TOKYO: Inui Street at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo was opened to the public Saturday amid the cherry blossom season, the first such move since 2019 after visits by ordinary people were canceled in the past three years due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The general public is allowed to visit the street until April 2, with no advance reservation required. It is open between 9 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. each day.

Visitors are asked to enter Inui Street from the Sakashita Gate and exit through the Inui Gate, about 750 meters away from the entrance. A total of 103 cherry trees are planted along the street.

The Imperial Household Agency is calling on visitors to take COVID-19 countermeasures, such as checking body temperatures as well as wearing face masks when having close-range conversations.

The agency started to open the street to the public in 2014, during the spring cherry blossom and autumn foliage seasons, but had put it on hold since the spring of 2020 because of the novel coronavirus crisis. The autumn public viewing restarted last year.

JIJI Press