Sakura bloom at Aoyama Cemetery in Tokyo, March 24, 2023. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)
TOKYO — Cherry blossoms, or sakura, in Japan will begin to flower in mid-March at the earliest, according to recent forecasts by commercial meteorologists.
The Somei-Yoshino, a hybrid variant and one of the most widely planted cherry trees across Japan, should start blooming a few days earlier or about the same time as they do every year throughout the country, according to a forecast Thursday from the Japan Meteorological Corp.
The trees will begin blooming first around March 18 in Kochi city in western Japan, four days earlier than an average year, according to the forecast.
Trees in Nagoya city in central Japan will follow around March 19, five days ahead of average, and in Gifu city six days earlier, according to Japan Meteorological Corp.
“Development of flower buds were believed to have been delayed compared to an average year throughout Japan this season,” the company states on its website.
“But the growth speed of buds is faster since the temperature is expected to be higher than an average year after the buds awaken (from dormancy), and they are expected to bloom at the same time or earlier than an average year,” it said.
People enjoy the blooming sakura at Chidorigafuchi Park near the Imperial Palace in Tokyo in March 2022. (Akifumi Ishikawa/Stars and Stripes)
Cherry trees are expected to bloom in Tokyo, Kyoto and Hiroshima around March 22, in Fukuoka city around March 21 and Aomori city around April 17, according to the forecast.
Blooms are expected to peak in Tokyo around March 29, in Fukuoka around March 30, in Kyoto around March 31, in Hiroshima around April 1 and in Aomori around April 22, it stated.
Sakura last only a few weeks and people in Japan take the opportunity for hanami, or blossom viewing, to celebrate spring and admire the flowers. They will gather in cherry tree groves in public parks and along river walks throughout the country to picnic beneath the blossoms.
Other forecast companies also predicted a potentially early sakura.
Weathernews Inc. on Wednesday predicted the blooms would occur in Tokyo around March 18, followed by Fukuoka and Yokohama around March 20. It forecasted a peak bloom two to five weeks after the first flowers appear.
Japan Weather Association on Thursday predicted the flowers will appear earliest in Tokyo, Nagoya, Gifu and Kochi on March 21.
In 2010, the official Japan Meteorological Agency stopped forecasting cherry blossom dates, which it had forecast since 1955, after private companies began putting out forecasts.
