Blossom & Leaves花見・紅葉
Typical windows, not forecasts. Typical windows from past years, not forecasts. Bloom shifts by a week or more with the weather. Each year Japan’s weather services publish forecasts from late winter (blossom) and late summer (leaves).
This year’s official forecast (link to come)Typically in bloom around then: 5 of 10 regions
- OkinawaNaha20 Jan – 15 Feb
- Northern KyushuFukuoka22 Mar – 2 Apr
- Southern KyushuKagoshima25 Mar – 5 Apr
- TokyoTokyo26 Mar – 5 Apr
- Hiroshima & the Inland SeaHiroshima28 Mar – 6 Apr
- Kyoto & NaraKyoto28 Mar – 8 Apr
- KanazawaKanazawa3–12 Apr
- TōhokuSendai8–18 Apr
- Takayama & the AlpsTakayama12–22 Apr
- HokkaidoSapporo28 Apr – 10 May
Region by region
Okinawa Naha
- Blossom
- 20 Jan – 15 Feb
- Leaves
- 1–31 Dec
Here it is deep-pink kanhizakura, not somei-yoshino, flowering in late January while the north is under snow. Autumn colour is scarce in the subtropics, so the leaves window is nominal.
Northern Kyushu Fukuoka
- Blossom
- 22 Mar – 2 Apr
- Leaves
- 15 Nov – 5 Dec
Often among the first big cities in bloom, with picnics under the castle walls of Maizuru Park.
Southern Kyushu Kagoshima
- Blossom
- 25 Mar – 5 Apr
- Leaves
- 20 Nov – 10 Dec
Blossom under the smoking cone of Sakurajima, with ash on the petals some mornings.
Tokyo Tokyo
- Blossom
- 26 Mar – 5 Apr
- Leaves
- 20 Nov – 10 Dec
Ginkgo avenues turn gold in late November, and the city smells faintly of the fallen nuts.
Hiroshima & the Inland Sea Hiroshima
- Blossom
- 28 Mar – 6 Apr
- Leaves
- 10–30 Nov
Maples on Miyajima turn in mid-November; go across on the first ferry and the island is quiet.
Kyoto & Nara Kyoto
- Blossom
- 28 Mar – 8 Apr
- Leaves
- 15 Nov – 5 Dec
The old capital is busiest at both peaks, so we start before the gates open and finish after they close.
Kanazawa Kanazawa
- Blossom
- 3–12 Apr
- Leaves
- 5–25 Nov
In Kenroku-en the pines are roped against the snow just as the maples turn.
Tōhoku Sendai
- Blossom
- 8–18 Apr
- Leaves
- 25 Oct – 20 Nov
Further north, the blossom arrives with the first warm week and the mountains are still white behind it.
Takayama & the Alps Takayama
- Blossom
- 12–22 Apr
- Leaves
- 10 Oct – 5 Nov
Colour starts on the high peaks in early October and walks down into the valleys over a month.
Hokkaido Sapporo
- Blossom
- 28 Apr – 10 May
- Leaves
- 20 Sep – 31 Oct
Japan's first autumn colour, on Daisetsuzan in late September, and its last cherry blossom, in Sapporo around Golden Week.
We plan blossom and leaf journeys with spare days built in, so the trip bends with the weather.
Plan with us