2024 Sakura bookings have started! I’ve created this page in order to make the shooting plan easier for myself and for my clients.

January Locations

Sakura in Atami

February Locations

Sakura Tokyo Sky Tree, Ebara Shrine, Sakurashinmachi Shrine, Yoyogi Park, Kawazu (1h from Tokyo), Matsuda (2h from Tokyo),

Plum Kameido Shrine, Yushima Tenjin I don’t recommend Hanegi Shrine

February to March Locations

24th (Sat) 25th (Sun) February Miurakaigan

2nd (Sat) March Miurakaigan
9am to 9:30am Kelly
9:30am to 10:00am Brittany
1pm to 1:30pm Jayden

9th (Sat) March Miurakaigan
2pm to 2:30pm Miah

10th (Sun) March Miurakaigan
10:30am to 11:00am Kat

Mid March Locations

16th (Sat) 17th (Sat)

Zojoji (Tokyo, Minato ward) It has some impressive weeping sakura.

Shinjuku Gyoen (Tokyo, Shinjuku ward)

Peak Sakura Season
20th to 31 March

Every year, during the sakura season, I only photograph at parks in Tokyo where there is an entrance fee. It stops from people to be drinking in the park so usually it’s pretty quiet even on a weekend.

Shinjuku Gyoen

Oldest Sakura trees means they hang low and it’s easy to take photo with the children as well.

If you are coming by car, please use Ookido Gate (discount with the park entrance ticket).

Please do not use Shinjuku Gate since it gets really busy.

Koishikawa Botanical Garden (Tokyo)

Another absolutely lovely spot

https://www.bg.s.u-tokyo.ac.jp/koishikawa/eng/

Address 3-7-1 Hakusan, Bunkyo-ku,Tokyo, 112-0001

2024 Forecast

According to the Japan Weather Association, the cherry blossoms are expected to open considerably earlier than average this year. Forecasts published before March, in particular, have been not very accurate in the past. This forecast can still change!!!

On average you can expect the cherry blossoms to be in full bloom around five days after the Japan Weather Association announces that the buds have opened. There are 58 trees all over Japan chosen by the Association and you can see ‘the specimen tree’ inside Yasukuni shrine for Tokyo. It is said that a white arrow stood at "Somei Yoshino" at Yasukuni Shrine as "a place where the observation environment does not change for many years." The flowering of cherry blossoms means that 5 to 6 flowers of the buds of the "specimen tree" have bloomed, and the full bloom means that 80% or more of the flower buds of the "specimen tree" have bloomed.

You have a short window starting from when the buds bloom to when they start to wither. Factors such as temperatures, wind and rain so please don’t take the forecast seriously. Blooming can accelerate, delay or shorten considerably!

1. There are so many types of Sakura - Japan has over 300 species of cherry blossom trees and around 80% of them are SOMEIYOSHINO. over 200 species have been cultivated through cross-breeding. We can enjoy Kawazu Zakura for almost 3-4 weeks but with SOMEIYOSHINO viewing time is extremely short. There are 5 petals, the colour is pale red at the beginning of blooming, and becomes close to white when it is in full bloom. Since all Yoshino cherry trees cultivated in Japan have been increased by cloning (breeding with cuttings and grafts), they have the characteristic of blooming all at once, and the "cherry blossom front" that predicts the flowering date of cherry blossoms is also based on the flowering of Yoshino cherry trees. Full bloom (mankai) typically occurs within 5-7 days after the first opening of cherry blossoms (kaika) but like last year, it can happen within a few days as well. Normally you can expect to enjoy the cherry blossoms at peak bloom for about one week and then the petals flutter to the ground in a grand finale known as (sakura fubuki) - sakura snow.

2. Timing of Blossoms within Tokyo can vary by several days to a week - In the past years that I’ve been doing Sakura portrait sessions, not one year was ever the same. Last year we had extremely warm few days (23-27 degrees) mid March that made the full bloom to be 5-7 days earlier than the forecast. At the end of the Sakura Season last year (end of March) we had snow and extremely cold days. Since some areas of Tokyo had early blooms and some areas of Tokyo didn’t have any bloom last year, we actually ended up having the LONGEST sakura season in history where we could enjoy sakura for several weeks.

3. Sakura can be gone really quickly - Temperatures, Strong Wind and Rain can blow away all the blossoms within a day!

4. Good news is that double blossoms (comes in bright pink, white etc…) that comes towards the end of someiyoshino do last a lot longer and you can enjoy them until mid April. You will also see hazakura, cherry blossom trees whose blossoms have been replaced with fresh green leaves, anywhere from April to May. The contrast between the dainty pale pink petals and the vibrant green leaves iCherry blossoms tend to bloom as the end of March segues into April; this coincides with the end of the Japanese fiscal calendar when school years end and re-begin.

   Their fleeting beauty illustrates that nothing in this world is permanent, everything passes away at some point. An admiration for this impermanence has been an important part of the Japanese mindset called "mono no aware."

   Typically, starting around mid March, the cherry blossom trees in the southern region of Japan begin to bloom. Next, is the island region of Shikoku, Chugoku (Hiroshima/Okayama), the Kinki/Kansai Region (Kyoto/Osaka), and Tokai (Nagoya), Kanto (Tokyo), Nagano in mid-April and the northern island of Hokkaido at the start of May.
   
   Birds play a vital role in pollinating flowers and trees. The nectar of cherry blossoms is deep at the base of the petals. Only birds with long thin beaks can reach the nectar. Birds like the Japanese tit and Eurasian tree sparrow have short, stout beaks so they need to tear at the petals to reach the nectar. When you see petals on the ground, it's likely the work of those two.
   
   Among the many varieties of cherry blossoms trees, birds are found on Somei-yoshino and other single petal flower varieties because they have more nectar.
   
   Japanese white-eye
   A bird with a sweet tooth, the Japanese white-eye is attracted to nectar and fruit. You can easily spot them thanks to their yellowish-green feathers and white ring around their eye. The Japanese white eye is frequently mistaken for the Japanese bush warbler, but it takes a keen eye and ear to spot the difference.
   
   Brown-eared bulbul
   High in the trees chirping cheerily is the brown-eared bulbul. You can often find them drinking the nectar upside down.
   
   Japanese tit
   You'll instantly recognize the Japanese tit thanks to the bold black line running down its chest. It chirps as if it's urging spring to begin.
   
   Sparrow
   The urban-dwelling sparrow is responsible for picking apart the cherry blossom in search for nectar. It's believed that the sparrow drinks the nectar of cherry blossom because their food source is diminishing.