Cherry Blossoms Start Blooming in Tokyo

Tokyo, March 14 (Jiji Press)--Cherry blossoms started coming out in Tokyo on Tuesday, the earliest in the country this year, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

The Somei-Yoshino cherry tree at Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine, which is monitored by the agency, was confirmed to be in bloom on Tuesday afternoon.

This tied the earliest start of blooming in the capital on record, previously marked in 2020 and 2021. It was six days earlier than in 2022 and 10 days earlier than in an average year.

On Tuesday, the agency confirmed eleven flowers in bloom, more than the standard of five to six flowers. While cherry blossoms usually reach full bloom a week after they start opening, the period may be shorter this year.

The early start of blooming this year followed warm days since the beginning of March, said Yoshiro Kobayashi, chief of the surface observation team at the agency’s Tokyo Regional Headquarters.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]