Cherry Blossom Season in Japan
The sakura blooming season is an annual punctuation that signals the start of a year-round seasonal tapestry full of wonders. From hanami picnics under pink sakura, to fireworks by the river in summer, fiery autumn maples, and steaming winter onsen, each season has its own kind of wonder. In this piece, I hope to present some of Japan’s most iconic events and some hidden gems throughout the four seasons.
Spring in Japa
For centuries, cherry blossoms have been part of Japanese life. Courtiers, poets, painters, and entertainers gathered under pastel pink petals and formed the spring. Today, hanami (literally “flower viewing”) is part of the national past time that is taken so seriously that families and friends gather and lay out mats under flowering branches and enjoy festive picnics.
Sakura first bloom in Okinawa in early February, and gradually push northeast toward Hokkaido, where reach by late May. On Honshu, the main island of Japan, the prime viewing, usually, is late March to mid-April. In Kyoto, petals form a tunnel on the Philosopher’s Path, while Ueno Park in Tokyo has over 1,200 trees that turn the promenades into billowing, rosy clouds.
Because spring bookings occur so quickly – sometimes a year in advance – you might want to think of where you will find additional quieter spots for hanami. Hirosaki Castle will erupt with blooms from its 2,600 cherry trees each April, while when visiting the samurai streets of Kakunodate, petals will drift against a traditional wooden wall while you sip sake.
Find Spring in Japan: Plum Blossoms, Tulips & Wisteria
Spring in Japan is not about only cherry blossoms. From mid-February into mid-March, plum trees (ume) explode with vivid pink and white blossoms that fill temple grounds with their sweet perfume from Kyoto to Tokyo. When visiting flower parks in Hokkaido, fields of tulips and phlox will blanket you in endless strips of every natural hue available.
By the end of April into early May, when wisteria vines explode into pale purple clusters and you would like to stroll beneath fragrant tunnels, Kameido Tenjin Shrine in the eastern Tokyo area has some great options. Meanwhile, spring gardens around the country release their winter wraps and wake up in bright green: mossy stones return to shiny form, maples plant their freshly unfurled leaves, azaleas gleam – all new and in front of you. All these treasures showcase that Japan’s spring magic is more than just the sakura.
Seasonal Spring Food in Japan
Spring brings with it sakura flavors – from lovely cherry-blossom mochi to fish-shaped taiyaki filled with sweet bean paste to beers. Look for fresh bamboo shoots and lotus roots in bento boxes next to sushi, prawn tempura and grilled fish – great for having picnic lunches in the park. Most convenience stores sell these colorful lunch boxes just for that. At any seafood stall, see if you can find clams cooked in the clam juice over rice with a garnish of mitsuba to pay homage to spring’s arrival. For a richer experience, you can try clams steamed in sake for umami euphoria.
Festivals & Events in Spring
Osaka hosts one of six Grand Sumo Tournaments every spring: a great way to experience the simplicity and excitement of sumo’s ritual – competitors square off until one wrestler exits the ring or touches the ground. In late March in Tokyo, AnimeJapan fills Big Sight with hundreds of exhibitors, panels, and workshops celebrating Japanese animated characters. Great fun can be had in the cosplay zone where fans strut their stuff in elaborate homemade costumes.
Travel Tips by Season
Golden Week (latter April) is Japan’s official spring holiday when hotels and attractions fill up quickly. To avoid crowds and inflate prices, plan your trip for mid-March to the early part of April or late May. To keep your spring voyage run smoothly, it is recommended that you book your trains and lodging at least three months in advance.
Summer in Japan
Summer in Japan means a long season of festivals, nearly every night filled with fireworks, cheaper hotel bookings due to the decrease in tourists in Japan during the summer months, and sticky air, with daily maximum temperatures hovering in the low-30s °C. When you arrive, take a half-paced first couple days in Japan to find air-conditioned cafes or riding bikes in shaded riverside parks to adjust to the warm temperatures. The Shiretoko Peninsula in Hokkaido provides more rugged coastal landscapes and cooler summertime air for hikers and wildlife observers to share experiences with the bears and whales that call Shiretoko home. The town of Shiraoi provides opportunities to learn about Ainu culture at Japan’s first and only open-air Upopoy Museum.
Summer culinary options focus on refreshment. Slurp cold noodles still topped with fresh cucumber and sweet peach in hiyashi chūka, or cool off with a syrupy kakigōri cone from street vendors or artisanal shops. Obon occurs in August, when dances, family fireworks, memories, and ancestors; dancing in styles that can be traced to Tokushima’s Awa Odori parade; usually doesn’t rain.
Autumn in Japan
Japan displays with the original colour in the most predictable way, when the momiji maples of the countryside, front late September to mid-November. Expect to see the foliage peak and drift north in longitude. You can board a train in summer green, and watch the vivid colours bloom on the Nakasendō or on the Kurobe Gorge Railway, as you move forward in altitude and south. Cyclists on the Shimanami Kaidō enjoy or ‘road picks’ over the expansive ocean views, while hikers and cable car riders explore the Japanese Alps in crisp 15–22 °C skies.
As much as autumn brings, it deciphers with reliable hearty flavours – sanma/smokey/mackerel in season, crunchy daikon, and kuri/chestnuts appear in everything from barbecues to sweets. The Tsukimi moon viewing festivals allow families capture the moon aesthetically as a performance; snacking on tsukimi dango rice dumplings. The price also decreases as fewer tourists visit Japan in September and the weather can be lovely.
Winter in Japan
Japan’s driest season from December to February. Cities like Kyoto and Hiroshima experience all-weather variability, while Hokkaido delves deeper with heavy snow – perfect for skiing at Niseko or sporadically soaking in an outdoor onsen surrounded by snow-dusted trees at Zaborin Ryokan. If you host in Yudanaka, you will have the rare opportunity to watch snow monkeys luxuriate in their hot springs before you get warm in your human hot baths just yards away.
Where winter in Japan shines is seafood, snacking on snow crab shabu-shabu at Kanazawa Omicho Market, as winter illuminations light up the cities with German-style Christmas markets or dinner, during Kobe’s 200,000+ holiday illumination. New Year’s Eve is full of pear, mochi, toshikoshi soba noodles, temple cell bells, and families. Sapporo Snow Festival is a must if you visit in February.
