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!
- [For Adults] A Collection of Recreation and Game Ideas to Liven Up Hanami (Cherry Blossom Viewing)
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- Indoor games and recreational activities recommended for spring
- A roundup of fun games and recreational activities using balloons
- [For Kids] Let’s Play in English! A Collection of Fun Recreational Activities and Games
- [Sakura Quiz] Trivia & Fun Facts Quiz about Cherry Blossoms for Kids
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- [Elementary School] Games and Recreational Activities to Enjoy at a Forest School Camp
- A simple and fun co-op game that enhances teamwork
Make hanami even more fun! A collection of recreation and game ideas to play with kids (1–10)
Making pressed flower cards of memories
How about making a simple pressed flower using the cherry blossom petals you picked up during hanami? This video shows you how to press flowers in just one minute and turn them into a card.
The secret is the microwave! Try making a keepsake card so you can preserve those fun memories forever.
Four-Leaf Clover Time Attack
A perfect game for cherry-blossom viewing: the Four-Leaf Clover Time Attack.
Set a time limit and compete to see how many four-leaf clovers you can find within it.
Its simple rules are guaranteed to get everyone excited! Forming teams by family and battling it out sounds fun too.
Petal Collection
How about gathering the scattered cherry blossom petals and playing with them? You could scoop up more than you can hold in both hands and toss them, or pick out the prettiest petals, arrange them back into the shape of a flower, and display it.
You might even take some home and press them.
A craft where you thread them onto a string to make a necklace is also recommended.
And of course, spring is the season when many flowers besides cherry blossoms begin to bloom.
I think it’s fun to look for different kinds of flowers.
It’s a super easy spring activity that doesn’t require any tools at all!
Easy DIY! Ring Toss Game
When you’re relaxing and enjoying cherry blossom viewing in a warm park, how about trying a simple ring toss as a little game? All you need are an empty plastic bottle and some newspaper to get set up.
Kids love ring toss, don’t they? You could also line up some snacks instead of plastic bottles to give it a festival vibe—it’s sure to be a hit.
Insect observation and insect collecting
How about adding a little twist to your cherry-blossom viewing by incorporating some insect collecting for the kids? Beneath the cherry petals, tiny bugs are hiding.
Bring a magnifying glass and let the children enjoy observing insects—it’s highly recommended.
By exploring tree trunks and grassy areas, they might come across rhinoceros beetles or ladybugs.
If you bring an insect field guide, you can have even more fun looking up the creatures you find together.
Enjoy a memorable day while viewing the cherry blossoms!
Fingerplay: It’s spring, it is spring
There are lots of spring children’s songs, aren’t there? But how about a hand play song that lets you enjoy hand motions as well as singing this time? To the tune of “It’s Spring, It’s Really Spring,” let’s all make up and play with gestures for the butterflies and flowers that appear in the lyrics! If you have something like this up your sleeve for a cherry-blossom viewing party with lots of kids, it might be reassuring.
Let’s try whistling on a grass blade.
A grass whistle is made by blowing on a leaf pressed to your lips.
Many adults probably played with one as children.
It’s a curious instrument—how does it make sound?—and there seem to be a few tricks to getting it to sing.
First, the type of leaf you choose changes the tone.
Good spring choices include azalea, glossy privet, coralberry, and akebia.
Hold the leaf by pinching both ends between your thumbs and index fingers, and instead of merely touching it to your lips, put it slightly in your mouth as if to hold it gently.
Then blow… and you’ll get a cheerful, high “peeeep!”
