2019 Japan Cherry Blossom Forecast by Major City

Take a look at start and full bloom dates for major cities across Japan with our 2019 Japan cherry blossom forecast (updated March 21, 2019).

Japan cherry blossom forecast 2019 — Japan Sakura Forecast Updated: March 21, 2019

The Japan archipelago runs on a roughly southwest to northeast axis, therefore the spring warmth—and the cherry blossoms—travel up the country from bottom to top.

Bonus: See our post on Japan’s Number 1 Cherry Blossom spot.

Please remember that this is a forecast! Individual trees, different sub regions and the weather (wind and rain especially) may affect the flowering times.

The following was the forecast last year for major cities—including the date when the cherry blossoms were expected to be in full bloom.

2018 Japan Cherry Blossom Forecast by Major City

City	March	April	May
HOKKAIDO
Sapporo			Start: May 1 Full bloom: May 5
Hakodate		Start: April 29	Full bloom: May 3
SHIKOKU
Hiroshima	Start: March 22 Full Bloom: March 31
Matsuyama	Start: March 22 Full Bloom: March 31
KYUSHU
Fukuoka	Start: March 21 Full Bloom: March 29
Nagasaki	Start: March 20 Full Bloom: March 30
KANSAI
Osaka	Start: March 27	Full Bloom: April 3
Nara	Start: March 26	Full Bloom: April 2
Kobe	Start: March 26	Full Bloom: April 3
Kyoto	Start: March 25	Full Bloom: April 2
CHUBU
Nagoya	Start: March 22	Full Bloom: April 1
Kanazawa	Start: March 31	Full Bloom: April 6
Niigata		Start: April 5 Full Blossom: April 9
Shizuoka	Start: March 24	Full Bloom: April 2
KANTO
Nagano		Start: April 8 Full Bloom: April 13
Yokohama	Start: March 24	Full Bloom: April 1
Tokyo	Start: March 22 Full Bloom: March 29
TOHOKU
Sendai		Start: April 3 Full Bloom: April 8
Aomori		Start: April 20 Full bloom: April 25
Yamagata		Start: April 9 Full Bloom: April 14

If you can’t get out for hanami in March/April, fear not! There are various varieties of sakura such as yaezakura which flower 3 to 4 weeks after the most popular yoshino variety.

Written by: Greg Lane

Greg's Japan favorites are: omizutori

Filed under: Living