Now that we're nearing the end of March, this year’s cherry blossom season is just a few days away. The Japan Meteorological Corporation recently released its ninth 2025 sakura forecast update, giving us a good picture of when to schedule cherry blossom outings this year.
According to this updated forecast from March 21, it seems that in most places across Japan, the cherry blossoms will bloom generally around the same time as they have in the past few years, with fluctuations only by a couple of days. It's also important to note that the weather could still have a massive impact on when this year’s blossoms open up. Take last year for example, when cooler temperatures in early spring eventually resulted in the flowers blooming a few weeks later than usual.
So far for Tokyo, the cherry blossoms are predicted to start flowering a couple days earlier than the last forecast with the flowering date set for March 24 and potential full bloom by March 30.
In Kyoto, the blossoms are expected to open up on March 28 with full bloom by April 6. Nearby, Osaka is also looking at March 29 for its initial flowering date and full bloom arriving by April 5.
Taking a look further north, Sapporo will be the last to see the cherry blossoms open up, with the expected flowering date on April 26 and full bloom by April 30.
We'll continue to keep you posted as the forecast changes. The next update from the JMC is scheduled for March 27. In the meantime, you can still see beautiful winter cherry blossoms in Tokyo and around Japan.
This article was published on January 17 2025 and updated on March 21 2025.
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