Cherry blossom season is formally underway in Japan after government spotters confirmed enough trees in enough bloom to meet the official measure in three of the nation’s cities.
Officials from the Japan Meteorological Agency looked at the Somei Yoshino tree variety in three destinations, and found more than five flowers on the benchmark tree in Shikoku Island’s Kochi, Gifu, north of Nagoya, and Yamanashi in central Japan. Marking an early bloom year, the standard was met six days earlier than average in Kochi, and nine days earlier in Gifu and Yamanashi, thanks to meteorological conditions such as low rainfall over the winter and early sunshine.
But visitors and Japanese lovers of spring do not need to wait for authorities to announce the cherry blossom season to begin the annual sakura rituals of photography and picnicking beneath the ornamental bloom-laden trees that accompany the back-to-school and vibes of the new business year.
Japan has recorded consecutive years of high visitor numbers that have caused consternation and complaints about overtourism and its negative effects on local residents. Popular trails at some floating shrines and at Mount Fuji now come with access fees, and in Kyoto, overzealous tourists and Instagrammers have had to be warned to give the city’s geisha community privacy.
Cherry blossom season is likely to draw large numbers of Japanophiles again in 2026, especially since prices have dropped for accommodation, flights and tour packages to temptingly low levels this year, amid a decline in visitors from mainland China. Despite the decline from that source market, the season’s popularity around the world means visitor numbers may again trigger concerns about littering and crowds. One cherry blossom festival has already been cancelled for those very reasons.
But not everyone is there just for the sakura phenomenon. Mark Matthew, a British visitor to Japan in mid-March 2026, told Travel Tomorrow that it’s “nice to see the cherry blossom, though it’s not the reason why we came.” Even so, he waited near the radio and television broadcast structure known as the Tokyo Skytree, close to a tree in blossom where a young couple were posing for pictures, and managed to score an iconic shot of the tower alongside the pink blooms and a young woman with her parasol.
He also found trees in blossom near the river, and in Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, where a small crowd had gathered near a popular tree. He described this garden as his personal “highlight of Tokyo.” Elsewhere, he saw blossoming cherry trees in Nara’s deer-friendly parklands.
