Cherry Blossom Report 2011 Official cherry blossom reports by japan-guide.com
This year's cherry blossom season will be overshadowed by the tremendous loss caused by the recent earthquake. However, we believe that the blossoms will serve as symbols of hope and resilience and a source of motivation along Japan's road to recovery. With this in mind, we never hesitated to go ahead with our annual reports in order to inform travelers in Japan and readers across the world about this year's cherry blossom season.
After our report from Hakodate from three days ago, Schauwecker and I made our last cherry blossom report from Hokkaido and the last report of the season. Today we visited some of Sapporo's most famous cherry blossom spots and found the... read all
Schauwecker and I have followed the cherry blossoms to Japan's northermost region and the last place to find flowers: Hokkaido. Today we explored the most famous cherry blossom sites of Hakodate, and within the next few day will write our final report of the season from Sapporo. read all
We concluded our Tohoku Region cherry blossom reporting with a visit to Kakunodate in Akita Prefecture. Kakunodate is another of Japan's Top 100 cherry blossom viewing spots, and the final leg of the three best Tohoku hanami spots that... read all
Today we are reporting from Kitakami in the Tohoku Region. Kitakami is located in southern Iwate Prefecture, about 50 kilometers inland from the coast hit by last month's tsunami. The city is far enough inland that it was unaffected... read all
We spent the second and last day of our cherry blossom report trip to the southern Tohoku Region in Aizu, a popular tourist destination in Fukushima Prefecture, over 100 kilometers east of the Fukushima power plants. Tsuruga... read all
As the season progresses, the cherry blossoms are reaching the Tohoku Region and with it the areas worst hit by last month's earthquake and tsunami. Today we visited Sendai... read all
Today I made this year's only cherry blossom report to the Fuji Five Lake region at the northern base of Mount Fuji. At an altitude of around 1000 meters, the trees are typically about two week behind those of nearby... read all
Today I set out on our final Tokyo cherry blossom report trip of the year. As expected, the season has either ended or is quickly coming to a close at the majority of the famous hanami spots around the city. Shinjuku Gyoen April 19,... read all
This is the seventh and final cherry blossom report from Kyoto this year. Today, one week after Scott saw the city at full bloom, I found most places were decidedly beyond the peak and can say that the season in Kyoto will be ... read all
During today's visit to Osaka, I found that the city's somei yoshino cherry trees have reached and past their most attractive state for this season. There was occasional rain throughout the day, causing many more petals to fall from the trees. Today was the second and final... read all
I've returned to the Kanto Region this week and am reporting today from Tokyo. The cherry blossom season around the capital has been progressing pretty much on track since our last report from the city on April 11, 2011. Most of the... read all
Today I visited the most famous cherry blossom spots of Kanazawa and found the city's flowers to be at full bloom. From now and into the weekend will be the best time to see the flowers in the city this year. Today was the only cherry blossom report from Kanazawa this season. read all
Today I took a day trip to Yoshinoyama (Mount Yoshino), one of the most famous cherry blossom spots in Japan. About 30,000 cherry trees are distributed along the mountainside, and... read all
Scott visited Kyoto three days ago for the April 9 Cherry Blossom Report and found all the sites he visited at full bloom. Since then a few of Kyoto's cherry blossom spots have begun to lose some flowers. It is still a great time to... read all
I wrapped up my 3-day reporting trip to Western Japan with the first ever cherry blossom report from Okayama, the second largest city in the Chugoku Region... read all
Three days ago I found many spots in Tokyo at or near full bloom during the April 8 Cherry Blossom Report. Since then the blossoms have advanced quite a bit so that the spots that were approaching full bloom have now reached it and those that were at full bloom are now in decline... read all
On the final cherry blossom reporting trip to Shikoku this year, I visited four hanami spots in Kagawa Prefecture and its capital city Takamatsu. I started the reporting with an early morning visit to Kotohira... read all
Today I spent the last day of my contribution to this year's Kansai Region reporting by checking out some of the best cherry blossom spots in Osaka. After today I'll be heading back to the Kanto Region, and will hand off the area to... read all
After a week of cherry blossom reporting from Honshu, I returned to Japan's fourth largest island of Shikoku today, visiting Matsuyama, the capital of Ehime Prefecture where full bloom was announced four days ago... read all
Today I made our fifth cherry blossom report trip to Kyoto this year to revisit Arashiyama, the Philosopher's Path, and Kiyomizudera Temple... read all
Today I made the 5th cherry blossom reporting trip to Tokyo this season. When we first visited on March 27 the buds of the somei yoshino trees hadn't opened yet, and just a few days ago on April 5 some spots were approaching full bloom... read all
Today I made the trek out to Yoshinoyama (Mount Yoshino) in Nara Prefecture. Mount Yoshino is one of Japan's most famous cherry blossom spots and lends its name to the country's predominant somei yoshino cherry blossom variety... read all
Today I headed out to check on the cherry blossoms in Hiroshima and Miyajima, after which I made a quick afternoon visit to Iwakuni (a separate report can be found here). However, before reading these you may want to check out this... read all
After spending the morning checking out the cherry blossoms in Hiroshima (a separate report can be found here), I took the rest of the afternoon to explore Iwakuni, a beautiful riverside town not to far from Hiroshima. But before reading... read all
Today I made this year's only cherry blossom related visit to Nagoya, checking out three of the city's many attractive hanami spots. Furthermore, I took the opportunity to drop by a new railway museum, which had opened on March 14 just... read all
Today I headed back out to Kyoto to resume coverage of the cherry blossoms in western Japan. This was our fourth visit to Kyoto this season, and during the day I was able to revisit some sights that we had reported on previously (Keage... read all
Today I made another visit to Tokyo to follow up on our previous cherry blossom report trips on April 2, 2011, March 30, 2011, and March 27, 2011. Shinjuku Park April 5, 2011 - opening... read all
Despite the official opening of the cherry blossoms taking place one week ago, the flowers of Kyoto's somei yoshino are still not far along in their development. However, with clear skies and warm weather predicted for the next three... read all
For our last cherry blossom report of this year from Kyushu, today I made a second trip to some of Fukuoka's cherry blossom spots. When Schauwecker visited Fukuoka for the March 31 Cherry Blossom Report, he found the city's... read all
Today I stopped by Tokyo on my way home from the Kansai Region to check out the cherry blossoms. This is our third Tokyo report this year after our previous visits on March 30, 2011, and March 27, 2011. Shinjuku Park April 2, 2011 -... read all
Today I made a follow up visit to Kyoto to see how the cherry blossoms have been progressing since Schauwecker's visit on March 29, 2011. I can't say that the trees have made significant progress over the last few days and while some... read all
This morning Schauwecker and I took the first Sakura Shinkansen train from Fukuoka to Kagoshima to investigate the state of the cherry blossoms at the other end... read all
This year Kumamoto was the first major city to have its cherry blossoms open, about a week and a half ago on March 21st. As predicted, the city is just entering into the ideal period to see the flowers, with this weekend likely to be... read all
The cherry blossoms are slowly approaching full bloom in southern areas on Japan's main islands. Among these places is Fukuoka on the island of Kyushu... read all
The cherry blossoms officially opened in Tokyo two days ago on the 28th, the day after Schauwecker's initial report from the city. Today I visited a number of the same attractions that were visited on the March 27 cherry blossom... read all
Today I met up with Schauwecker in southern Shikoku to check out the cherry blossoms around Kochi City. Although Schauwecker has been on the road for a few days now, I was looking forward to getting out on what was to be both my first... read all
The cherry blossoms officially started to open in Kyoto yesterday and should progress into full bloom next week. I started this year's reporting from Kyoto at... read all
Generally considered the best surviving original Japanese castle, Himeji Castle, is currently and for another four years undergoing extensive renovation works to its roof and... read all
The cherry blossoms have started to open on the southern islands of Shikoku and Kyushu over the past few days; however, I begin this year's reporting in Tokyo, where the blossoms are still officially closed... read all
