Cherry blossoms in Japan: when and where to see them

The sakura is the blossom of the Japanese cherry tree, and its bloom is one of the most anticipated events of the year in Japan. For one or two weeks, parks, temples, riverbanks and entire avenues are covered in a pale pink that completely transforms the urban landscape. For Japanese culture, the fleeting nature of the blossom (which falls within a few days of opening) symbolises the ephemeral beauty of life, an idea (mono no aware) that lies at the heart of its aesthetic sensibility.

In practice, for the traveller, the sakura means two things: the most sought-after visual spectacle in the country and, at the same time, the season with the most tourists and the highest prices. That is why choosing the dates well is so important: the bloom window is short and shifts each year. Its autumn counterpart is the momiji, the colour of the maple leaves, which has a wider window and is somewhat easier to get right.

The bloom depends directly on the temperatures of winter and early spring: a cold winter followed by a warm March brings the bloom forward; a cold March delays it. That is why no year is exactly like the last and the date can shift by up to two weeks from the average.

The official forecasts for each season are published from January and are refined week by week as spring approaches. To follow the 2026 forecast with up-to-date data, the most reliable references are the apps Sakura Navi (from the Japan Meteorological Corporation, which forecasts bloom and full bloom at around a thousand points across the country) and Weathernews, which estimate the opening and the peak city by city.

The practical consequence for planning: if your trip revolves around the sakura, leave a margin of several days and, if you can, choose flexible dates. Anchoring the trip to the second week of April in Tokyo and Kyoto is the bet with the highest chance of success, but there is never absolute certainty.

Almost any park or riverbank in Japan has cherry trees, but some places are legendary for hanami. These are the best known by city:

• Tokyo: the Chidorigafuchi moat (next to the Imperial Palace, with rowing boats among the blossoms), Ueno Park, the Meguro River illuminated at night and the Shinjuku Gyoen garden, one of the best and most peaceful in the city.
• Kyoto: Maruyama Park (with its famous illuminated weeping cherry), the Philosopher's Path along the canal, Arashiyama and the gardens of Daigo-ji temple.
• Osaka: the surroundings of Osaka Castle and the bank of the Okawa River (Kema Sakuranomiya area), one of the longest cherry blossom walks in the country.
• Hiroshima: the Castle and the surroundings of the Peace Memorial Park.
• Nara: Nara Park among the deer and, further south, Mount Yoshino, famous for its thousands of cherry trees tiered up the slope.
• North (for late bloom): Hirosaki Castle (Aomori), one of the most spectacular sakura settings in Japan, usually reaches its best in late April, when the blossom has already fallen in Tokyo and Kyoto.

If you want spectacular blossoms with fewer crowds, northern destinations such as Hirosaki or Mount Yoshino draw far less international tourism than the Tokyo–Kyoto axis. It is also worth looking beyond the big capitals: the full list of best cities in Japan includes several with good blossom and far fewer crowds.

The hanami (literally, "flower viewing") is the custom of gathering under the cherry trees to enjoy the bloom. In practice it is a picnic: families, friends and work colleagues spread out a blue tarp under the trees, share food and drink and spend hours chatting among the blossoms. In the most popular parks in Tokyo or Kyoto, the best spots are taken from early in the morning.

As evening falls, many places illuminate the cherry trees: it is the yozakura (night sakura), with the blossoms highlighted against the dark sky. The Meguro River in Tokyo or Maruyama Park in Kyoto are classics for seeing it.

Tips for your hanami

• Bring a tarp or light blanket; they are sold in any 100-yen shop.
• Buy the food at a konbini (24-hour shop) or in the food section of a department store (depachika): bentos, seasonal sweets and drinks.
• Take your rubbish with you: in Japan there are hardly any street bins and everyone is expected to carry out their own.
• If you go to a very popular park at the weekend, arrive early to get a spot.

The sakura is the most expensive season of the year to travel to Japan. During the peak (late March to mid April), flights and hotels rise between 20 and 40% compared with the rest of the year. In Kyoto, rooms for the first half of April can sell out five or six months in advance.

If you plan to travel during sakura, start booking flights and accommodation in October or November of the previous year. The closer to the peak and the more central the hotel, the sooner availability at a good price disappears.

• Anchor the trip to the second week of April if your main route is Tokyo and Kyoto: that is when the chance of catching the peak in both cities is highest.
• Spread the risk with geography: if you arrive early and the blossom has not yet come out in Tokyo, head south (Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima), where it blooms a few days earlier. If you arrive late and it has already fallen, head north (Sendai, Hirosaki, Hokkaido), where it blooms later.
• Check the forecast from January with Sakura Navi or Weathernews and adjust the order of the cities if needed.
• Have a plan B: even if you do not catch the exact peak, half-open cherry trees or ones starting to fall (with the petal rain, hanafubuki) are still beautiful.

With your dates decided, the next step is to distribute the nights between the cities of your route so the itinerary follows the blossom front: start in the south if you arrive early and finish further north if your dates are a bit late. If your trip is long, a 21-day itinerary gives you plenty of room to chase the bloom from city to city without rushing.