Originally Posted by abmj-jr
Unless you are going to northern Japan, like the northern part of Honshu or Hokkaido or the higher elevations, then yes. The cherry blossom season is very short - typically a couple of weeks or less. For Tokyo, mid-April is almost always the last of it. As Calcifer indicated, there are later blooming varieties, but even those will probably not last into May.
JR
^ (And I agree about NGO too)
If you check out the other thread on this topic, you will find some links posted by DoubleJ and Calcifer, which provide maps of when the cherry blossoms can be seen in various parts of Japan:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showt...07#post5512907
Probably (nothing can be guaranteed) -
Aomori (the Northern tip of Honshu) might be in full bloom in the first couple of days of May.
Hakodate (Southern Hokkaido) in earlyish May
Sapporo (further North in Hokkaido) mid May
Wakkanai or Shiretoko peninsular (The extremities of Hokkaido) end of May
If you have the time and inclination to go up North or climb to higher altitudes please send us your trip report.