{Inter} Cultural Japan

The cherry blossoms will bloom early this year. Whether that is a good thing is the question, as according to popular belief strong winters make good sakura, just like hot summers cause deep-red koyo. And although in normal years the blossoms advance over Japan from the south, like a nice frontline (the sakura zensen), this year it seems to be all patchy, with sakura in Tokyo (March 18) and Osaka (March 25) expected to blossom earlier than those in southern Kagoshima (March 31).

The sakura front line is every year followed not only via TV, but also several websites (unfortunately only in Japanese as sakurazensen.com or Nippon no Sakura Dayori, and travel sites as rurubu.com and jtb.co.jp).

Here are some expectations (I hope they have not been confused by the erratic weather):

• Kyoto:
• Heian Jingu: first 20 days of April
• Ninnaji: whole month of April
• Arashiyama: first 10 days of April
• Kiyomizu Temple: last 10 days March - first 10 days April
• Maruyama Park: last 10 days March - first 20 days April
• Osaka:
• Sakuranomiya Park: last 10 days March - first 20 days April
• Osaka Castle Park: last 10 days March - first 10 days April
• Nara:
• Nara Park: last 10 days of March - whole month of April
• Yoshino: depending on the location, between the last 10 days of March (Shimo Senbon) and late April (Kami Senbon)
• Wakayama:
• Kimiidera: last 10 days of March and first 10 days of April
• Tokyo:
• Ueno Park: last 10 days of March and whole of April
• Shinjuku Gyoen: mid march - late April

(based on JTB’s Sakura Tokushu)

These famous places will be crowded, very crowded. People watching can also be interesting, depending on your mood, but I remember turning back from Yoshino, a few year’s ago, because the crowds made it impossible to get to the sakura - I went instead to less popular Negoroji, where the blossoms were unexpectedly beautiful.

And that is the whole point, I think: better than seeking out these famous spots, it is the greater pleasure to find a beautiful tree or grove by chance.

Note: See also this AP article on MSNBC.