2015/04/30

Sapporo Report

petals starting to fall

The cherry blossom season this year has been somewhat early in most cities, with the flowers opening a few days earlier than the average year. This was more pronounced in the northern cities where the flowers... read all

2015/04/29

Hakodate Report

petals starting to fall

This week, we bring you cherry blossom reports from Hokkaido. Today, I am in Hakodate, Hokkaido's third largest city in the southern tip of the island, and visited the city's top cherry blossom spots. Hakodate is a... read all

2015/04/23

Kakunodate Report

full bloom

To round up my short tour of the Tohoku Region, I headed to Akita Prefecture to check out the cherry blossoms in Kakunodate today. The city is famous for its cherry blossoms, especially around the... read all

2015/04/22

Hirosaki Report

full bloom

Continuing with the northern Tohoku Region, I went to Hirosaki City in Aomori Prefecture today to check out Hirosaki Castle. The castle park bills itself as one of the top cherry... read all

2015/04/21

Kitakami Report

petals starting to fall

After a short break from the cherry blossoms, we resume our reporting in the northern Tohoku Region where the flowers in the respective capital cities have reached full bloom (mankai) last week. The cherry blossom... read all

2015/04/16

Sendai Report

petals starting to fall

Scott was in the Fujigoko region today and you can read his report here, I headed north to the Tohoku Region and checked out the cherry blossoms in Miyagi and... read all

2015/04/16

Fujigoko Report

full bloom

The cherry blossoms have finished around Tokyo and Kyoto and are now moving into the higher elevation areas and cooler northern regions of Japan. One of these later blooming areas is the popular... read all

2015/04/15

Kyoto Report

petals starting to fall

Though the cherry blossom season is coming to its finish here in the Kansai Region this week, all is not lost for those who still want to catch... read all

2015/04/14

Yoshino Report

beyond peak

As the cherry blossom season is ramping up in Tohoku this week, the Kansai Region, including places like Kyoto and Osaka, are reaching the end of the season... read all

2015/04/13

Takizakura Report

approaching full bloom (50-80%)

As this year's cherry blossom season moves on, Japan's northern region of Tohoku has just started getting warmed up, both literally and when it comes to its own sakura season.... read all

2015/04/10

Himeji Report

beyond peak

Today I spent one of my wettest reporting days yet this year checking out Himeji in western Japan. Like most of the other major cities around the country, the cherry blossoms around Himeji reached... read all

2015/04/10

Takada Report

full bloom

The cherry blossom season has come to a close in Tokyo and will soon be over in Kyoto, as well. Meanwhile, the blossoms have been moving into higher elevations and more northern latitudes, such as the mountainous... read all

2015/04/09

Tokyo Report

beyond peak

Back in Tokyo once again, a mere three days after my last trip. This time I checked out a spot in western Tokyo that we haven't been to this cherry blossom season. Scott is in Kyoto and will bring you an update on... read all

2015/04/09

Kyoto Report

beyond peak

At this point the cherry blossom season is coming to a close around most of Japan's major cities, and is now moving on to the more northern areas of Japan (check out our sakura forecast to see where... read all

2015/04/08

Fukushima Report

approaching full bloom (50-80%)

Today I bring you our first report from Fukushima in the Tohoku Region, while Joe will be updating from Nagano Prefecture. Eastern Japan had a cold spell overnight and the Kanto Region... read all

2015/04/08

Matsumoto Report

full bloom

This morning, many people across the Chubu and northern Kanto regions were greeted with a surprise of spring snow... read all

2015/04/07

Yoshino Report

full bloom

Today I spend another wet day checking out the cherry blossoms around Mount Yoshino (Yoshinoyama) in Nara Prefecture which is arguable one of... read all

2015/04/06

Tokyo Report

petals starting to fall

After spending about a week in the Kansai Region, I'm back in Tokyo today to bring you the latest cherry blossom update. Scott was in Kyoto today and reported that the petals are... read all

2015/04/06

Kyoto Report

petals starting to fall

The cherry blossom season continues on with petals falling left and right around the majority of Japan. Today I spent another wet day out west, this time in the Kansai Region... read all

2015/04/05

Okayama Report

petals starting to fall

Today I lucked out with the weather, as the rains forecast to hit Okayama today stopped shortly after I arrived this morning and held off until just after... read all

2015/04/04

Hiroshima Report

petals starting to fall

After a few days of cold, wet weather around much of Japan, it was nice to arrive in Hiroshima this morning and be greeted by warm, sunny skies. Like many cities around the country, the cherry trees in... read all

2015/04/03

Kyoto Report

full bloom

Today I'm back in Kyoto, three days after my last report, and visited different places. Kyoto reached full bloom two days ago on April 1, and the blossoms I saw today are still at their peak and... read all

2015/04/03

Nagoya Report

petals starting to fall

Cherry blossoms along the Yamazakigawa RiversideThe cherry trees are now at full bloom across a good part of the country (minus the... read all

2015/04/02

Tokyo Report

full bloom

Except for a few outliers, the cherry blossoms are now blooming in almost every part of the country save the northernmost Hokkaido and Tohoku regions. In addition, we... read all

2015/04/02

Nara Report

full bloom

Today's blue skies were definitely welcomed after yesterday's rain, and the warm weather brought everyone out to enjoy the blossoms and fine spring weather. As the temperatures have been quite warm over the past... read all

2015/04/01

Osaka Report

full bloom

After the warm and sunny weather yesterday where temperatures reached about 24 degrees Celsius in the Kansai Region, the weather took a turn and there was a steady rain all day today. However, thanks to yesterday's... read all

2015/04/01

Kumagaya Report

full bloom

Due to unseasonally high temperatures, the cherry trees in many cities across Japan have exploded into full bloom over the last few days. Today we visited Kumagaya City in Saitama Prefecture, a 40 minute... read all

2015/03/31

Kyoto Report

approaching full bloom (50-80%)

Moving away from Kyushu, I'll be continuing to bring you the latest updates from the Kansai Region this week. Scott was in Tokyo, and according to his report from yesterday, the... read all

2015/03/30

Tokyo Report

full bloom

After a slightly early start to this year's season, the cherry blossoms around much of Japan have been racing towards full bloom with city after city reaching their... read all

2015/03/27

Fukuoka Report

opening (10-50%)

To round up the week, I headed to Fukuoka and checked out Fukuoka Castle Ruins in Maizuru Park, and then to Kitakyushu, to check out Kokura Castle. Next week, Scott will be giving you an... read all

2015/03/26

Kumamoto Report

opening (10-50%)

After yesterday's report in Tokyo where the cherry blossoms were just starting to open, I headed to Kyushu today where the opening of the first blossoms (kaika) in most cities were reported... read all

2015/03/25

Tokyo Report

just opened (0-10%)

The cherry blossom season has started slightly early this year, with the trees in many cities opening about two to three days earlier than average. Nagoya, Kumamoto and Kagoshima kicked off the season on March 21... read all