Japan Cherry Blossom Season 2025: When and Where to Go
Here's your guide to Japan's sakura season for 2025.
(SPOT.ph) The Japan Meteorological Corporation (JMC) just released its official 2025 forecast dates for the budding and blooming of sakura flowers.
Don't deny it. We know you want to sit in a Japanese park amidst a flutter of soft pink petals and have your own Japanese main character moment. If you're looking to catch the pinkest time of the year and tick the elusive hanami experience off your bucket list, read up and start marking your calendars for late March to early May this year.
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Here's the schedule for the 2025 cherry blossom season in Japan:
Generally speaking, cherry blossoms tend to bloom earlier in areas towards the South of Japan, such as Fukuoka, Osaka, and the rest of the Kansai region, mostly because sakura trees need warmer temperatures to flower. Meanwhile, areas up North, such as Hokkaido, Miyagi, and Aomori, tend to have it later because of their generally colder climate. So make sure to keep that in mind when planning your sakura-viewing trips.
Based on studies by the JMC, you can expect the trees to flower in these sakura-dense areas on these dates:
- Tokyo - Flowering starts on March 26, with full bloom expected on April 2.
- Fukuoka - Flowering starts on March 27, with full bloom expected on April 4.
- Nagoya - Flowering starts on March 28, with full bloom expected on April 5.
- Osaka - Flowering starts on March 30, with full bloom expected on April 6.
- Sendai - Flowering starts on April 6, with full bloom expected on April 11.
- Sapporo - Flowering starts on April 27, with full bloom expected on May 1.
Note that the dates mentioned above are estimates and may change depending on the weather and temperature in the coming weeks. 2024 marked one of the hottest years in Japan, so who knows, the sakura season might just come earlier than initially expected.
The Japan Meteorological Corporation updates the forecast dates regularly, with the next release due on January 23. For more exact timings and full updates on the status of cherry blossom growth, JMC also has a flowering meter that shows how much of the sakura trees have bloomed.
For more information, visit Japan Meteorological Corporation's website.
UPDATE, March 18, 1:00 p.m.: The Japan Meteorological Corporation has released the 8th version of their Cherry Blossom forecast. The article has been updated to reflect these developments.
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