First forecast reveals when cherry blossoms will bloom across Japan
The Japan Weather Association released the official “2025 Cherry Blossom Bloom Forecast” on the 29th of January.
In 2025, cherry blossoms will bloom at normal levels in Western Japan, normal or earlier in Eastern Japan, and earlier than normal in Northern Japan.
This year, cherry blossoms are expected to start blooming in Fukuoka and Kochi on March 20th.
They will bloom in Tokyo on the 22nd, Nagoya on the 23rd, and Osaka on the 25th, and will bloom over a wide area from Kyushu to Hokuriku by the end of March.
In April, the cherry blossom front will move north to Tohoku, and is expected to bloom in Sendai on April 2nd and in Aomori on the 16th.
They will reach Hokkaido in late April and bloom in Sapporo on the 23rd.
Last fall (2024) was a hot season nationwide, and the temperatures in November, which are thought to affect the dormancy of cherry blossom buds, were quite high in Western Japan.
On the other hand, temperatures in December were normal or lower nationwide, and January in Western Japan was also lower than normal.
Western and Eastern Japan are expected to experience very cold weather in early February, but temperatures from mid-February to March are expected to be normal or higher than normal.
Although it was hot in November, cherry blossom buds were exposed to the cold after that, so the impact of the delay in breaking dormancy (flower buds that formed in the previous summer and entered dormancy are awakened by exposure to low temperatures for a certain period of time in winter) is expected to be small.
As March is expected to have many warm days, cherry blossom buds will grow smoothly and flowering will be roughly normal. Some areas in Hokuriku and Koshin are expected to bloom earlier than normal.
In northern Japan, temperatures are expected to be higher than normal from February to April, so cherry blossoms will bloom earlier than normal.
As with any forecast, current expectations may be subject to change. In the event of changes, the Japan Weather Association will issue updated forecasts to ensure that everyone is kept up to date with the latest information.