The Cherry Blossom Festival, or Sakura Matsuri, is one of the most iconic festivals in Japanese culture. Its purpose is to celebrate the blossoming of the sakura (cherry blossom), a flower that is a symbol of their culture. And although we’re not in Japan, you too can be part of this celebration! After all, the traditional Cherry Blossom Festival is coming to São Roque, just 65 kilometers from the capital.
The 28th edition of the festival will take place in July at the Bunkyo Kokushikan Park, which promotes various Japanese-Brazilian cultural events. So if you like cultural activities, nature and free attractions, you can’t miss it!
Check out the program for the São Roque Cherry Blossom Festival!
For hundreds of years, cherry blossoms have been a prominent flower in Japan, symbolizing the end of a long winter and the beginning of spring. As a result, they have become a symbol of joy and the ephemerality of life in the country, and are celebrated every year in their honor.
The city of São Roque hosted the Cherry Blossom Festival for the first time in 1997, organized by the Brazilian Society of Japanese Culture and Social Assistance (Bunkyo). Since then, hundreds of people have gathered in the city to admire the blossoming of the more than 1,000 sakura trees in Bunkyo Kokushikan Park.
In addition, the festival offers an unmissable program that promotes a dive into Japanese culture, with typical foods, artistic workshops and music and dance performances. The official 2025 program is not yet available in full, but we already know some of the activities to come:
- Tea ceremony;
- Craft fair;
- Food court with Japanese cuisine;
- Origami workshops;
- Sale of cherry tree seedlings;
- Shows of typical Japanese music and dance.
How to take part?
The São Roque Cherry Blossom Festival will take place over two weekends, on July 5, 6, 12 and 13, always from 10am to 5pm. Admission is free, with food and drink paid for separately.
You can take a day trip or, if you prefer, stay in a hostel near Bunkyo Kokushikan. But demand for accommodation is high and prices tend to rise as time goes by, so plan ahead if you want to sleep there.
There will be parking available, which will cost an average of R$50 per vehicle. But if you prefer not to drive, the Cherry Blossom Festival organizers usually offer bus services between the Liberdade district and the park, at an estimated cost of R$60 round trip.
