I cherry blossoms They are now the symbol of spring in Japan. The phenomenon is called 'hanami'. And the Japanese are so precise that they know exactly the day and time whensakura'(cherry trees) will bloom.
The gardens of Tokyo, Kyoto, Sapporo, Osaka, Hokkaido and even the Okinawa archipelago are dyed pale pink and the spectacle, which lasts just a few days, attracts millions of tourists who organize a trip to the Land of Departure year after year. of the Sun. just to witness the awakening of nature.
The spectacle of 'sakura' in bloom takes up much of the space spring and in Japan it can be admired from early April (in the south of the island of Honshu) to mid-May (in the north of Hokkaido).
However, tourists do not know where and when the cherry trees will bloom in that particular garden. But the Japanese do. And we discovered it. Here are the exact dates. to organize a visit and return from your trip to Japan fully satisfied.
The first flowers sprouted already in January 2018 in Naha, Okinawa, where the climate is milder. The next blooms in the main tourist places in Japan are:
March 17: first flowering in Nagasaki, Tokyo and Kagoshima. Full bloom in Nagasaki will be on March 26, in Tokyo on March 24, and in Kagoshima on March 27.
March 18: First flowering in Shizuoka and full bloom on March 26.
March 19: First bloom in Fukuoka (full bloom on March 27), Nagoya (full bloom on March 29), Yokohama (full bloom on March 26), and Matsuyama (full bloom on March 26).
March 21: First flowering in Osaka and full bloom on March 30.
March 22: First flowering in Kyoto and full bloom on March 31.
March 23: First flowering in Hiroshima and full bloom on March 31.
March 24: First flowering in Nara and full flowering on March 30.
April 4: First flowering in Fukushima and full bloom on April 8.
April 7: First flowering in Nagano and full flowering on April 12.
April 8: First flowering in Niigata and full bloom on April 12.
May 1: First flowering in Sapporo and full bloom on May 5.
This tradition, more than a millennium old, continues to be deeply felt in Japan, to the point that it has caused real migrations of millions of Japanese from their cities to the 60 locations most famous in the country.
This link lists all the places in Japan where it is possible to attend 'hanami' in spring 2018.
