Japanese Cherry Blossoms (Sakura Hanami)

Japan features more than 100 varieties of cherry trees, anyone visit Japan in spring surely do not want to miss appreciating one of the most exceptional natural events of the season. Blooming periods vary year to year generally begins around late March to May depending on weather conditions. 

Most popular and most common found kind of tree is the Japanese cherry sakura as they bloom at different times throughout the country. However, the blooming period of this kind is rather short. Festivals are also to be seen all over the country as most of them are held between springtime, from late March to May. Other regions may have them during January, February and June, depending on their location. Dates are usually determined with reference to cherry blossom forecasts and vary from year to year. Nowadays, variety of traditional Japanese performing arts are combined with hanami festival to attract more visitor from different parts of the country as activities held under cherry trees can be a memorable experience.

Japan Cherry Blossom usually begins with Naha Sakura Matsuri cherry blossom festival around February in Yogi Park of Naha City, Okinawa. This year, the 2013 Naha Sakura Matsuri cherry blossom festival has been held from February 12-17. Although 2013 Okinawa cherry blossom parties have been drawn to a close, there are still places in Japan where you can check out sakura in their full, pink glory. Cherry trees in Fukuoka are expected to bloom on 3/22, 3/24 in Tokyo, 3/26 in Nagoya, 3/28 in Osaka, 4/10 in Niigata and Sendai, and 5/1 in Sapporo.

Being one of the most important Japanese customs, Hanami (Sakura viewing) is held all over Japan during the spring season. The origin of hanami dates back to more than one thousand years ago when poets enjoyed looking at the beautiful cherry blossoms creating beautiful poems. Modern Japanese people combines hanami with picnic with families and friends under the trees, each brings home-cooked meals, BBQ, or take-away snacks to the gathering. Most blossoms are only on show for a week, some even shorter if the weather goes bad.

At Sinotour.com, we have gather hotels at some of the Japan’s best hanami (sakura viewing) sites in different parts of Japan including Kyoto, Osaka, Tokyo, Hiroshima, Fukuoka, Nagoya, Yokohama, Sendai, and Sapporo. Find discounted Japan hotel accommodation below and booking for your ultimate Japan Sakura Hanami experience today! Please visit the official web site of Japan Weather Bureau for Japan cherry blossom report & cherry blooming forecast 2013- http://sakura.weathermap.jp/ (currently only available in Japanese)