Make cherry blossom viewing even more fun! A collection of recreation and game ideas to play with kids
With the warm spring weather inviting us outside, many of you are probably planning to go cherry-blossom viewing with your children.
At hanami, you don’t just want to admire the cherry blossoms—you also want to include recreations and games that parents and kids can fully enjoy together.
In this article, we’ll introduce a wide range of ideas to make your hanami time even more special, from sakura-themed games and active movement play to simple activities that require no equipment.
Make the most of those spring moments filled with children’s smiles!
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Make cherry-blossom viewing even more fun! A collection of recreation and game ideas to enjoy with kids (51–60)
Let’s try it! Practice introducing yourself.
At large cherry-blossom picnics centered around children, there are often chances for kids who don’t know each other to gather—maybe because the mothers are acquaintances or it’s part of a hanami event.
In times like these, try enjoying self-introductions as a fun icebreaker! Some children may feel a bit nervous about introducing themselves.
Help ease their nerves while letting everyone learn their names, favorite foods, and favorite games.
If the adults join in the introductions too, it can liven things up and help the kids relax.
Let’s weave a flower crown with white clover.
Now that spring has become pleasantly warm, how about weaving a flower crown from the white clover blooming all over the cherry-blossom-viewing park? It can be hard to braid well with your own method, but if you use this approach, it’s easy and turns out beautifully.
Please give it a try.
It’s also a great idea for everyone to wear them and take a spring commemorative photo.
10-second stopwatch challenge
How accurate is everyone’s internal clock? The second hand on the clocks we casually look at—feeling exactly one second is actually pretty tricky, isn’t it? Using a stopwatch, close your eyes and try to stop it at exactly 10 seconds! It’ll be exciting to give a prize to the person who gets the closest!
human disentanglement puzzle
The human knot is a game where a group of people hold hands and, by stepping over and ducking under each other, tangle themselves up like a puzzle.
Then, at a “ready, go,” everyone works together to untangle the knot back into a single circle.
It looks simple, but it’s surprisingly tricky—perfect as a group recreation activity!
Perfect as a gift! Easy cup sushi
If you want to enjoy a bit of cooking before cherry-blossom viewing, cup sushi is a great option.
All you need are vinegared rice and whatever toppings you like.
If you buy cups at a 100-yen shop, it’s super easy—just add your favorite toppings on the rice.
Making enough for everyone and bringing them as a treat is a lovely idea.
A four-leaf clover made with origami!
The plant that appears in the opening song of “Rascal the Raccoon,” white clover (shirotsumekusa), is called “clover” in English.
It seems this little tidbit isn’t widely known.
Also, the origin of the idea of why four-leaf clovers bring good luck isn’t very clear.
Hmm, but the ambiguity makes it all the more romantic! How about making a four-leaf clover out of origami, since it’s so hard to find one in real life? You can make one from a single sheet, create a larger one by connecting several pieces, or use scissors to give it a more realistic finish—choose a project suited to your child’s age and enjoy crafting clovers together.
It’s lovely to display your finished pieces in a classroom or at home!
Let’s have fun searching for spring wildflowers
When spring comes, you start finding lots of small, cute flowers along the roadside.
Dandelions, white clover, and fleabane are typical examples, and there are also edible plants like horsetails and mugwort.
How about going outside to look for these spring plants? Dandelions, which you see often and children also know well, actually come in two types: native Japanese and foreign varieties.
You can tell the difference by looking at the underside of the flower.
You can also have fun making rings from dandelions or flower crowns from white clover.
Bouquet of spring wildflowers
When you think of places to go cherry-blossom viewing, parks, wide open fields, and riverbanks come to mind, right? Cherry blossoms are, of course, beautiful, but in spring the wildflowers in the fields are also lovely and so cute.
How about picking some of those flowers and wild grasses to make a bouquet? Dandelions, white clover, henbit, and Veronica persica are colorful and charming—there are so many small yet beautiful flowers.
Weeds you may have never paid attention to before can be transformed into something bright and delightful by arranging them into a bouquet with spring flowers!
Perfect for cherry blossoms! Easy strawberry pie making
Bringing homemade sweets to a cherry-blossom viewing picnic is a great idea, isn’t it? How about making a springlike strawberry pie? You might think strawberry pie sounds difficult, but it’s very easy if you use frozen puff pastry and strawberry jam.
Just thaw the frozen pastry, cut it, combine it with some cut-out shapes, bake it in the oven, and once it’s done, spoon strawberry jam into the cut-out sections—super simple.
Even small children can help make it.
Snacks you make yourself always taste extra special.
Fun! Bamboo Shoot Nyoki Game
Spring is the season when new shoots grow rapidly.
Have you heard of the game “Takenoko Nyokki,” which is perfect for this time of year? The rules are simple: shout out your favorite number, and if it doesn’t overlap with anyone else on your team, you win.
It’s guaranteed to get everyone hyped! Try playing it together during cherry-blossom viewing.