Japan Photo Guide

There are two wonderful and exciting things about February in Japan. First is the Sapporo Snow Festival, and the second is the cherry blossom forecast! The forecast has not been released yet, but usually the first one is released in the middle of, or late February. Check back again as I will post information as soon as I find it is available. Until then, check out some cherry blossom photos from years past!

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Edited on February 25th.
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Here is the latest forecast from Tenki.jp! Looks like things will be a little early this year with Tokyo and Kyoto around March 25th.

Yesterday I got an email that said the following:

Hi – just saw your blog on the 2008 Cherry Blossom forecast. The map says March 25th for Tokyo. Do you have an idea if this is the peak date or the blossom date, when they first start? I was told that once they start, its 7 days until peak, and another 7 days until they are gone. I tried to plan a trip there this year and wanted to be there when it peaks. If the 25th is the first day, then they will peak around April 1 …. But maybe the 25th is the peak date? What do you think, based on the way they word it on the page?

I just thought it might be useful to answer the question here. Basically the dates that are given for the forecast are the estimated blooming date, in other words the day they are expected to start opening. And yes, once they start it is about 7 days until they are in full bloom or “100%” but this can be different for every tree. As far as how long they are in bloom, this depends a lot on the weather. If there is a hard rain or strong winds, this could drastically reduce the amount of days that the sakura (cherry blossoms) are in full bloom. The 2008 cherry blossom forecast could change (as it usually does slightly) so my best advice would be plan to arrive a couple days after the start date, stay for a few days and hope you get lucky!

********UPDATED 3.6********

Now that the Sapporo Snow Festival is over, the next major thing to look forward to is the blooming of the cherry blossoms trees. Below is the first released forecast for the 2008 cherry blossom season from tenki.jp. The site is in Japanese, but here is google’s translation which you might be able to make some sense out of. Keep in mind that cherry blossom forecasts are not an exact science and are very subject to change.

Basically because of a warm winter, they are expecting earlier than usual blooming dates. Also be sure to check out sakurazensen if you can read Japanese, or try your look with google’s translation if you can’t. Just so you know, sakura zensen means cherry blossom forecast, so if you wanna do your own research you can google the kanji “桜前線” or try sakura zensen. Here is my previous post about cherry blossoms in general.

UPDATE 2.19 Weathernews.jp has released their own forecast.

UPDATE 3.6 Now the Japan Meteorology Agency has released their forcast.

The first forecast for the 2008 Cherry Blossom season has been released!

If you can choose anytime of the year to come to Japan, cherry blossom season is the best time (also fall is a great time). During this time, the seasonal flowers can be seen all over Japan and make for great photos. The 2007 cherry blossom forecast will be released around late February or early March and can be seen at the site of the Japan Meteorology Agency.

When the winters are mild (like the winter of 2007 is) the cherry blossom trees tend to bloom a little earlier than normal. While the forecasts are usually pretty close, like the weather, when cherry blossoms bloom are still slightly unpredictable! Also, different factors such as how much sun a tree gets, play a large role as well.

See more photos and read the rest of this entry »

Tetsugaku no michi, or the Philospher’s Path, is on the east side of Kyoto. It is a path that runs from about Nanzenji all the way up to (and kind of passed) Ginkakujin. Along the way are various smaller temples, but the ones that you should make a point in going to are Nanzenji, Honen-in, and Ginkakuji (Silver Pavilion).

To be honest, I went there in every season and I was never really impressed until I went in cherry blossom season. During the other seasons it is a nice walk, but when the sakura are in bloom, Tetsugaku no michi really comes to life and makes for a wonderful place to take photos or just go for a stroll. From end to end, without stopping in any of the temples or taking any photographs it takes about 30 minutes.