posted on February 20, 2020

  According to the old calendar, spring has already started in Japan. While it still snows in many places, especially in the northern areas, people are looking forward to the day when they can go for “Hanami”, cherry blossoms viewing. For the Japanese, cherry blossoms or sakura is a highly symbolic tree and its blossoming is much anticipated as it indicates the arrival of real spring. Sakura represents “rebirth”. Its blooming period corresponds to the beginning of the fiscal and school year which starts in April, unlike in the West. Below is the latest cherry blossom forecast (sakura calendar 2020) released on February 20 by the Japan Weather Association. Below are the expected dates of blooming (Japanese map). This year, some sakura bloom earlier than average. Somei-Yoshino cherry trees, the most common variety in Japan, will begin flowering in Tokyo after March 17, which is quite early, then around Nagoya on March 18, Kyoto on March 20, and we have to wait until April 28 in the far north of Sapporo. The dates in the English map indicate the best viewing periods of cherry blossoms.

!! It is important to note that temperatures, rain and wind may affect the cherry blossom period across Japan. The dates largely depend on the weather during the last few weeks before blooming. We will be tracking the progress of the cherry blossom front.

Arakurayama Sengen Park                     Hirosaki Castle, Aomori

               Hanami-yama, Fukushima              2,000-year-old Yamataka Jindai Sakura, Yamanashi