Hello fellow Japanese aficionados,
I'm planning a trip to Japan in Easter 2025 – due to my husband's work, we can only really go around Easter time (right before and after, give or a take a few days, etc.). Unfortunately, Easter is later in April in 25, but I'm hoping to be able to go from the 10 April – 21 April and mainly focus on Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka (and a day trip to Nara). I know that prime cherry blossom season is in late March/early April, but do we have any chances of seeing any cherry blossoms at all at this time? It's his first time in Japan, so it will be a special trip.
We decided to get married in late March because we both love the cherry blossom season so much in London, and are hoping that we could at least catch a glimpse of some cherry blossoms during our trip there. We understand it won't be peak bloom, but hopefully we have somewhat decent chances to see the end of it?!
Thank you so much in advance!
UPDATE: Several people have kindly replied and have given their thoughts that it's a bit hit and miss, but that there are places where it's still possible to see blossoms in mid-April. Are there any locations that are easily accessible from Tokyo/Kyoto that you would recommend going for the first few days of our trip where we are likely to see blossoms? Any tips are hugely welcome – thank you in advance!
by bonvoyagearabella
11 comments
This year peak in Tokyo was late – around weekend of April 6-7 with some hanging around another week. Thanks to global warming the weather patterns are really messed up. Rainy season was 2 weeks late, and very short (officially ended today).
Kyoto and Osaka is usually around same time as Tokyo, maybe tad earlier in places
You might get lucky if it’s late again
Highly unlikely you’ll see any sakura in Tokyo, Kyoto, or Osaka by April 10. It was possible this year, but this year was the latest bloom in 12 years, and by 4/10 the blossoms were past peak and falling off.
It’s possible that Kawaguchi-ko (Mt. Fuji area) will be in bloom around 4/10, but not guaranteed. This year the full bloom was around 4/14, which was later than usual. The very top of Mt. Yoshino in Nara may also still be in bloom around 4/10, but I was there on 4/10 this year and most of the blossoms at lower elevations were falling off. To be more assured of seeing sakura in mid-April, you need to go to Tohoku.
If you get lucky and they blossom later, you may catch some. Also, there can be windy and or rainy days and make the petals fall. Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka more or less have the same average dates. It’s still not math though, you may catch some trees in full bloom somewhere. It’s not like they say “oh no it’s April 5th, drop the petals!”.
If you’re willing to travel north, then yes, you’ll definetly see them in full bloom in Yamagata, Sendai, etc.
How can we predict accurately the weather? In 2024, April was predicted to be too late for cherry blossom, especially compared to the previous years but an unexpected cold spell happened in March.
I picked the dates of my holiday being sure I would miss the cherry blossom and I got lucky to see it.
But there are actually late cherry trees that blossom later so you may still see some by example at Shinjuku Gyoen.
It’s too late for cherry blossoms in the areas you’re planning on going. Typically the blossoms are gone within a week or so of their first starting to bloom. It’s a really “blink and you’ll miss it” kinda thing.
But if you really, really want to see them, you should be able to see them in Aomori or Hokkaido around that time. The cherry blossom season depends on the area.
This year it started in late March in Kyushu, 5-10 days later in Osaka and Tokyo, April 5th around Niigata, April 10th around Sendai, April 20th in Aomori, and April 30th in Sapporo.
However it’s going to be special even without them. There are so many other great things to do and see.
If you want see sakura in that dates, I think you may consider go to Matsumoto Nagano that between Tokyo and Kyoto.
This area tend to late blossom compare Tokyo and Kyoto.
~~Also Matsumoto stops shinkansen, so relatively easy stop I guess.~~
Sorry! I was wrong.
Matsumoto isn’t shinkansen station
Anyway Matsumoto castle is great to see too!(especially in cherry blossom season!)
[https://visitmatsumoto.com/en/cherryblossoms/](https://visitmatsumoto.com/en/cherryblossoms/)
In general, it’s too late to see cherry blossoms in bloom in the regions you visit. You may have some chance to see some on a high mountain in Nara Prefecture.
If the weather is cold enough in March, they’ll be in full bloom in the first week of April, but they are usually in full bloom in very late March or very early April.
If you stay in Japan from March 22nd to April 7th, you should have a chance to see them in full bloom during your stay, according to previous cherry blossom forecasts.
If cherry blossom season starts late again, probably you can see them around that time. Cherry blossom started late this year, and around mid-April (16-18ish) I still saw some cherry blossom in Osaka and Kyoto. But most of them already washed away by rain. After that though, it totally felt like summer.
Your best bet probably to go to some colder or higher altitude places, like Mount Yoshino (in Kansai area, you can ride Kintetsu train from Kyoto to go there) or go on a day trip from Tokyo to Mount Fuji or Oide Park (it’s in Hakuba, part of the Japanese Alps). I was in the Fujikawaguchiko area around 22-24 April this year, and I could still saw plenty cherry blossom blooming there.
Check the cherry blossom season prediction periodically to make sure, though.
Peak Sakura season depends on geography as well. Usually earlier in the south/west, with northern Japan getting peak blooms last. Historically mid to late March has coincided with peak season in central Japan. This year was a bit different, as early to mid April coincided with peak season. Late April this year was the waning end of the blossoms. There are also two types of cherry blossoms – Yoshino, which are the quintessential five petal blossoms, and yaezakura, which have fluffier, multilayered petals. The former bloom first, with yaezakura often being referred to as “late” cherry blossoms.
That being said, there are other flowers you can likely see in late April/early May. Nemophila flowers and rapeseed blossoms should be near or at peak bloom, and wisteria blossoms should also be in season as well. Shibazakura season also coincides with this time of year too.
I was in Japan (Osaka and Kyoto) from April 11-16 and I was just in time for sakura! Just got lucky that they bloomed later as forecasted otherwise I wouldn’t have seen much. 😅
Sakura are finicky and hard to schedule around sometimes as they only last a short while and an unexpected warm snap or cold spell can throw off the blooming forecasts a bit and windy weather or a heavy rain can cause the petals to fall faster. Keep in mind there are early and late blooming cherry blossoms too and *tons* of other types of flowers in spring. If you seek out the less popular spots it’ll be much less crowded too, especially on weekdays. Google city name + month + flowers or early/late Sakura and you’ll find lots of good info. Sakura are also quite pretty when the petals start to fall. It’s like cherry blossom snow. Check recent photos from Google Maps of the places you want to visit to see what the blossoms currently look like.
– [Tokyo Flower Mega Guide](https://tokyocheapo.com/entertainment/outdoors/tokyo-flowers-every-month/)
– [JapanGuide: Flowers in Japan](https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2423.html)
– [10 Iris Gardens In/Around Tokyo](https://savvytokyo.com/10-japanese-iris-gardens-in-and-around-tokyo)
– [10 Azalea Gardens In/Around Tokyo](https://savvytokyo.com/10-japanese-azalea-gardens-in-and-around-tokyo)
– [Trip Report: Tokyo Roses on Retro Arakawa Streetcar](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/nf7hgc/tokyo_day_trip_rose_spotting_on_the_toden_arakawa/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf)
– [Trip Report: Early Blooming Sakura on Izu Peninsula near Tokyo](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/mlugpb/early_cherry_blossoms_in_the_izu_peninsula_in/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf)
– [Trip Report: Late Cherry Blossoms in Fuji Area](https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/moqcwv/cherry_blossoms_in_fuji_five_lakes_dayovernight/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf)
– [Matcha: Early Blooming Sakura Spots in Tokyo](https://matcha-jp.com/en/4108)
– [Late Blooming Sakura Spots in Japan](https://jw-webmagazine.com/amazing-spots-for-late-blooming-cherry-blossoms-from-mid-april-d5d6c6f71517/)
– [Yaezakura: Tokyo Late Blooming Sakura](https://tokyocheapo.com/entertainment/outdoors/yaezakura-late-blooming-cherry-trees-tokyo/)
Some of my favorite spots in Tokyo are [Aoyama Cemetery,](https://jw-webmagazine.com/best-sakura-spots-in-tokyo-vol7-aoyama-cemetery-4ea50dc22501/) [Kunitachi,](https://digjapan.travel/en/spot/id=10320) and [Kawagoe.](https://insaitama.com/10-cherry-blossom-spots-kawagoe-2/)
– [7 Hidden Cherry Blossom Spots in Tokyo](https://jw-webmagazine.com/hidden-cherry-blossom-spots-in-tokyo/)
– [Tsunagu: 8 Hidden Cherry Blossom Spots in Tokyo](https://www.tsunagujapan.com/little-known-sakura-spots-in-tokyo/)
– [Tokyo Sakura Mega Guide](https://tokyocheapo.com/entertainment/outdoors/tokyo-cherry-blossoms-top-hanami-spots/)
– [100 Places to See Cherry Blossoms: Kansai](https://travel.gaijinpot.com/100-places-see-cherry-blossom-japan-kansai/)
– [8 Hidden Cherry Blossom Spots in Kyoto](https://www.tsunagujapan.com/little-known-sakura-spots-in-kyoto/)
– [Cherry Blossom Spots in Osaka](https://livejapan.com/en/in-kansai/in-pref-osaka/in-umeda_osaka-station_kitashinchi/article-a2000415/)
– [9 Places to See Cherry Blossoms at Night in Tokyo](https://www.timeout.com/tokyo/things-to-do/best-cherry-blossom-illuminations-in-tokyo)
– [Kyoto Evening Cherry Blossom Itinerary](https://www.insidekyoto.com/kyoto-evening-cherry-blossom-itinerary)
Remain flexible and open to seeing all the types of spring flowers in Japan!