By Julius Choudhury
From Hirosaki in Japan to Washington, D.C., in the U.S., here’s a look at the places that you can visit to view the best cherry blossoms.
One of the best-known symbols of spring in Japan is the magnificent pink Japanese cherry trees, also called Sakura. Starting in mid-March, the Internet is flooded with amazing pictures of all varieties of pink, blooming in parks and streets of different cities of Japan. The earliest city to blossom is Tokyo – this year its sakura trees are expected to be in full bloom by the end of March. Depending on a city, Japanese cherry trees may bloom even through May.
As the official Japanese school year starts in April, the first day back at school or work after the holidays usually coincides with the blooming of the sakura. You will always see many locals picnicking under the cherries every season – the tradition is called hanami, and dates back to the 8th century!
Because the cherries blossom in bunches of flowers, they are symbolically associated with clouds and stand for the ephemeral nature of life in Japanese culture, that’s highly influenced by Buddhism. sakura’s are often featured in Japanese art, movies, anime, and manga. Curiously, the delicate cherry trees were once even used as part of the propaganda, in order to inspire the “Japanese spirit” before the wake of World War II.
Even though Sakura is the unofficial national flower of Japan, today it has spread to many other countries as well, mostly due to the Japanese diaspora. The blooming of the sakura is definitely one of the most beautiful sights every spring, wherever you find them!
Hiroshima, Japan
Washington, DC, US
Vancouver, Canada
Bonn, Germany
New York City, New York, US
Paris, France
Jerte Valley, Spain
Boston, Massachusetts, US
Curitiba, Brazil
Stockholm, Sweden
Hirosaki, Japan
Macon, Georgia, US
Himeji, Japan
Seoul, South Korea
Nagano, Japan
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US
Hamburg, Germany
Seattle, Washington, US
Osaka, Japan
Copenhagen, Denmark
San Francisco, California, US
Miyagi, Japan
Newark, New Jersey, US
Bristol, England
Salem, Oregon, US
Hokkaido, Japan
Jinhae, South Korea
London, England
Nashville, Tennessee, US
Tokyo, Japan
Shanghai, China
Yamanashi, Japan
Best view: Lake Kawaguchi
Wuhan, China
Fujian, China
Yorkshire, England
Taichung, Taiwan
Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, Japan
Nanjing, China
Bursa, Turkey
