Happening over just nine days in August, this festival to all things sakura is a sign that spring has sprung.
Stepping into the Auburn Botanic Gardens is stepping into Tokyo’s Shinjuku Gyoen National Gardens.
Only with slightly fewer skyscrapers towering over the grounds painted pink with the spring cherry blossoms.
If you want to experience the 200 trees blossoming this August, you’ll need to pre-book tickets, which cost $16.60 each in 2025 (unless you’re a Cumberland Council resident or younger than 16, then it’s free).
While in previous years your ticket gave you just 45 minutes amongst the blossoms, tickets now include all-day entry to the gardens. You’ll also get entry to the festival grounds, including the plenty of Japanese food stalls and Sakura stage, which will host tea ceremonies, Japanese entertainment and more.
But of course, the real highlight is the cherry blossoms.
TL;DR: Sydney Cherry Blossom Festival
- Where is it? Auburn Botanic Gardens
- Budgeting: $16.60 for an entry ticket, plus money for food and drink if you’d like
- What to do and see: Cherry blossom tail, Izakaya Amore and plenty of food stalls
- When to go: 16-24 August, 2025
Food stalls at the 2025 Cherry Blossom Festival
Aside from the blossoms themselves, a huge driver to the festival is all the Japanese delights served up at the food stalls. Here’s who’s joining this year. There’s more than 20 options, so remember to show up hungry!
- Bubble Bar
- Chayuu Matcha
- Pops Lemonade
- Iron Ramen
- 4abangs Japanese Sando
- May’s Traditional Japanese Noodle & Rice Bar
- Asian Delight
- JJ Japanese Kitchen
- Oyatsu
- Omu
- Birdman
- Mate Burger
- Skewiies
- Hi Chef
- Musubiya Ship
- Potato Twist
- Mochii Mochii
- Som Som Candy
- Snow and Shine
- Lovely Cone
- Tokyo Lamington
- I Am Hotteok
- Gelato Messine
What to see at the 2025 Sydney Cherry Blossom festival
The Cherry Blossom Trail
The main event, boasting 200 flowering trees, the Cherry Blossom Trail takes about 30 minutes to walk around. But, you’ll probably take much longer if you’re snapping photos along the way.
If you’re short on time, or can’t walk too far, there’s also a shorter 10-minute trail you can follow.
The Zen Zone
Surrounded by a pond, this dedicated quiet zone is a great places to escape the crowds that are just about guaranteed along the main trail.
Shinrin-Yoku
The Japanese art of “forest bathing”, shinrin-yoku will take you on a journey to connect with nature in a mindful way. This 40-minute guided experience takes you through trails to help you find your sense of calm.
Origami
All day, you can learn how to create little works of art with no more than just paper.
Manga workshops
Throughout the day on weekends, join a manga class to learn how to draw some of your favourite Japanese characters, from Pokémon to chibi.
Our review of the Sydney Cherry Blossom Festival
Set amongst a picturesque Japanese garden, the cherry blossom trees follow a path around a pond complete with koi swimming around. There’s a small structure on one side making you feel as if you’ve gotten lost in a garden in Kyoto or Osaka.
The trees blossom for just a few weeks a year in late August, just a few weeks before spring officially begins.
We were lucky to be there on a brilliant, sunny day with clear, blue skies overhead. If you’re flexible and can control when you go, this sky makes for an excellent backdrop to the pale, pink flowers.
What did we eat at the Sydney Cherry Blossom Festival?
Found on a lawn next to the cherry blossom route, the Japanese Food Village offers a range of dining options, both savoury and sweet.
Everything we ate was tasty and not too pricey.
- Tempura mushrooms from The Fun Guys
- Onigiri from Onigiri Lab
- Seaweed salad and chicken karaage from Come on mate!
- Beef skewers from Hoy Pinoy
- Green tea crème brulee from Torch Me Crème Brulee
When and where is the Sydney Cherry Blossom Festival?
Auburn Botanic Gardens is home to the festival, which is about 2.5 kilometres from Auburn Station. There are shuttle busses available between the two locations every 20 minutes. If you’re driving, it’s probably best to find parking on a nearby side street.
The festival we attended started on Saturday, 20 August and runs until Sunday 28 August 2022. The gates are open from 9am to 5pm daily, but you can only enter the cherry blossom route at your assigned time.
Sydney Cherry Blossom Festival in a nutshell
The good
The Japanese Food Village had a great variety of food and was very on-theme with the festival. The area wasn’t too crowded and had tables and grassy areas to sit and enjoy your mean.
The bad
The crowds. Although it is a ticketed event, the number of people allowed in during each 45-minute session is quite high, and the first half of the cherry blossom route is very crowded and slow.
We did visit on a Sunday afternoon, so if you can, try to visit during the week when there would likely be fewer crowds… And fewer people in the background of your pictures.
You’ll want to take plenty!
When were we last at the Sydney Cherry Blossom Festival?
This review is from our visit in August 2022, but has been updated with information about the 2025 festival.
This post was originally published in August 2022.
