Cherry blossoms finally in full bloom in central Tokyo, latest peak in over decade

TOKYO — The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA)’s Tokyo Regional Headquarters announced on April 4 that Somei Yoshino cherry blossoms were in full bloom in central Tokyo that day, 13 days later than last year and four days behind average years.

It marked the first time since 2017 that the full bloom announcement came in April in the capital. The flowers started blossoming on March 29 in Tokyo, five days later than normal years. The timing of cherry blossoms starting to flower and reaching their full bloom in the capital was the latest in over a decade.

An employee of the JMA regional headquarters checked a sample tree at Yasukuni Jinja shrine in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward at around 2 p.m. on April 4, and confirmed that the flowers were roughly 80% or more in bloom, the threshold for declaring full bloom. The high temperature in the heart of Tokyo reached 19.9 degrees Celsius that day, 2.5 degrees higher than average years.

According to Weathernews Inc., a private weather information company, many areas in eastern and western Japan are forecast to observe the best season for cherry blossom viewing this weekend.

(Japanese original by Minori Nagaya, Tokyo Bureau)