Nagoya city - sakura

Hi.
I will be in Nagoya city on the weekend of 21/22 March.
Looking at the JMC official sakura forecast, it seems flowering date to be 17 March.
Where is a good spot to see the cherry blossoms in nagoya city ?
Will be staying at a hotel near JR Nagoya station.
Thank you.

Note that JMC is a private company that does not have a particularly good track record with their seasonal forecasts. Note also that their dates refer to first opening rather than best viewing.

March 21-22 will likely be a little early for the best viewing of the mainstream cherry blossoms unless mid March will be very warm. There are some beautiful weeping cherries at Nagoya Castle that bloom a little earlier and may already be quite nice. Tsuruma Park is also usually one of the earlier spots in the city.

I happened to check the state of the buds in Nagoya today. And they were shockingly far advanced. The 17th actually sounds very plausible for first opening, which means you may be in luck by the 22nd.

Thanks so very much Uji for the update :)
Incidentally, are there any off the beaten track sakura spots in Nagoya city ?

I reckon the famous spots would be very crowded especially on a weekend.

Is Yamazakigawa Riverside worth a visit, though a bit far from JR Nagoya/Sakae area.

Thanks.

I know only the famous ones. Among them Yamazakigawa Riverside is very long and spread out and feels the least crowded. On weekend mornings you can have a very nice walk among some locals even during the peak season, but on weekends I expect it to become quite crowded.

One area which I know has some cherry blossoms is Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Gardens. It's also one of the better and larger zoos/botanical gardens in Japan.

I also agree that your dates do look a bit early - but it might be warm in the next few weeks which speeds up the cherry blossoms.