Hakodate: Full Bloom

For my final report of this year's cherry blossom season, I took a trip today to Fort Goryokaku in Hakodate - a massive, star-shaped citadel built in the latter days of Japan's feudal era to guard against foreign invasion. Today a public park, it is known as one of the top hanami spots in Hokkaido Prefecture, with around 1,500 cherry blossom trees lining its moats and grassy spaces.

Full bloom was declared in Hakodate just two days ago, so I wasn't surprised to find the blossoms throughout the park looking fresh, thick and vibrant, creating some wonderful scenes along the moats, strolling paths and raised earthworks. Strong to moderate winds through the next few days however will likely bring the period of best viewing to a slightly early close around Sunday.

For anyone planning their own visit, note that the Hokkaido-Sanriku Offshore Earthquake advisory is still in place following Monday's relatively strong earthquake off the coast of Iwate Prefecture, encouraging preparedness for a potential disaster without requiring any major changes to daily routines.

That brings our reporting of the 2026 cherry blossom season to an end - join us again in September for our coverage of this year's autumn leaves!