The cherry blossoms in Hiroshima were announced to have started opening six days ago, on March 22. Today, I visited both the Peace Memorial Park in the city center and the nearby island of Miyajima in order to check how far the season has progressed.

Despite above-average temperatures since Tuesday, most trees that I encountered today were surprisingly still below the halfway mark. On closer inspection, though, I noticed that a majority of buds were highly advanced and need only a little more warmth in order to open. I estimate that best viewing will start in Hiroshima and Miyajima before the end of the weekend.

Miyajima

Blossoms Opening

The cherry trees on Miyajima were on average still below the 50% mark; however, many buds looked like they needed only from a few more hours to a couple more days to open up. Considering today's very warm daytime-high of around 20 degrees and the relatively mild weather forecast to follow afterwards, I expect that best viewing on Miyajima will start sometime during this weekend.

My favorite cherry blossom spot on Miyajima is a small valley not far from the tahoto pagoda on the right side of the torii gate and Itsukushima Shrine (when viewed from the water) which is covered by a few dozen cherry trees. I was delighted to find this valley already beyond the 50% mark and approaching full bloom this morning. I expect best viewing in the valley to start as early as this afternoon.

Peace Memorial Park

Blossoms Opening

The cherry trees in Hiroshima's Peace Memorial Park were a little bit behind those on Miyajima, with most of the trees only around 10-20 percent open. But the buds here, too, looked quite advanced, and I expect best viewing in the park to start around Saturday.