Updated forecast says a burst of warm weather, with more sun to come, will be speeding up cherry blossom buds’ development.

Though the cherry blossoms are a symbol of spring, Japan starts thinking about them in the middle of winter. They’re only in bloom for a short time, so planning ahead is critical in making the most out of sakura season, which is why Japanese meterological organization Weathernews puts out its initial cherry blossom forecast almost as soon as the new year starts.

As we get closer to the flowers’ opening, the predications get refined and updated, and Weathernews has now released its latest revision, one which moves the blooming of the cherry blossoms in Tokyo up three whole days compared to the last forecast, to March 18.

Tokyo is expected to be the first place in Japan where the cherry blossoms open, followed the next day by Kochi, on the southern side of the island of Shikoku, on March 19.

Shown on the map above are the predicted blossoming dates for:
Akita (秋田): April 13
Aomori (青森): April 17
Hiroshima (広島): March 21 (1 day earlier than previous forecast)
Kagoshima (鹿児島): March 26 (1 day later)
Kanazawa (金沢): March 31
Kochi (高知): March 19 (3 days earlier)
Kushiro (釧路): May 7
Nagano (長野): April 8 (1 day earlier)
Nagoya (名古屋): March 20 (2 days earlier)
Niigata (新潟): April 5 (1 day earlier)
Osaka (大阪): March 26
Sapporo (札幌): April 26 (1 day later)
Sendai (仙台): April 4 (1 day earlier)
Tokyo (東京): March 18 (3 days earlier)

The moved-up forecast comes following a weekend of unusually warm weather, which will have accelerated the development of the sakura buds, and while Japan has had a few days of clouds and drizzles since then, it looks like things are going to be relatively clear and sunny for most of next week, which should again have the buds making rapid progress towards getting ready to bloom (note that the forecast is specifically for the Somei Yoshino, the most common and popular subspecies of Japanese cherry blossom.

The updated forecast also includes new start-of-blossoming dates for a number of famous sightseeing spots around Japan.

Maizuru Park (舞鶴公園), Fukuoka City: March 20 (1 day earlier than previous forecast)
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park (平和記念来うん), Hiroshima City: March 22 (1 day earlier)
Arashiyama (嵐山), Kyoto City: March 27
Takato Castle Park (高遠城址公園), Ina, Nagano Prefecture: April 4 (1 day earlier)
Goryokaku Park (五稜郭公園), Hakodate, Hokkaido: April 24 (1 day later)
Hirosaki Park (弘前公園), Hirosaki, Aomori: April 15
Shiroishikawa Riverbank (白石川堤一目千本桜), Ogawara, Miyagi Prefecture): April 4 (1 day earlier)
Ueno Park (上野恩賜公園), Tokyo: March 19 (3 days earlier)
Sunpu Castle Park (駿府城公園), Shizuoka City: March 23
Tsurumai Park (鶴舞公園), Nagoya: March 19 (2 days earlier)
Kochi Park (高知公園), Kochi City: March 19 (3 days earlier)
Kumamoto Castle (熊本城), Kumamoto City: March 22

And if you’re planning to head to somewhere not on the above list of sakura sightseeing hotspots, Weathernews has localized predictions for areas all across the country. With the general trend being that sakura bloom first in the southern and western part of Japan before making their way to the east and north, let’s start by looking at the forecasts for the southwestern island of Kyushu, then follow the projected sakura front as it advances towards Hokkaido.

▼ Kyushu forecast: Fukuoka (福岡), Saga, (佐賀), Nagasaki (長崎), Kumamoto (熊本), Oita (大分), Kagoshima (鹿児島), and Miyazaki (宮崎)

▼ Chugoku/Shikoku forecast: Shimonoseki (下関), Hiroshima (広島), Matsue (松江), Okayama (岡山), Tottori (鳥取), Matsuyama (松山), Kochi (高知), Takamatsu (高松), and Tokushima (徳島)

▼ Kansai/Kinki forecast: Kobe (神戸), Wakayama (和歌山), Osaka (大阪), Nara (奈良), Kyoto (京都), and Hikone (彦根)

▼ Tokai forecast: Tsu (津), Gifu (岐阜), Nagoya (名古屋), and Shizuoka (静岡)

▼ Hokuriku forecast: Fukui (福井), Kanazawa (金沢), Toyama (富山), and Niigata (新潟)

▼ Kanto/Koshin forecast: Nagano (長野), Kofu (甲府), Maebashi (前橋), Yokohama (横浜), Tokyo (東京), Choshi (銚子), Kumagaya (熊谷), Mito (水戸), and Utsunomiya (宇都宮)

▼ Tohoku forecast: Aomori (青森), Akita (秋田), Morioka (盛岡), Yamagata (山形), Sendai (仙台), and Fukushima (福島)

▼ Hokkaido: Sapporo (札幌), Wakkanai (稚内), Asahikawa (旭川), Abashiri (網走), Kushiro (釧路), Obihiro (帯広), Muroran (室蘭), and Hakodate (函館)

Once the blossoms open, Weathernews expects it to take around 7 to 10 days for the sakura to reach full bloom, and you’ve got about half a week or so to enjoy the cherry blossoms at their fullest before their petals start to drop off. With the first predicted cherry blossom openings now less than two weeks away, this might be the last forecast we’ll be seeing, so it’s probably going to be time to start locking in your cherry blossom viewing plans very soon.

Source: Weathernews (1, 2)
Top image: Pakutaso
Insert images: Weathernews (1, 2, 3, 4)
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