On the Japan Meteorological Agency's 1991–2020 averages, cherry trees open first in Okinawa, around 16 January (JMA observes hikan-zakura there), and last in Hokkaido, around 1 May. For Somei-yoshino, the usual variety, the earliest average opening is 22 March in Fukuoka, Kochi and Kumamoto.
How to read these dates
JMA watches one sample tree at one station in each prefecture and records the day the first flowers open and the day it reaches full bloom. These dates are the 1991–2020 averages; the real date moves from year to year, sometimes by weeks.1 Most stations observe Somei-yoshino; a few observe another variety, marked in the table.
Every prefecture, earliest first
Grouped by when the trees usually start to bloom: early is the 1st to the 10th, mid the 11th to the 20th, late the 21st onwards.1
| Prefecture | Station | Opens | Full bloom | Earliest and latest opening on record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mid January | ||||
| Okinawa | Naha (hikan-zakura) | 16 January | 4 February | 28 December of the previous year to 8 February (since 1974) |
| Late March | ||||
| Fukuoka | Fukuoka | 22 March | 31 March | 12 March to 6 April (since 1953) |
| Kochi | Kochi | 22 March | 30 March | 10 March to 2 April (since 1954) |
| Kumamoto | Kumamoto | 22 March | 1 April | 15 March to 2 April (since 1953) |
| Miyazaki | Miyazaki | 23 March | 2 April | 13 March to 2 April (since 1971) |
| Nagasaki | Nagasaki | 23 March | 2 April | 14 March to 1 April (since 1953) |
| Aichi | Nagoya | 24 March | 2 April | 17 March to 11 April (since 1953) |
| Ehime | Matsuyama | 24 March | 3 April | 14 March to 6 April (since 1953) |
| Oita | Oita | 24 March | 4 April | 14 March to 6 April (since 1953) |
| Saga | Saga | 24 March | 2 April | 17 March to 2 April (since 1953) |
| Shizuoka | Shizuoka | 24 March | 2 April | 15 March to 6 April (since 1953) |
| Tokyo | Tokyo | 24 March | 31 March | 14 March to 11 April (since 1953) |
| Wakayama | Wakayama | 24 March | 3 April | 16 March to 6 April (since 1953) |
| Gifu | Gifu | 25 March | 2 April | 16 March to 12 April (since 1953) |
| Hiroshima | Hiroshima | 25 March | 3 April | 11 March to 8 April (since 1953) |
| Kanagawa | Yokohama | 25 March | 1 April | 15 March to 10 April (since 1953) |
| Yamanashi | Kofu | 25 March | 2 April | 16 March to 12 April (since 1953) |
| Kagoshima | Kagoshima | 26 March | 5 April | 15 March to 5 April (since 1953) |
| Kyoto | Kyoto | 26 March | 4 April | 16 March to 9 April (since 1953) |
| Yamaguchi | Shimonoseki | 26 March | 4 April | 16 March to 6 April (since 1953) |
| Hyogo | Kobe | 27 March | 5 April | 20 March to 10 April (since 1953) |
| Kagawa | Takamatsu | 27 March | 4 April | 15 March to 8 April (since 1953) |
| Osaka | Osaka | 27 March | 4 April | 19 March to 10 April (since 1953) |
| Saitama | Kumagaya | 27 March | 3 April | 17 March to 14 April (since 1953) |
| Nara | Nara | 28 March | 4 April | 20 March to 12 April (since 1954) |
| Okayama | Okayama | 28 March | 4 April | 20 March to 10 April (since 1953) |
| Tokushima | Tokushima | 28 March | 4 April | 18 March to 6 April (since 1953) |
| Gunma | Maebashi | 29 March | 5 April | 18 March to 15 April (since 1953) |
| Mie | Tsu | 29 March | 3 April | 20 March to 12 April (since 1953) |
| Shimane | Matsue | 29 March | 5 April | 14 March to 13 April (since 1953) |
| Tottori | Tottori | 29 March | 5 April | 19 March to 13 April (since 1953) |
| Chiba | Choshi | 30 March | 6 April | 19 March to 16 April (since 1953) |
| Ibaraki | Mito | 30 March | 6 April | 20 March to 20 April (since 1953) |
| Tochigi | Utsunomiya | 30 March | 6 April | 18 March to 18 April (since 1953) |
| Early April | ||||
| Fukui | Fukui | 1 April | 7 April | 22 March to 17 April (since 1953) |
| Shiga | Hikone | 1 April | 8 April | 22 March to 15 April (since 1953) |
| Ishikawa | Kanazawa | 3 April | 8 April | 23 March to 17 April (since 1953) |
| Toyama | Toyama | 3 April | 8 April | 22 March to 20 April (since 1953) |
| Fukushima | Fukushima | 7 April | 11 April | 24 March to 25 April (since 1953) |
| Miyagi | Sendai | 8 April | 13 April | 26 March to 28 April (since 1953) |
| Niigata | Niigata | 8 April | 13 April | 27 March to 26 April (since 1953) |
| Mid April | ||||
| Nagano | Nagano | 11 April | 16 April | 28 March to 26 April (since 1953) |
| Yamagata | Yamagata | 13 April | 18 April | 31 March to 29 April (since 1953) |
| Akita | Akita | 17 April | 22 April | 4 April to 30 April (since 1953) |
| Iwate | Morioka | 18 April | 24 April | 3 April to 6 May (since 1953) |
| Late April | ||||
| Aomori | Aomori | 22 April | 26 April | 7 April to 11 May (since 1956) |
| Early May | ||||
| Hokkaido | Sapporo | 1 May | 6 May | 15 April to 14 May (since 1953) |
“On record” means in JMA's observations at that station since the year it started, shown on each prefecture's page. A variety in brackets means JMA observes it there instead of Somei-yoshino.
How busy is the blossom month?
For each prefecture where JMA observes Somei-yoshino: the month its trees usually open, that month's share of the prefecture's 2025 guest nights, and its busiest month. The figures do not show that blossom makes a month busier, so we do not say it does.12
Show the table
| Prefecture | Usually opens | Month | Share of 2025 guest nights | Busiest month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fukuoka | 22 March | March | 8.7% | October |
| Kochi | 22 March | March | 8.2% | August |
| Kumamoto | 22 March | March | 8.9% | October |
| Miyazaki | 23 March | March | 8.3% | August |
| Nagasaki | 23 March | March | 9.0% | August |
| Aichi | 24 March | March | 8.3% | August |
| Ehime | 24 March | March | 9.0% | August |
| Oita | 24 March | March | 9.8% | March |
| Saga | 24 March | March | 8.4% | August |
| Shizuoka | 24 March | March | 9.1% | August |
| Tokyo | 24 March | March | 8.4% | December |
| Wakayama | 24 March | March | 9.6% | August |
| Gifu | 25 March | March | 8.5% | August |
| Hiroshima | 25 March | March | 8.3% | August |
| Kanagawa | 25 March | March | 8.3% | August |
| Yamanashi | 25 March | March | 7.5% | August |
| Kagoshima | 26 March | March | 9.0% | November |
| Kyoto | 26 March | March | 8.3% | May |
| Yamaguchi | 26 March | March | 8.8% | August |
| Hyogo | 27 March | March | 8.8% | August |
| Kagawa | 27 March | March | 9.2% | August |
| Osaka | 27 March | March | 8.4% | August |
| Saitama | 27 March | March | 8.6% | August |
| Nara | 28 March | March | 8.8% | May |
| Okayama | 28 March | March | 8.6% | August |
| Tokushima | 28 March | March | 9.1% | August |
| Gunma | 29 March | March | 8.1% | August |
| Mie | 29 March | March | 9.0% | August |
| Shimane | 29 March | March | 8.0% | August |
| Tottori | 29 March | March | 8.1% | August |
| Chiba | 30 March | March | 9.1% | August |
| Ibaraki | 30 March | March | 8.9% | August |
| Tochigi | 30 March | March | 8.4% | August |
| Fukui | 1 April | April | 8.0% | August |
| Shiga | 1 April | April | 8.6% | August |
| Ishikawa | 3 April | April | 8.4% | November |
| Toyama | 3 April | April | 8.4% | August |
| Fukushima | 7 April | April | 7.4% | August |
| Miyagi | 8 April | April | 7.7% | August |
| Niigata | 8 April | April | 6.6% | August |
| Nagano | 11 April | April | 6.2% | August |
| Yamagata | 13 April | April | 6.8% | August |
| Akita | 17 April | April | 7.2% | August |
| Iwate | 18 April | April | 7.7% | August |
| Aomori | 22 April | April | 7.7% | August |
| Hokkaido | 1 May | May | 7.5% | August |
What is the light like on the blossom date?
For photographers: on the average opening date in 2026, the direction of sunrise and sunset and the minutes of evening golden light (our stated band: the sun from 6° above to 4° below the horizon), calculated with NOAA's solar equations for the weather station where JMA also observes the trees.1 Stations where JMA observes the trees somewhere else are left out. See the light calendar for any date, and why golden hour is not an hour.
Show the light for 43 prefectures
| Prefecture | Usually opens | Sunrise direction | Sunset direction | Evening golden light, minutes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Okinawa | 16 January | 113° | 247° | 49 |
| Fukuoka | 22 March | 89° | 271° | 48 |
| Kochi | 22 March | 89° | 271° | 48 |
| Kumamoto | 22 March | 89° | 271° | 48 |
| Miyazaki | 23 March | 88° | 272° | 47 |
| Nagasaki | 23 March | 88° | 272° | 48 |
| Aichi | 24 March | 88° | 272° | 49 |
| Ehime | 24 March | 88° | 272° | 48 |
| Oita | 24 March | 88° | 272° | 48 |
| Saga | 24 March | 88° | 272° | 48 |
| Shizuoka | 24 March | 88° | 272° | 49 |
| Tokyo | 24 March | 88° | 272° | 49 |
| Wakayama | 24 March | 88° | 272° | 48 |
| Gifu | 25 March | 87° | 273° | 49 |
| Hiroshima | 25 March | 87° | 273° | 49 |
| Kanagawa | 25 March | 87° | 273° | 49 |
| Yamanashi | 25 March | 87° | 273° | 49 |
| Kagoshima | 26 March | 87° | 273° | 47 |
| Kyoto | 26 March | 87° | 273° | 49 |
| Hyogo | 27 March | 86° | 274° | 49 |
| Kagawa | 27 March | 86° | 274° | 49 |
| Osaka | 27 March | 86° | 274° | 49 |
| Nara | 28 March | 86° | 274° | 49 |
| Okayama | 28 March | 86° | 274° | 49 |
| Tokushima | 28 March | 86° | 274° | 48 |
| Gunma | 29 March | 85° | 275° | 50 |
| Mie | 29 March | 85° | 275° | 49 |
| Shimane | 29 March | 85° | 275° | 49 |
| Tottori | 29 March | 85° | 275° | 49 |
| Ibaraki | 30 March | 85° | 275° | 50 |
| Tochigi | 30 March | 85° | 275° | 50 |
| Fukui | 1 April | 84° | 276° | 50 |
| Ishikawa | 3 April | 83° | 277° | 50 |
| Toyama | 3 April | 83° | 277° | 50 |
| Fukushima | 7 April | 81° | 279° | 51 |
| Miyagi | 8 April | 80° | 280° | 52 |
| Niigata | 8 April | 80° | 280° | 51 |
| Nagano | 11 April | 79° | 281° | 51 |
| Yamagata | 13 April | 78° | 282° | 52 |
| Akita | 17 April | 76° | 284° | 53 |
| Iwate | 18 April | 75° | 285° | 54 |
| Aomori | 22 April | 73° | 287° | 55 |
| Hokkaido | 1 May | 68° | 292° | 58 |
What these dates cannot tell you
- Averages, not a forecast. Check the current season's forecast before you travel.
- One tree, one station. Trees elsewhere in the same prefecture, especially in the hills, can bloom days or weeks apart.
- Japan's figures are a sample survey. The gaps between neighbouring prefectures are often smaller than the survey's sampling error, so we do not rank prefectures against each other.
- We have not been to these places and make no judgement about which is better to visit.
See also autumn leaf dates and where to go in April.
Key takeaways
- Earliest average opening: Okinawa, around 16 January (hikan-zakura).
- Latest: Hokkaido, around 1 May.
- Full bloom usually follows opening by about a week, but the gap differs by station; each row gives both dates.
- What we would skip: booking a whole trip on an average date. The date moves every year; keep the plan flexible or check the forecast.
Sources
The dates come from the Japan Meteorological Agency and the guest-night shares from the Japan Tourism Agency, both copied from our prefecture pages. See how we research.
- Cherry blossom and autumn leaves: 出典：気象庁ホームページ（生物季節観測の情報）: さくらの開花日・満開日 and 生物季節観測累年値ファイル (さくらの開花, さくらの満開, かえでの紅葉), 平年値 1991–2020. Japan Meteorological Agency. Accessed 22 September 2026. Licensed under PDL1.0. 「生物季節観測の情報」（気象庁）を加工して作成 — edited by Gallivanting Gadabout (English wording, date format and selection).
- Source: 「宿泊旅行統計調査」（観光庁） (Overnight Travel Statistics Survey, Japan Tourism Agency), 2025 annual figures (final), tables 2 and 8 and reference table 1, published 6 July 2026. Survey page · workbook. Accessed 17 September 2026. Licensed under the Public Data License 1.0 (PDL1.0).
Modified data. The monthly shares, orderings and comparisons are our own calculations from Eurostat's counts and the Japan Tourism Agency's figures (「宿泊旅行統計調査」（観光庁）を加工して作成). Percentages are rounded to one decimal place. Neither body is responsible for these calculations or for how the figures are presented here.