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 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.
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.