The blossom moves north for more than a month, and the right week depends on where you plan to be
The Japan cherry blossom season begins in the south in March and reaches Hokkaido around the start of May, so it is better understood as a moving front than a single date. Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka sit in the middle of that journey. Long-term averages from the Japan Meteorological Agency place first flowering in all three cities in the final ten days of March.
This page covers how the blossom moves, how to read the forecasts, and what to arrange early. It also serves as a short piece of Japan travel planning for a spring visit. For the wider picture, see our guides to the best time to visit Japan and to planning a luxury trip to Japan.
Flowering is recorded first in the south. In the agency’s averages, Fukuoka and Kagoshima flower in the second half of March, and Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka follow within days. Kanazawa comes in the first days of April, Sendai a few days after that, Aomori in the last third of April, and Sapporo at the start of May.
Full bloom arrives between four and ten days after first flowering in these averages. At any one place, the best viewing is short, often about a week. That is why a blossom trip is easiest to plan by region and by a range of dates.
Treat every date as a range, not a promise. Weather decides each spring, and a warm or cold spell can shift the whole sequence by several days either way. One of the most useful Japan travel tips for this season: choose the place first and let the week follow.
Forecasts for the Japan cherry blossom season come from private weather companies. The Japan Meteorological Agency stopped issuing its own in 2010 and now publishes the observed flowering and full-bloom dates. The Japan National Tourism Organization shows the Japan Weather Association’s cherry blossom forecast, and the Japan Meteorological Corporation issues a forecast of its own.
First forecasts appear in winter and are revised through the spring, so an early forecast is a guide only. The dates become more reliable as the bloom approaches.
For that reason, we build trips around a window rather than a single day. Rooms and key reservations are arranged early, and the final days are fitted to the latest forecast.
Tell us when you can travel, and we will plan your Japan trip around the blossom
In Tokyo, Shinjuku Gyoen holds around 900 cherry trees of about 70 varieties, so the blossom there stretches from late winter into mid-April instead of peaking once. The garden’s official site notes that entry on busy days in the season may require advance reservation.
In Kyoto, the Philosopher’s Path in Higashiyama follows a canal beneath roughly 400 cherry trees. Maruyama Park is known for its large weeping cherry, lit at night. Both draw large crowds in peak week, so we plan early starts.
For a later bloom, look north. Hirosaki Park in Aomori holds around 2,600 cherry trees, and the Hirosaki Cherry Blossom Festival runs from mid-April into early May. Hokkaido flowers later still, from late April into May. Golden Week begins on 29 April and is one of the busiest travel periods in Japan, so northern trips set around it need earlier arrangements.
At Perfect.Live, we plan the trip around the bloom: hotels and ryokan chosen for the right district, flexible terms requested where they are offered, private transfers, early starts at the quieter spots, and dinners booked for the evenings that matter. Our guides to luxury hotels in Tokyo and luxury hotels in Kyoto help with the stay, while luxury shopping in Tokyo and the best restaurants in Tokyo fill the days between. One team stays in contact throughout, so the plan can change if the blossom does.
It starts in the south in March and ends in Hokkaido around early May, with Tokyo and Kyoto usually flowering from late March into early April
At any one place the best viewing is usually about a week, but the season as a whole lasts for weeks as the bloom moves north
Weather companies such as the Japan Weather Association and the Japan Meteorological Corporation publish forecasts, and the Japan Meteorological Agency publishes the observed dates
Tohoku and Hokkaido flower later, from mid-April into May, though Golden Week makes travel in the north busier
Start with the hotel and key reservations as early as you can, and choose a range of dates instead of a single day
