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People photograph cherry blossoms along the Meguro River in central Tokyo, March 23, 2020.

People photograph cherry blossoms along the Meguro River in central Tokyo, March 23, 2020. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)

TOKYO — Cherry blossoms began flowering in Tokyo on Tuesday, matching earliest-bloom records from 2020 and 2021, according to a government agency that started keeping track in 1953.

And for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, picnics and parties will be permitted beneath the cherry blossoms, or sakura, in the city’s public parks, Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike said at a news conference Friday.

Hanami — picnicking and flower viewing during the cherry blossom season — are popular pastimes at parks like Yoyogi, Ueno and Inokashira in the city and at Showa Memorial Park in Tachikawa, near Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government roped off the grounds at its parks and forbade large gatherings the past three years to restrict crowds during the COVID-19 pandemic. That ban is lifted.

“Based on the current situation on infection cases, I think people can enjoy cherry blossom viewing parties this year,” Koike said Friday.

As of Tuesday, an average of 744.3 people are becoming infected with the coronavirus daily in Tokyo, a falling measure that stood at 1,028 on March 1, according to online data from the metropolitan government.

This year’s blooms, the first in Japan, occurred 10 days earlier than the average date, the Japan Meteorological Agency said in a news release Tuesday. It declares the season’s start when five or six flowers bloom at Yasukuni Shrine on a popular type of ornamental cherry tree in Japan, called Somei Yoshino.

Revelers parked on blankets under the cherry trees, enjoying the blossoms, and eating and drinking are common sights. The pandemic paused that practice, although the parks were open to pedestrians strolling past the cherry blossoms.

“But this year, we have made it possible for people to enjoy the cherry blossom viewing parties,” Koike said.

People relax under the cherry blossoms at Showa Memorial Park in Tachikawa, near Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo, March 22, 2020.

People relax under the cherry blossoms at Showa Memorial Park in Tachikawa, near Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo, March 22, 2020. (Stars and Stripes)

Families enjoy the cherry blossoms at Showa Memorial Park in Tachikawa, near Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo, April 1, 2018.

Families enjoy the cherry blossoms at Showa Memorial Park in Tachikawa, near Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo, April 1, 2018. (Aaron Kidd/Stars and Stripes)

The governor said some basic measures against infection are still in place. No open flames and no loud music are permitted, and partiers must take their garbage home. Hanami parties must end at a designated time, such as at 8 p.m. at Ueno Park and 10 p.m. at Inokashira Park.

People are reminded to take basic measures against COVID-19, such as disinfecting their hands, according to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.

At Ueno Park, picnic sheets are permitted at a designated area, according to the park’s website. Visitors are asked to view cherry blossoms by walking along the main street, called Sakura-dori, to prevent congestion, according to the park’s website. Hanami parties are not permitted along the street.

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Hana Kusumoto is a reporter/translator who has been covering local authorities in Japan since 2002. She was born in Nagoya, Japan, and lived in Australia and Illinois growing up. She holds a journalism degree from Boston University and previously worked for the Christian Science Monitor’s Tokyo bureau.

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