Cherry blossom in Japan
Welcome back to my Japanese travel blog. Today I'm writing about the beautiful cherry blossom season that sweeps across Japan in springtime. If you plan your trip there carefully you can visit many parks, gardens, castles, lakes, rivers and other places where cherry blossom trees are located and see them in full bloom. When you come across a place with a large number of these trees, it is truly a visual spectacle for your eyes, a feast of colour and beauty.
large cherry blossom tree
Sakura
The Japanese cherry is usually referred to as Sakura. When you visit during the blossom season you will see numerous references to Sakura and lots of Sakura-themed events and products. This is a celebrated season in Japan and the country receives many visitors from abroad to view these wonderful displays of colourful blooms, which are usually different shades of pink, from almost white to a deep vibrant pink, depending on the tree variety. You will also hear the term 'hanami' which today refers to people enjoying these temporary flowers by viewing them and spending time together underneath the trees eating, drinking, partying and singing. You will see lots of people enjoying this season in Japan.
close up of cherry blossom
Cherry blossom season
Cherry blossom arrival is linked to the weather and temperature. It's not easy to predict exactly, but it usually occurs around similar times each year in the Japanese springtime. The blossom season starts in the deep south of the country around February and ends in the north at the end of April/beginning of May as the warmer weather gradually extends northwards. This is handy as it gives you a longer period of time in which to plan your cherry blossom travel. I'd suggest the best viewing time in terms of opportunity to see many sites is March/April. If you can keep your itinerary flexible, you can follow online cherry blossom trackers and forecasts (such as Japan Weather Map or this one) to choose a place to visit each day.
Cherry blossom trees against a blue sky
My cherry blossom visit
Obviously I am a big fan of visiting Japan, but I must admit that it was my partner who initially raised the idea of visiting during the blossom flowering season. I wasn't sold at first as to be honest it seemed like a holiday just looking at flowering trees I could see elsewhere, but I am so glad I listened and we planned this beautiful trip. We spent 2 weeks travelling around central Japan on the main island of Honshu visiting places we'd researched beforehand. It's not difficult to find ideas of places to visit as this is a very popular time of year in Japan and there is a wealth of information online including a large number of suggestions. We made a list, booked our flights to cover an end of March and beginning of April visit, bought our rail passes, and then when we arrived planned each day's visit depending on the forecast. Highly recommended!
A few more pictures of cherry blossom
cherry blossom trees lining a stream
cherry blossom forest
close up of dark pink cherry blossom
cherry blossom tree with a sun background
cherry blossom tree reflecting in a park lake
You can even get cherry blossom (sakura) flavoured ice cream...which we tried and which was delicious, definite cherry flavours in there!
Thank you for reading!
