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 Hanami Even More Fun! A Collection of Recreation and Game Ideas to Play with Kids (61–70)
Singing Game: Riding the Bus
The hand-play song “Riding on the Bus.” This is a fun activity with choreography where you sit on the ground and sway as if you’re riding on a bus.
The bus driver and the passengers can link together, and the more people there are, the more fun it gets—that’s the highlight! Children’s songs at a cherry-blossom viewing—how peaceful and pleasant it sounds!
Did you know? A dandelion whistle.
Dandelions blooming here and there in spring are probably a familiar flower that everyone often sees.
But did you know you can make a whistle from a dandelion stem? If you make a small slit at the end of the stem, put it to your lips, and blow, it makes a “poo” sound.
It’s a perfect pastime for the spring season!
bamboo-copter
The traditional toy that’s been around for ages: the bamboo copter.
There’s something so charming about how it whooshes upward when you spin it with your palm.
These days you can even find them at 100-yen shops, so try playing with one with the kids during cherry-blossom viewing.
See how high you can make it fly—when you look up, you might spot the cherry blossoms, too.
A beautiful spring scene.
Tug of war
Hanami is usually held in larger parks—that’s the classic choice, right? And here’s a game that’s perfect precisely because it’s in a park: tug-of-war! You don’t get many chances to play tug-of-war outside of events like school sports days, but if you try it on an occasion like this, it’s surprisingly exciting! It’s fun for just the kids, or for parents and children teaming up together, too!
Fukuwarai game using your own face
It takes a little preparation, but this “Fukuwarai game with your own face” is guaranteed to be a hit.
As the name suggests, you make color copies of your own face outline and facial features and play Fukuwarai with them.
The familiar face arranged all out of place is hilarious, so it’s sure to liven things up.
You could even secretly make Fukuwarai sets using the faces of the people joining the cherry-blossom viewing party.
Let’s dance! Senbonzakura
When it comes to Hatsune Miku, the signature song is Senbonzakura.
It’s a hugely popular Vocaloid track known by everyone from kids to adults.
How about dancing to Senbonzakura as a classic “sakura song” while enjoying the cherry blossoms? Whether they love dancing, aren’t so good at it, or feel shy about performing in front of others—let’s have everyone dance together! It’s a once-a-year event, and with the spring warmth and the open-air atmosphere, dancing is sure to lift everyone’s spirits.
Adults might even join in too (haha).
Magical Banana with everyone
“Magical Banana” is a recreation game that spread from the smash-hit variety show “Magical Zunō Power!!,” hosted by Eiji Bandō.
I think almost everyone has heard of it at least once.
You start with “Magical Banana,” then connect images one after another, like “banana makes you think of yellow, yellow makes you think of butterflies,” and so on.
The charm of Magical Banana is that you don’t need pens or paper—no preparation at all.
It’s a nostalgic and recommended recreation for moms’ generation.
Card Magic ☆ Flower Fortune-telling
How about performing a magic trick at a cherry blossom viewing party? In the spirit of hanami, here’s a magic trick that uses a flower fortune-telling theme.
You know the classic “loves me, loves me not” where you pluck petals and the last one determines the result.
We’ll adapt that to playing cards to guess the spectator’s chosen card.
Have the spectator pick a card and control it to the bottom of the deck.
Using your pinky to keep a gap and track the card’s position is called a break.
By applying that break to maintain control of the card’s location, you can secretly place the selected card in the middle of a packet when you deal off ten cards, ensuring it’s the last one remaining—just like the final petal in the flower fortune-telling.
paper balloon
Colorful paper balloons in red, yellow, green, blue, and more.
They look cute, and although they have a long history known by grandparents’ generations, they’re still fun for children today.
As the name suggests, they’re balloons made of paper that puff up easily when you blow air into the hole.
Rubber balloons can be hard for small children to inflate, and if they pop, some kids get startled and cry—but paper balloons are easy for little ones to blow up and play with.
If they start to deflate, you can just add more air, and there are many ways to get creative with how you play with them.
In conclusion
We introduced recommended activities and games for kids to enjoy during cherry-blossom viewing. Did you find any play ideas or games you like? If it’s something you can enjoy on a picnic sheet, adults can have fun too while keeping an eye on the kids. Since it’s a special hanami outing, let’s make sure both children and adults have an absolutely wonderful time together!