As the Chinese New Year festivities begin to wind down on our end, Japan’s famed cherry blossom season is just beginning to take off. We have good news for those of you with plans to head to the Land of the Rising Sun for this yearly affair.

The Japan Weather Association has released their sakura forecast for the entire country, making it tonnes easier for you to plan your itinerary. Is there anything more tragic than tavelling to a distant land only to learn you missed the prime of the attraction by a day or two?

That possibility is very real this year, since 2016 is a leap year. The extra day does in fact affect the blooms, either delaying or bringing forward the blossomings.

Typically, the blooms start off from the southernmost part of the country in late March and spread its beauty through the nation upwards by May. Keeping in mind this year’s extra leap day, the forecast predicts that the first sakura will start opening its buds on 25 March in Fukuoka. Nagasaki will bloom a little later on 27 March, followed by Kagoshima on 31 March.

Here is a photo from the official Japanese tourism site on the predictions across the country:

As you can see, it’s a matter of playing catch up with the trail of blossoming sakuras so you’ll be right in the middle of the most beautiful blooms.

Click here for more information, as well as some suggestions on where to best catch sakura!

(Source: Japan Info)

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