Hanami: cherry blossom viewing in Japan

What the JMA still does is observe. Two dates go into the official record, and both are thresholds on one designated tree — the specimen tree (標本木 hyōhonboku) in or near a local meteorological office, not an average across a park:

Predicted dates come from private companies — Japan Meteorological Corporation, the Japan Weather Association, and Weathernews — each using its own method, which is why their numbers differ by a few days. Treat any single forecast as one estimate, and expect revisions. Sources: JMA observation guidelines and the phenology FAQ.

Japan does not have one cherry blossom week. The bloom moves up the country over roughly four months. These are the JMA’s 1991–2020 averages for first bloom, not a forecast for any given year:

• Mid-January: Okinawa and Amami — but see the caveat below, this is a different tree.
• Late March: Kyūshū, Chūgoku, Shikoku, Kinki, Tōkai, and Kantō. This is the window most trips are built around.
• Around 10 April: Hokuriku and southern Tōhoku.
• Mid-May: northern Hokkaidō. Aomori’s Hirosaki Park, which the JNTO counts among Japan’s three great blossom sites, sits on this later end.

There is no national hanami rulebook. Each site is run by its own authority, and the rules change between years, so the single most useful thing you can do is open the operator’s own page before you commit. Broadly, sites fall into three kinds:

A worked example: Shinjuku Gyoen

Tokyo’s Shinjuku Gyoen is run by the Ministry of the Environment and publishes its rules, which makes it a good illustration of how strict a managed garden can be. Alcohol is prohibited — both bringing it in and drinking on site, and bags may be checked at the gate. Also prohibited: open flames and camping stoves, tents and parasols, instruments and speakers, smoking including e-cigarettes, pets other than assistance dogs, and occupying one spot for a long stretch. Admission is ¥500 general, ¥250 for students and visitors 65 and over, free for junior high age and under. It normally closes on Mondays but stays open daily from 25 March to 24 April, and on the busiest blossom days it may move to advance booking.

A free municipal park such as Ueno Onshi Park works quite differently, and in recent years has restricted which stretches you may sit on at all. Check its current season notice rather than assuming last year’s layout still applies.

Getting there: blossom season strains parking and taxis near popular sites, so take the train and walk the last stretch. Our transportation guide covers IC cards and rail passes.

• A picnic sheet sized to your group. Taking more ground than you need is the most common way visitors give offence.
• More rubbish bags than you think you need, ideally separated for burnables, PET bottles, and cans. Public bins are scarce.
• Layers. Evenings under the trees get genuinely cold in late March and April, especially once the sun drops.
• Cash. Festival stalls and small vendors are still frequently cash-only.
• Food bought in advance. Supermarkets and department store basements sell dedicated hanami bentō in season; queues near the parks are long.
• No stove, no tent. Even where fires are tolerated they are usually banned outright, so plan cold food.

The tree rules are not decoration. A snapped branch opens a wound that lets pathogens in, and compacted soil over shallow roots starves them of air — both shorten the life of trees that are often decades old and, in the case of Somei Yoshino, all clones of one another. For customs beyond the park, see the etiquette guide.

Lit blossom against a black sky is a different experience from the same tree at midday, and it is often much less crowded in the last hour. A few practical notes: illuminations run to fixed hours and many parks close or restrict access overnight, so check the finishing time before you plan dinner around it. Noise rules tighten after dark. And bring another layer — the temperature drop once the light goes is the thing visitors most reliably underestimate.

For photographs, a canopy lit from below carries far more contrast than daylight, so expect to hold the camera steady rather than freeze motion. Our photo essays show how the season looks across different regions.

• Cherry blossom tracker — observed first bloom and full bloom dates by city.
• Festivals calendar — spring matsuri that overlap with blossom season.
• Regions of Japan — where to base yourself for an early or late bloom.
• Autumn foliage — the same seasonal-timing problem in reverse.