Value Village ／ Before you come to Japan
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The two seasons that sell Japan — sakura in spring and kōyō in autumn — are also the ones most likely to disappoint through timing. The bloom lasts about a week in any one place, the date moves by up to two weeks year to year, and the forecasts that residents rely on are not the ones visitors read.
| Place | Typical full bloom | Range (recent decade) |
|---|---|---|
| Fukuoka | ~28 March | 22 Mar – 3 Apr |
| Tokyo | ~30 March | 22 Mar – 5 Apr |
| Kyoto / Osaka | ~2 April | 27 Mar – 8 Apr |
| Kanazawa | ~7 April | — |
| Sendai | ~10 April | — |
| Sapporo | ~1 May | late Apr – early May |
| Place | Typical peak |
|---|---|
| Hokkaido (Daisetsuzan) | mid–late September |
| Nikko, Japan Alps | mid–late October |
| Tokyo | late November – early December |
| Kyoto | mid – late November (the most crowded fortnight of the year) |
[Verify] Bloom dates with the JMA's phenological records (さくらの開花日) and JMC forecasts; foliage timing with the same providers.
Tokyo's full bloom has fallen anywhere from 22 March to 5 April; Kyoto a few days later. Book flexible dates, or plan a route north (Kyoto → Tokyo → Tohoku) that gives several chances.
The JMA ended forecasts in 2010; the useful ones are JMC and Weathernews, in English, from January. Check weekly.
"Kaika" (first bloom) is declared when 5–6 flowers open on the reference tree; full bloom (mankai) is about a week later. Aim for mankai plus a few days.
Late blossoms (yaezakura, double-flowered) bloom 1–2 weeks after Somei-yoshino; Sapporo peaks in early May. And the petal-fall week is considered by many the finest.
Kyoto in the second half of November is as crowded and expensive as Golden Week. Tokyo, Nikko in October, and Tohoku are less so.
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https://www.data.jma.go.jp/sakura/data/
https://n-kishou.com/corp/news-contents/sakura/
https://www.japan.travel/en/guide/cherry-blossom-forecast/
⚠️ Editorial note: the source URLs above were identified by search. Our working environment cannot reach go.jp domains, so the contents have not been checked against the text. Verify every source before publication and record who checked it and when.
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