Record early blooms mark start of Japan’s 2026 cherry blossom season

Japan’s cherry blossom season officially began this year with the blooming of Somei-Yoshino cherry trees in Gifu and Kochi, the Japan Meteorological Agency announced on Monday (Mar 16).

This year’s first blooms mark the third consecutive year Kochi has led the nation in announcing cherry blossoms, while Gifu shares the spotlight for the first time in 31 years.

The Gifu Meteorological Observatory confirmed that five or more flowers had opened on its standard reference tree, meeting the official criteria for declaring the start of the season.

The blooms in Gifu appeared nine days earlier than average, breaking previous records for the earliest start.

In Kochi Prefecture, the cherry blossoms emerged six days ahead of the usual schedule, continuing the region’s early blooming trend.

Cherry blossoms are expected to bloom across more regions of Japan in the coming week, with Tokyo expected to see its first blooms on Wednesday at the earliest (Mar 18).