The 2016 Sakura Forecast by the Japan Weather Association
Has Been Released!
NATIONWIDE
Feb 4, 2016
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When Setsubun holiday
on February 3rd has finished, it’s time for Spring in Japan! While
the weather in February may still be cold, there are promises of
spring everywhere. There is especially good news for those who are
hoping to see Japan’s famously beautiful sakura blooming in 2016!
The Japan Weather Association has released their Sakura Forecast
for the entire country.
The sakura front
normally starts from the southernmost part of the country in late
March and works its way up to Hokkaido by May. If you want to know
the best time to catch the sakura blossoms for the city you are
living in or traveling to, read on!
japansakurasaku.wix.com/
The Forecast
tenki.jp/
2016 is a leap year,
and according to the JWA, the forecast may differ between leap
years and regular years. Sometimes leap year blossoms come later in
certain regions of Japan. For this spring, the predictions look to
be mostly normal, so no emergency schedule changes will be
needed.
According to the Japan
Weather Association’s predictions, The Chugoku, Kansai, Tokai,
Hokuriku (Chubu) and Kanto regions will all have their leap year
sakura blossoming as usual. The Tohoku region (northern Honshu)
will actually have blooming sakura slightly earlier than a regular
year. Finally, Hokkaido will also have a regular blooming
season!
When Exactly Will the Sakura Bloom?
matome.naver.jp/
Kyushu
It looks like the
sakura will begin blooming on March 25th in Fukuoka. Nagasaki will
get its first blooms slightly later, on the 27th and Kagoshima will
see its first sakura on the 31st.
Chugoku and
Shikoku
The front will
continue up to the Chugoku region and the island of Shikoku. The
first blooms in Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture will bloom on March
28th while in Chugoku, Hiroshima’s sakura are set to appear just
one day later on March 29th!
Kansai
Many people will be
wondering when they can see the gorgeous sakura blooming in Kyoto’s
most beautiful spots. The sakura are predicted to first bloom on
March 29th in both Kyoto and Osaka.
Chubu
The sakura front in
Chubu is different depending on whether the city you plan to visit
is in the north or south. For example in Nagoya, the first sakura
are set to start blooming on the 26th of March. In Shizuoka
prefecture, they will start on the 29th. However in northern cities
like Kanazawa (Ishikawa prefecture) and Niigata city in Niigata
prefecture, the sakura will not bloom until April 4th and 7th
respectively.
Kanto
In Kanto, the cherry
blossoms will bloom around the same time as their southern Chubu
counterparts and slightly earlier than in some parts of Kyushu. The
sakura in Tokyo will begin to emerge on March 26th.
Tohoku
As the sakura front
goes further north, the Tohoku region will start to see blooms in
early April, with Sendai getting their first on the 9th. The front
will continue up to Aomori where blossoms will appear later on in
the month on April 22nd.
Hokkaido
Hokkaido is the last
point of the sakura front for Japan! Locals and visitors can look
forward to cherry blossoms blooming on May 2nd in Sapporo!
Popular Cherry Blossom Viewing Areas
demilked.com/
As stated above, the
general time for blossoms in Kanto, and specifically, Tokyo, comes
around late March to early April. In the heart of Tokyo, the cherry
blossoms are expected to bloom as usual on March 26th, which is
just slightly later than last year’s start of March 23rd. If you
are hoping to also venture into other parts of Kanto such as
Yokohama in Kanagawa, the sakura will start to appear around the
28th.
While the Kansai
region normally gets its blooms a little earlier than Kanto, Kyoto
city’s sakura will actually begin to bloom around March 29th. This
means visitors should plan to see the famous blooms at
Kiyomizu-dera around this time!
If you were hoping to
get a glorious view of the sakura surrounding Mt. Fuji, you can see
them starting to appear on March 29th as well! Shizuoka prefecture
and Yamanashi prefecture, which both share Mt. Fuji and its
beautiful scenery, will have their blooms at that point.
Recommended Spots Throughout the Country
Meguro River
free4kwallpaper.com/
Kyushu
Isshingyo Osakura in Kumamoto
Nishi Park in Fukuoka
Kumamoto Castle
Shikoku
Shodeyama in Kagawa
Hirakiyama Park in Ehime
Chugoku
Senkoji Park in Hiroshima
Tsuyama Castle in Okayama
Kansai
Kiyomizu-dera in Kyoto
Kyoto Cherry Blossom Tour
Options
Osaka Castle Park
Chubu
Izu Kogen Sakura Namiki in Shizuoka
Nagoya Castle
Takatojoshi Park in Nagano
Kanto
The Meguro River in Tokyo
Ueno Park
Tokyo Cherry Blossom Tour
Options
Mitsuike Park in Yokohama, Kanagawa
Hachimanyama Park in Utsunomiya, Tochigi
Tohoku
Mihara Takizakura in Fukushima
Hirosaki Park in Aomori
Shiroishi River in Miyagi
Hokkaido
Goryokaku in Hakodate
Shibazakura Takinoue in Monbetsu
For more details about
what types of sakura bloom and how to plan your trip, please feel
free to checkthis article! You can find out
all the information you need and suggestions for where to have the
most fun during your cherry blossom viewing!
Related
Articles:
Happy Hanami! Or how to get the most out of Sakura
Viewing
The 2 best parks for Hanami (sakura viewing)