Majority of people in Japan are enthusiasts of cherry blossoms. We long for the season to come as it is the symbol of the advent of spring and the end of cold winter. And we are keen about knowing when cherry blossoms come out. The timing is very important to enjoy the beauty as you can only see the flower from 4 to 14 days in a year unless you travel. Adding to Japan Meteorological Agency, JMA, 5 private corporations in Japan announce cherry blossom blooming forecast called “cherry blossom front”, which is lines connecting the forecasted blooming dates of cherry blossoms in various parts of Japan. And all of TV news and newspapers report it very often.
Originally, cherry blossom front had been done by JMA since 1926 as a study of agricultural meteorology. Cold weather damage on farm products often occurred in the 1910’s and the government encouraged long term weather forecast and research/development of agricultural techniques that helps selection of farming method and cultivar based on vegetation estimate.
As time passes, cherry blossom front decreased the agricultural meaning as we are facing another environmental issue like global heating rather than cold weather. Many people take it as an entertainment that brings a little delight to our daily life or leisure information to plan a “hanami”, cherry blossom viewing party.
Not only for Japanese, cherry blossom front is also helpful to international travelers visiting Japan. If your trip dates fall behind the best season of cherry blossom based on the forecast of this year, you have a chance to catch them if you go north. And if your trip dates are bit early for the best season, you just go south. In case you have any particular place you want go for cherry blossoms in the future, you can plan your trip based on trends over the past ten years then you will have a better chance to enjoy cherry blossoms.
You can check cherry blossom forecast on Japan National Tourism Organization website in English.
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