space with a good environment under Tokyo Tower. Shiba Park here is the best angle to look up at Tokyo Tower. In spring, during the cherry blossom season, it is super suitable for taking photos. You can capture the perfect photo of cherry blossoms + Tokyo Tower!

This is a moat on the northwest side of the Imperial Palace, right next to Chidorigafuchi. The walking paths and embankments along the river are planted with cherry blossom trees. When in full bloom, it turns a light pink. The winding pink cherry blossom river is extremely beautiful!

Every year during the cherry blossom season, Meguro attracts many people. Many people come to Tokyo for the cherry blossom season just to see the long-awaited pink cherry blossom river.

[Ueno Park]

When it comes to viewing cherry blossoms in Tokyo, Ueno Park is naturally a must-visit. It has been a famous cherry blossom viewing spot since the Edo period. When the thousands of cherry trees in the park are in full bloom, it is incredibly beautiful.

In addition to the popular cherry blossom viewing spots above in Tokyo, I recommend that everyone can also visit some lesser-known cherry blossom spots. These places have fewer tourists, allowing you to enjoy the cherry blossoms better.

Like a hidden paradise in the center of Tokyo, Hama-rikyu Gardens is a metropolitan garden located in Chuo City, Tokyo. It is a representative daimyo garden from the Edo period. Hama-rikyu Gardens and its surrounding water surfaces are designated as Special Historic Sites and Special Places of Scenic Beauty of Japan.

The location of the garden was once a villa of the Tokugawa family, later renamed Hama Goten, and underwent significant renovations, resulting in the garden as it is today.

In the era of smart construction, the buildings of Hama-rikyu are all built around the central pond. In the center of the pond is a tea house, which is also a natural secret room. The important scene "密室杀人" (locked-room murder) we saw in the movie was filmed at Hama-rikyu.

The buildings of Hama-rikyu are all built around the central pond. In the center of the pond is a tea house. The secret room in the 2021 Lunar New Year blockbuster "Detective Chinatown 3" was filmed here. The movie itself is also a solid promotional piece for Tokyo tourism. I really wanted to visit Hama-rikyu when I watched the movie, so I chose to come here to view cherry blossoms as the first stop of my resumed Japan cherry blossom tour.

As a famous historic site in Japan, Hama-rikyu had never been opened to film and television productions before. The production team of "Detective Chinatown 3" spent three months negotiating before finally securing two and a half days of filming time. It is now a tea house where visitors can drink a cup of matcha and eat a Japanese sweet while overlooking the cherry blossoms on both sides.

Among the many cherry blossom viewing spots in Tokyo, Hama-rikyu's cherry blossoms bloom relatively late. If you have missed the full bloom of cherry blossoms elsewhere, you might want to come to Hama-rikyu to admire the blooming cherry blossoms.

Hama-rikyu is still relatively niche at present, without many tourists. If you resume your trip to Tokyo in the future, I recommend that you must come here first. It has different beautiful scenery throughout the four seasons.

In spring, Hama-rikyu has cherry blossoms and rapeseed flowers; in autumn, there are red leaves and cosmos to enjoy. You can experience natural scenery rarely seen in big cities.

Hama-rikyu is actually not far from Ginza; it takes about ten minutes on foot. After visiting here in the morning, you can go shopping in Ginza in the afternoon. When it comes to shopping in Tokyo, Ginza is a shopping destination I visit every time I come to Tokyo. But I previously noticed that drugstores in Ginza are not as numerous as in Shinjuku, and they are relatively small, so shopping was not satisfying enough. During this shopping trip, I found a relatively large Matsumoto Kiyoshi in Ginza. From now on, I can achieve one-stop centralized shopping in Ginza!

This Matsumoto Kiyoshi is a bit hidden, just opposite the FENDI flagship store in Ginza. You can enter the following address into a map app to find it:

Matsumoto Kiyoshi Ginza Miyuki Ave

Bino Ginza, 5 Chome-8-9 Ginza, Chuo City, Tokyo 104-0061

This Matsumoto Kiyoshi is quite large, with a ground floor and a basement floor. The ground floor mainly has daily necessities and medicines, while the basement floor mainly has cosmetics. This time in Tokyo, I mainly came to replenish some cosmetics for my best friend and my mom, so I directly rushed to B1 and started the shopping spree!

Every spring, various Japanese beauty brands launch limited cherry blossom season editions or spring new products. When you go shopping at a drugstore at this time, you can see various new products released during this period, which are dazzling, haha...

Canmake's cherry blossom pink blush has very fine powder, and the colors of the spring new products are also very beautiful. They have a slight shimmer but not exaggerated. It is one of the most competitive brands in Japanese drugstore cosmetics, with affordable prices and a wide selection of individual products.

There are also many hair care products. In a corner area, I saw a large "hair dye wall"!

Nowadays, many young Japanese people like to dye their hair at home. Usually, a box of hair dye bought at a drugstore costs only about 30 yuan. I bought Blaunē for my mom once before. It is mainly for dyeing fashionable hair colors while covering gray hair. She liked it very much as it is suitable for middle-aged and elderly people. And the Liese series, which belongs to the same Kao brand as Blaunē, is more suitable for young people. There are many color options, a total of 22 colors to choose from, covering warm brown, natural brown, pink brown, gray brown, natural black, and other color systems. It can meet the hair dyeing needs of most young women. Before purchasing, you can also scan the hair color simulation website on the packaging to find a suitable hair color. It is very intuitive, so you won't be overwhelmed by choices, haha.

These two colors are the best-selling ones. Through the hair color simulation, I chose the one on the right.

And these three are the newly released colors. I picked the one on the left, which has a reddish tone. I want to try both the classic colors and the latest colors, hehe.

As one of Japan's oldest daily chemical brands, Kao's products are still highly popular and well-regarded. I have always trusted Japan's "time-honored brands," haha. When I hear it's from Kao, I feel more confident.

KATE has always been a powerhouse among drugstore open-shelf cosmetics. The eyeshadow palettes are updated very frequently. I quite like KATE because it allows for quick makeup application. When I travel, I love to bring it.

I've used up countless Sana NEW BORN eyebrow pencils. This product has achieved great sales of 17 million units in Japan alone. With just one product, you can complete steps like outlining, coloring, blending, and brushing brows. Its compact size is also very convenient for travel.

The foundation from MAQUILLAGE that my mom loves has a new packaging. Every time I come to Japan, I buy it for her. This foundation performs well in both moisturizing and concealing, with a longevity of up to 6 or 7 hours.

After finishing the cosmetics floor, I moved to the ground floor to buy some daily necessities and medicines. This Matsumoto Kiyoshi is very spacious, and there are almost no people, making the shopping environment very pleasant.

I buy one or two boxes of Salonpas patches each time. They have patches for shoulders, neck, and lower back. After applying, there is a warm feeling, and the pain can be relieved to some extent. I feel a noticeable relaxation in the muscles. The overall effect is quite good. When traveling, I basically bring a few patches. When my muscles are sore, I put one on at night.

This Matsumoto Kiyoshi even has a full shelf of food products, including Ichiran Ramen. If you need to buy snacks, you can purchase them together and get a tax refund.

Probably because I haven't been to Japan as frequently in the past three years, I noticed this time that many beauty product packages have changed. Most sold online in China still have old packaging. I prefer the new packaging more, after all, it's "freshly baked," haha.

I didn't bring any face masks this time, so I bought one and opened it for immediate use. Minon face mask is one I often bring when traveling. Sometimes when I travel for a long time and bring more than ten sheet masks, my luggage feels heavy. Bringing such a small tube saves space and isn't heavy.

I opened a box of Liese hair dye to see if the instructions are the same as the Blaunē I bought before. The operation is still very simple. When using, mix the two agents, squeeze out the foam, and apply it evenly to the hair. It is very friendly for beginners. Two days (48 hours) before dyeing, you must do a skin allergy test (patch test). It can be purchased at Don Quijote and major drugstores.

Recently, Japan has canceled the nucleic acid test requirement, and flights to Japan have resumed a lot. You can arrange to resume your Japan trip now!