Spring is Japan's most visited season. And that is of course not without reason… Besides the pleasant temperatures, the cherry trees also blossom into their beautiful white and pink blossom. Also known as the magical sakura season!
We will explain when exactly the cherry blossom starts in Japan because we know how frustrating it is when you just miss the season. And it is worthwhile to enjoy this beautiful natural phenomenon. Both Japanese and foreign tourists from all over the world flock to admire the cherry blossoms. They go out picnicking in de parks with the cherry trees, take many pictures of and with the blossom, and enjoy long walks along the rivers with their cherry trees. The cherry trees are beautifully lit by Japanese lanterns during the Sakura Festival.
Sakura forecast
Every year the Japanese government provides a forecast when the sakura will start blooming in the country and when it will be at its peak. They will start with the prediction by the end of January. And as we are used to from the Japanese, this prediction is very accurate and is updated every 2 weeks. Here you can find the page of the Japanese government about the sakura prediction.
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The average period for sakura by city
Japan is a large country with different temperatures across the country, thus depending on where your travel there will be a different date when the cherry blossom will bloom in Japan. The flowering periods of the Japanese Sakura vary from year to year but are usually around the following periods. Please note that the cherry blossom only blooms for a week per city! Depending on the weather, with a lot of rain, it will only be a few days. More shaded trees do not reach flowering until later.
- Naha (Okinawa Islands) in mid-January
- Tokyo around mid to late March
- Shizuoka around mid to late March
- Fukuoka around mid-March
- Kyoto around the end of March
- Hiroshima around the end of March
- Kagoshima around the end of March
- Nagasaki around the end of March
- Matsuyama around the end of March
- Nagoya around the end of March
- Kanazawa around the end of March
- Sendai around the beginning of April
- Niigata around the beginning of April
- Aomori around the end of April
- Osaka around the end of March
- Sapporo around the end of April and the beginning of May
Enjoy the beautiful sakura free birds! 🙂
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