Three cities share the status of this year’s first sakura arrivals, with a fourth joining them one day later.

The moment Japan waits all year for has finally arrived, as this week multiple cities reported the first flowering of this spring’s cherry blossoms of the Somei Yoshino variety, Japan’s most iconic and photogenic type.

Three cities share the claim of the first places for the sakura to bloom this year, with Kochi City, Gifu City, and Kofu (in Yamanashi Prefecture) all getting their first opened cherry blossom buds on Monday. The following day Nagoya joined the group as the fourth city to welcome the arrival of the spring-symbolizing flowers.

If you’re thinking that you seem to recall cherry blossoms being most commonly associated with the month of April in Japan, you’re correct. Though the sakura have gradually started blossoming earlier and earlier over the years, most parts of Japan still usually don’t see them until closer to the end of March. This year’s blossoming is the earliest on record for Kochi, Gifu, and Kofu since statistics started being kept 1953, and it tires the earliest on record for Nagoya, coming at least six days earlier than last year’s for all four cities, with Kofu’s occurring 10 days earlier than it did in 2025.

If you haven’t finalized your cherry blossom viewing plans, there’s no need to panic just yet. Even in places where the flowers have opened, it’ll still take around a week, give or take a day or two, until they reach full bloom. Still, the sakura, famously, don’t stay on their branches for very long after that, so you won’t want to wait too long before heading out to see them.

Source: Tenki.jp (1, 2), Weathernews (1, 2, 3)
Top image: Pakutaso
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