Ten of thousands and even more lined up for a visit to the Imperial gardens these past days and the lines are kilometres long. In spring 2014, to celebrate Emperor Akihito’s 80th birthday, the cherry tree-lined Inui-Dori (less than a kilometre long) was open to the public for five days of cherry blossom viewing and people flocked to get a rare glimpse of another part of the Imperial Palace. That’s not happening this year, but go check out the palace’s east gardens, which are open to public viewing for free.