Japan Cherry Blossom Season 2027: Why now is the time to book

In early spring each year in Japan, there are petals dancing in the air nearly everywhere you look. The country’s cherry tree population is thought to be well over a million, the highest concentration of any country in the world, scattered all across its string of islands, from the tropical shores at Okinawa to the rugged landscapes in Hokkaido and everywhere in between. These comprise of over 100 varieties; light pinks in a classic group of five petals, dazzling cotton white pom-poms, raspberry bells, or even the odd lemon yellow flush. They stun visitors with long weeping branches draped over the sides of a canals, and adorn the surrounds of vermillion temples. Towards the end of their glorious season, their petals will shed and float onto the pathways, the most enchanting downpour you’re ever likely to experience.Cherry blossom, or sakura, is one of my favourite things about visiting Japan in March and April. This season is without doubt the most popular time to visit the country though, so it’s best to get in touch as soon as you can so we can secure the very best hotels and holiday for you… (take a look at our collection of client photos below for an idea of why it’s so popular!).If you are keen to witness the beautiful phenomenon for yourself, now is the perfect time to get planning for cherry blossom 2027 to bag the best hotel and guide availability and secure your flights on a provisional hold to lock in that cost.Here’s everything you need to know about this magical time of year in Japan.

Strewn across Japanese literature and art for centuries, cherry blossoms aren’t just a pretty flower to look at. For Japanese people they hold an awful lot of symbolism and significance.They are both the marker of spring, new life and vitality, but also due to their short flowering time (a tree’s peak bloom only lasts a few days) they serve as a reminder that life is fleeting, symbolic in Japan’s feudal era of a samurai warrior’s short existence. There are sacred cherry trees scattered all over the country. Some of the trees are up to 2,000 years old, with many appearing in folklore and said to be inhabited by spirits. They really are prized possessions in Japan.Hanami, or, flower viewing, is the age-old practice of sitting amongst and gazing at the cherry blossom. Japanese people across the country take food and drinks to parks and sit at blossom hotspots to adore the beauty that surrounds them. There are also cherry blossom festivals in various parts of the country, a chance for all to celebrate these stunning blooms with the level of reverence they deserve!

“Cherry blossom season” is notoriously tricky to summarise. It’s very much a wave of blooms, rather than a guaranteed schedule. Mother nature likes to do things in her own time! The blossom starts to come into full peak in the Kyushu region, in the south, around mid to late March, and then the wave of blooming time moves up the country with the north finishing about a month later. This means that hotspots like Tokyo and Kyoto, and other places in that central area likely to be included somewhere in your itinerary, tend hit peak bloom in first week of April. It’s around a two-week period from when the petals first start to open, through to a few days of full bloom, and finishes when they fall and green leaves start to emerge.Of course, this is all based on the average bloom times year-on-year, and these are all dependant on nature and the temperatures the country has experienced in the autumn and winter prior. While we can’t control Japanese weather patterns (we’re good at HA, but even we don’t claim to be that good), when planning your trip we can discuss average blooming times, and base you in the right locations to enjoy cherry blossoms during your holiday.

There is simply no getting away from the throngs of people in some locations in Japan during cherry blossom season, with Kyoto being one of the busiest destinations in the country at the end of March and the first week of April. It is something to be very aware of before you start planning, and it’s advisable to brace yourself for some shuffling around lots of the more famous parks at this time. For good reason, of course it is undeniably beautiful, but it’s a fact that tourist numbers have boomed year on year for Japan so this will only continue in 2027.

Of course, it pays to put some research and thought into where you want to witness the cherry blossoms, to avoid these crowds (and the worst of increased flight prices, which peak over the last week of March/first of April). We have a whole month to six weeks to play with after all, and the extremities of the country – the very far south or north, are much less crowded and you can enjoy the cherry blossoms in a more peaceful environment.Fukuoka, a fun and vibrant city in the south known for its unique street food culture, has some spectacular cherry blossom displays early on in the season. You could even start your trip here and then travel north, chasing the cherry blossom opening as you go.Alternatively, venture to Tohoku for incredible cherry blossom in Kakunodate, a small samurai town with an avenue of cherry trees flanking its riverside path and some 400 weeping cherry trees decorating the traditional samurai streets, all in mid to late April long after the Tokyo and Kyoto cherry blossom crowds have eased off.Hirosaki, just before you venture into Hokkaido, is home to one of the more famous cherry blossom festivals in late April, with a dazzling display of blooming pink trees, all 2,500 of them in Hirosaki Park, centred around its 400 year-old castle. Not only do you benefit from quieter (not deserted of course, but, but quieter nonetheless) cherry blossom areas, but all of these locations are much calmer for just about any other attraction compared to Japan’s classic Golden Route (the tourist trail between Tokyo, Mt Fuji, Kyoto and Osaka).It pays to go a little off-piste to enjoy all these benefits, so do have a chat with one of our specialists if you’re keen to get off the beaten track to enjoy the cherry blossoms.

While cherry trees are no doubt the star of the show during this time, there are also some other beautiful displays to be found through Japan. Plum blossom is just as dazzlingly gorgeous and blooms before cherry blossom, at the start of March, with incredible hanging branches (much like weeping cherries) covered in bright pink puffballs. There are a collection of these around some shrines in Kyoto and they are not to be missed. If you’re otherwise looking for wonderful floral displays of any kind, the azalea festival at Nezu Shrine in Tokyo (a spot featured on one of our brilliant Tokyo tours, in fact) takes place all through April and is home to 3,000 of these gorgeous plants, a blanket of pinks, whites and purples. Later in early June, hydrangea festivals pop up to mark the start of rainy season, with tens of thousands of these stunning flowers decorating parks and shrines.

Written byEmma Higgins, HA Destination Manager, Japan.