Offbeat Japan
Offbeat Japan
Every spring, the cherry trees bloom from south to north. They open the season in Okinawa from mid-January, reach Tokyo and Kyoto in late March, and close it in Hokkaido in early May. This map follows their journey with the observations of the Japan Meteorological Agency, checked twice a day.
The map is cut into small 4 km zones. Each one takes its color from the day you pick: still in bud, first blossoms, at their best, or petals fallen. The play button runs through the spring, and the past years, back to 2017, show how each one actually went. For the coming spring it is an estimate drawn from the last ten years, adjusted as soon as the JMA sees its first trees bloom.
The dots are my hanami places, where I went to see the cherry trees or that are worth the trip in season. Zoom in and their photo appears; click one to open the article.
The JMA watches a single reference tree, a Somei Yoshino planted in the garden of each station, right in the city. Spring comes later up high: in Yoshino, the trees at the foot of the mountain bloom in early April, those at the top two to three weeks later. In Okinawa and Amami, another tree is followed, the Taiwan cherry with its deep pink flowers, which opens the season in January. The map shows how far spring has come, my articles tell you where to go.
Planning a spring trip? See also my guide to Japan in spring.