Cherry Blossom Reports 2026

Following yesterday’s report from Kakunodate, today I was in Aomori Prefecture to visit Hirosaki Castle - one of the country’s best-loved cherry blossom viewing spots with defensive moats, turrets and a three-story...

Three days on from Raina’s visit to Hirosaki, today I took a trip to Kakunodate - a former castle town in Akita Prefecture known for its beautifully preserved samurai residences and as one of the very best cherry...

Today I visited Hirosaki Castle Park, one of my favorite cherry blossom spots, in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture. There are a number of cherry tree varieties at the park with around 1700 cherry trees. The cherry blossom...

Today I visited Tenshochi Park, a popular cherry blossom spot in Kitakami, where I found the cherry blossoms to be at their best. The entrance to the park is about a 15-20 minute walk from Kitakami Station, about 20...

The mainstream Somei Yoshino cherry blossom season is in full swing in the Tohoku Region, and today I visited Aizu-Wakamatsu City in inland Fukushima Prefecture to check on the state of the blossoms. I visited Tsuruga...

After my report in Fukushima yesterday, today I headed a little further north to take a look at the cherry blossoms on the banks of the Shiroishi River. To my delight, I found that they were in full bloom. Despite the...

With the Somei Yoshino cherry blossoms beyond peak in major cities west of Tokyo, we at the Japan Guide team are moving to higher elevations and northwards. So today I traveled to Fukushima to visit the beautiful...

A day on from my trip to Takato Castle, I rounded off my time in Nagano Prefecture today with a visit to Matsumoto - a gateway city to the Northern Japan Alps, best known as the home of one of the country’s most...

The mainstream Somei Yoshino cherry blossoms are nearing the end of their season in the major cities west of Tokyo. Those who want to see cherry blossoms at their best should consider heading to places at higher...

After rounding off my time in the Kansai Region yesterday with a final report from Osaka, today I found myself in the central part of Honshu for a one-off visit to Takato Castle Park. Today an attractive hillside...

Following on from yesterday’s report from Kyoto where the cherry blossom season was drawing to a close (albeit with chances still remaining to catch some later-blooming types at a few key spots around the city), I...

Four days after Raina reported full bloom in the capital, I headed to Tokyo to check out the state of the blossoms...

Back in the Kansai Region after yesterday’s visit to Kanazawa, I today visited two popular viewing spots in Kyoto. While my overall impression here was of the season having past its peak and beginning to wind down,...

Following on from another hugely enjoyable visit to Mount Yoshino in Nara Prefecture yesterday, today I was in Kanazawa - the prefectural capital of Ishikawa and a beautiful city with some especially attractive...

The cherry blossoms on Mount Yoshino in Nara Prefecture are widely considered the most iconic and culturally significant in all of Japan, and today - following on from yesterday’s report out of Kyoto - I dropped by...

Today, I visited Tokyo to check on the state of the cherry blossoms, two weeks since the season started in Tokyo. I found the cherry blossoms were still at their best viewing on this sunny day. However, rain and...

Following on from my trip to Nagoya yesterday, today came what is always one of the highlights of my reporting year - a visit to check on the progress of the cherry blossoms in Kyoto, this time to two of the...

Tokyo is at full bloom and the city is looking spectacular, so today I headed out to Sumida Park and Chidorigafuchi - two of the most popular spots in the city, to enjoy the full bloom alongside both locals and...

Following yesterday’s sport from Hiroshima where the cherry blossoms were just beginning to fall, today I arrived in Japan’s fourth largest city of Nagoya to check on two more cherry blossom-viewing hotspots. Here,...

Hot on the heels of our two reports yesterday from Tokyo and Osaka, today I was in Hiroshima - an attractive, compact city in the west of Japan known for its many sightseeing spots, laid-back atmosphere and, of...

Today I visited Osaka to check on the state of the blossoms and continue my coverage in western Japan - I was in Nara yesterday and Kyoto the day before. The start of the mainstream Somei Yoshino cherry blossom...

Three days on from my last visit, today I was back in Tokyo to see how the cherry blossoms were coming along at two of the city’s best-loved parks. After a slight delay to the start of the season here, it was great...

Today I visited Nara to check on the state of the blossoms in the ancient capital, specifically in Nara Park. The mainstream Somei Yoshino cherry trees were at their best viewing, and I expect the blossoms to remain...

Today I visited Kyoto, three days after my last visit, to check on the state of the cherry blossoms. I am pleased to report that mainstream cherry blossom season in Kyoto is progressing swiftly. I thought the cherry...

One day on from Raina’s report out of Hiroshima, today I took my first blossom-viewing trip of the season to two of Tokyo’s most popular spots. After a slightly delayed opening phase, trees belonging to the somei...

We are now in the last few days of March, and the cherry blossom season has begun for many cities in western Japan and all the way through to central and eastern Japan up to the prefectures surrounding Tokyo. I...

Today I visited Hiroshima to check on the progress of the cherry blossoms. The opening of the first blossoms or kaika in Hiroshima was officially announced on March 19, 2026. One week since that announcement, I found...

Today I visited three popular cherry blossom spots in Kyoto to check on the state of the cherry blossoms. The start (kaika) of the mainstream cherry blossom season in Kyoto was officially announced on March 23, 2026,...

The Tokyo cherry blossoms are starting to pick up! Today Cassandra reports from Koishikawa Korakuen and Chidorigafuchi Park

Today, I visited Nagoya, about 90 minutes by bullet train from Tokyo. Nagoya City was one of the first few cities to announce the start of their mainstream cherry blossom season, when the first blossoms opened on...

After weeks of reporting on early blooming cherry blossoms, it is finally the season for the the mainstream cherry blossoms. Cassie was in Tokyo last Thursday and reported that the cherry blossoms had just opened....

Welcome to the start of the 2026 cherry blossom reports! In this first official report, Cassandra visited two parks in Tokyo.

We are now at end of February, and the question that many people might be wondering is when the mainstream cherry blossom season will start. While there is no definitive answer yet, our preliminary forecast is that...

This year we started our cherry blossom reporting early - the first report was in January by Matt from Atami, followed by an Okinawa sakura report by Cassie. Both reports covered some of the early flowering varieties...

A special early cherry blossom report from Okinawa, centered around the early blooming Kanhizakura.

Cherry blossom season might still be some way off in major cities like Tokyo and Kyoto but in a few places it has already begun - and not just in the southern islands. One place you can already see them is in Atami...