Chasing Cherry Blossoms
 

I am pretty sure we will miss the cherry blossoms in Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto (arriving Tokyo April 12). But they will probably be in bloom somewhere in Japan. One place I was looking at was Mt. Yoshino - which is a not too far train trip from Osaka or Kyoto. The only cherry blossom "time maps" I can find on the internet are in Japanese - and neither my husband nor I can read Kanji. Do any of you have access to a newspaper or similar which has the predicted blossom time for Mt. Yoshino? Any other suggestions for chasing cherry blossoms from Tokyo, Osaka or Kyoto on a day trip (guess we should probably be looking for cooler, mountainous areas)? Robyn

I don't know, the 12th might not be too bad for inland areas. I am sitting, looking out my hotel window in Nagoya at cloudy, foggy, cold conditions and the sakura have not come fully out yet. As I indicated in another post, they are just starting to peek out here, they were several days away in Himeji and still not even close in Okayama and Kurashiki this week. I'm thinking a week from now would be close to perfect and if it stays cool and not too windy or rainy, the 12th will still be very showy around here.

JR

Correction to my last. It is now snowing in Nagoya, at 10:30 am. You'll have to excuse me now as I have to leave for the airport <sigh>.

This might be an interesting day. :rolleyes:

JR

Beautiful and sunny here in Fukuoka.......great day to open the window and let the warm spring breeze in......tonight I will go and see the blossoms around Kumamoto Castle and drink a few for you.......have a good flight!

Oh man... I'll be there in Tokyo Saturday. Hope I'll get to see something. Thanks for the update.

Don't worry, bobes, from all I can tell from various reports you've got the timing perfect for Tokyo--this weekend should be the peak, although it sounds like some places the blossoms are starting to fall a little bit. I'm hoping the winds stay down.

And robyng, the sites I see say the cherries in Kyoto and Osaka haven't started blooming yet, so you may be OK. Someone more familiar with Osaka may know better than me, but I think that the cherry trees near the old Mint are yaezakura, a later blooming (and I think prettier) species.

Is May too late?

I was in Tokyo the last few days. The Sakuras are about half-way to full blossom. Lots of sakura and partying in Ueno Park. I also find Shinjuku Gyoen to be a good spot for cherry viewing.

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

Thanks. You make me jealous. :)

I'm back in San Francisco now, waiting in the RCC for my connecting flight. I've decided that NGO is my new favorite international airport. After I get some sleep and back to what I laughingly think of as normal, I'll probably write up a short report to post.

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.

I just got some email from some friends in Tokyo - and they said they expect this weekend in Tokyo to be *it*. You lucky devil :) . Robyn

sweet... thanks for the update... now if only I have a decent camera to take pics...

I just brought my phone with vga resolution... I'd say this is a good reason to pick up a new 3G phone with 2 a Megapixel camera.

Thanks for the update. I'm heading to Tokyo on 12 April also and have been crossing my fingers. Hope there are a few left... :)

Things look great here in Tokyo. But it rained last nite and it's really windy today. I'm not sure how long it will hold up.

I was walking up some street in tonanomon (sp?) right behind Hotel Okura South Wing and found a street lined with sakura trees. It is lighted at night and there's even a crepe stall.