Japan-loving S’poreans, here’s the 2019 cherry blossom forecast

Sakura is expected to blossom later this year.

Zhangxin Zheng | Belmont Lay | January 15, 2019, 10:12 PM

Sakura season is here again.

From south to north

Every year, Japan’s cherry blossoms first appear in February or March in southern Japan, Okinawa, before moving northwards to Hokkaido by early May.

They can start blooming as early as January, such as this year.

The blooming of bright cherry blossoms, otherwise known as Sakura, coincides with spring.

Even though the blossoming follows an upward shift from the south to the north of the archipelago, cherry blossoms in different parts of the city peak at different times.

Natural factors such as weather and unprecedented rainfall play a role.

Most Sakura flowers take a week to reach full bloom and that the full bloom also lasts around a week.

Photo by Izu navi via Flickr Creative Commons

Kawazu, located in the Izu Peninsula, is home to a unique variety of sakura that blooms typically at the beginning of February.

The cherry blossoms, called Kawazuzakura, last for about a month, compared to the usual Sakura that blooms and wilts within one to two weeks.

Here is a forecast of cherry blossoms in Japan in 2019:

According to the Japan Meteorological Corporation, the sakura season is expected to arrive slightly later than last year.

For instance, cherry blossoms in Tokyo start flowering on Mar. 22 this year, five days later than last year.

In the North, first bloom in Sapporo is expected to be on May. 4, eight days later than last year's full bloom.

As such, you might be able to catch Sakura flowers in the second week of May in the North.

Location Estimated date of first bloom Estimated date of full bloom
Nagoya Mar. 22 Apr. 1
Kagoshima  Mar. 28  Apr. 8
Nagasaki Mar. 22 Mar. 30
Fukouka Mar. 20 Mar. 29
Kobe Mar. 28 Apr. 5
Hiroshima Mar. 23 Apr. 1
Kyoto Mar. 25 Apr. 2
Osaka Mar. 27 Apr. 8
Shizuoka Mar. 29 Apr. 5
Yokohama Mar. 27 Mar. 31
Kanazawa Apr. 2 Apr. 9
Tokyo Mar. 22 Apr. 1
Nara Mar. 27 Apr. 8
Niigata Apr. 9 Apr. 13
Nagano Apr. 9 Apr. 28
Fukushima Apr. 5 Apr. 12
Sendai Apr. 9 Apr. 14
Aomori Apr. 24 Apr. 28
Akita Apr. 20 Apr. 25
Iwate Apr. 19 Apr. 26
Muroran May. 12 May. 19
Hakodate May. 2 May. 6
Sapporo May. 4 May. 8

Top photo from Japan Rail Pass.