The cherry blossom (sakura) has been celebrated in Japan for many centuries and holds a very particular place in Japanese culture. Although there are many varieties of cherry trees in Japan, most bloom for just a couple of days in spring. The Japanese celebrate this time of the year with Hanami (cherry blossom viewing) parties: friends, family or work colleagues gather and sit on plastic mats under the blossoming trees, to drink, sing, chat or just admire the spectacle.

The most important factor in determining the blooming time of cherry trees is the geographical location. The milder the climate, the earlier the blossoms open, so the blossom-time sweeps up the country from south to north.

On Japan’s southern, subtropical islands of Okinawa, cherry blossoms open as early as January, while on the northern island of Hokkaido, the flowering can be as late as May. In most major cities in between, such as Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, the cherry blossom season typically takes place in early April.

Furthermore, the blooming time of cherry trees differs from year to year depending on the weather. If the weather during the months and weeks preceding the cherry blossom season is mild, blossoms will open early. If it is cold, blossoms will open later. From year to year, the start of the blooming season can vary by as much as two weeks. The table below shows the average times (from north to south of the country).

Credits to: JTB

Now take a look at the cherry blossom forecast for 2020. Please note that these dates are tentative and subject to change.

Place	Estimated Average First Bloom	Estimated Average Full Bloom
Okinawa	Late January	First Week of February
Kagoshima	March 28, 2020	April 4 to 11, 2020
Kumamoto	March 24, 2020	March 31 to April 8, 2020
Nagasaki	March 22, 2020	April 1 to April 9, 2020
Fukouka	March 21, 2020	March 29 to April 6, 2020
Matsuyama	March 23, 2020	March 31 to April 8, 2020
Hiroshima	March 23, 2020	March 29 to April 6, 2020
Okayama
Nagoya	March 24, 2020	March 31 to April 8, 2020
Kyoto	March 25, 2020	March 31 to April 8, 2020
Osaka	March 25, 2020	March 31 to April 8, 2020
Shizuoka	March 27, 2020	April 5 to April 13, 2020
Wakayama	March 24, 2020	April 1 to April 10, 2020
Yokohama	March 22, 2020	March 30 to April 7, 2020
Kanazawa	March 29, 2020	April 2 to 10, 2020
Tokyo	March 22, 2020	March 29 to April 6, 2020
Kochi	March 21, 2020	March 30 to April 6, 2020
Nara	March 25, 2020	March 31 to April 8, 2020
Yoshino
Matsumoto
Niigata	April 5, 2020	April 10 to 18, 2020
Nagano	April 9, 2020	April 14 to 23, 2020
Takayama
Fuji Five Lake Areas
Fukushima	April 7, 2020	April 10 to 18, 2020
Sendai	April 8, 2020	April 10 to 18, 2020
Aomori (Hirosaki)	April 21, 2020	April 25 to May 2, 2020
Akita (Kakunodate)	April 15, 2020	April 20 to 28, 2020
Iwate (Kitakami)
Hakodate	April 25, 2020	April 28 to May 5, 2020
Sapporo	April 26, 2020	April 28 to May 5, 2020