Northern Japan's cherry-blossom season, traditionally completed by mid-April, has — owing to an unseasonably cool start to the month — extended into the final week of April for the first time in nearly a decade.

What that means for travellers

The most reliable late-season viewing this year is in Aomori and Akita prefectures rather than the more familiar Kyoto and Tokyo. Tohoku hotels are, as a consequence, running their busiest April occupancy since 2019.

A practical note

Late-season blossom is more weather-dependent than the peak. Travellers who can move plans on a forty-eight-hour notice will get the best viewing; those locked into a fixed schedule should not be surprised if they arrive a week early or a week late.