Record early start: Japan's cherry blossom season begins

Japan’s famous cherry blossoms are blooming, matching a record for their earliest appearance.

With cherry blossom trees blooming in Tokyo on Tuesday this is 10 days earlier than the long-term average and matches 2020 and 2021 for the earliest blooms according to local experts.

The trees are not yet in full bloom, this is expected next week.

Since the start of the month temperatures in Japan have steadily risen helping the early bloom take shape.

The annual blossoming is a cultural event in the country with festivals held for people to take part in ‘hanami’.

Hanami, literally translated is ‘flower watching’. Family and friends gather in parks to enjoy the spring view with picnics and drinks. This has been curtailed in recent years due to the pandemic but all restrictions have been lifted for the 2023 season.

Japan’s cherry blossom season typically takes place from late March to early April although as we see this is starting to trend earlier in the year.

Two years ago the blossom in Kyoto peaked on March 26th marking the earliest peak in more than 1,200 years, over which time the average temperature in the city has risen by 3 degrees.

Here in the UK and Ireland cherry blossoms often appear between April and May.