Is going to Hokkaido for sakura worth it?

I am planning to visit Japan from may 7 onwards. Since I have been to hokkaido before, I plan to spend most of my trip exploring the mainland - tokyo, kyoto, osaka etc.

However, I have never seen sakura before and wondering would it be worthwhile to spend extra money flying to Hokkaido for that. If I do, I'll probably only stay for a few days in sapporo/otaru.

Is sakura really that beautiful to warrant the extra flight? From the photos online they just seem like lots of flowers but my friend says you have to be there in person to see the beauty)

I can't seem to find anything great to do/see in hokkaido in May that isn't too costly in terms of transport.

Thanks.

If you had lots of time/money, then yes you could go chasing the sakura and go to Hokkaido. However your friend does make a point about being there and the whole viewing spectacle is more than just looking at flowering cherry trees.

I would recommend you incorporate hanami (cherry blossom viewing) in a different trip, and arrange to do it in a more crowded area (Tokyo, Kyoto or another of the famous places). Watching the locals drinking sake under the blossom as night falls, in the cold (as it is still early spring), and being part of the event is probably what you would appreciate more.

I have a cherry tree outside my house and it is pretty in spring, but it is nothing like hanami in Japan :)

The short answer is "no, it's not worth the flight fare" unless this would be your last chance in your lifetime.

I never appreciated sakura when I was young. I didn't understand flowers in the first place. A lot of people, including the locals, don't appreciate it. So it's totally up to each person's preference. But then, as much as I love sakura now, it's nothing I can appreciate through photographs. I need to be there, in that climate, air and atmosphere to enjoy it. I don't need the crowd, but just the air.

That said, sakura can also be very risky. Depending on each year's weather, it can be early or delayed or scattered away in a few days. If you come during the right season, you willl still have a chance to travel for a short distance to see another better spot. Or if you live here, you can count on next year.

But if you come here in May, spend time and money on your flight to Hokkaido, and then end up to be there after a storm or rain or what not to see trees in half-bloom, you will have to rely on the other attractions.

Yet, if you never intend to come to a sakura spot again, including spots in other countries such as Washington DC, you should indeed try to see one.