If you are visiting Tokyo in mid-March, you may get lucky and witness cherry blossoms blooming.

The phenomenon is expected on March 18 in the capital, the Mainichi newspaper reported on Feb 20, based on the most recent forecast.

But a separate report by Japanese weather forecaster Weather Map on Feb 15 said Tokyo’s flowering date will be on March 17.

After Tokyo, the cherry blossoms are expected to bloom in Fukuoka on March 19, Nagasaki and Yokohama on March 20, Nagoya on March 21, and Osaka on March 22, the Mainichi reported.

The cherry blossom season generally takes place between late March and early April. For 2024, the phenomenon is happening earlier than usual across the country due to warmer temperatures this winter, the Japan Times newspaper said.

In 2024, cherry blossoms are “expected to be in bloom five to 10 days earlier than usual in many areas”, the paper quoted Weather Map as saying.

The Weather Map forecast of the Somei-Yoshino cherry blossom variety is based on the meteorological agency’s observation of specific trees located in 53 locations across the country, from Hokkaido in the north to Kagoshima on Kyushu island further south.

Somei-Yoshino is only one of several varieties of cherry blossom trees.

Some of these varieties, such as those found in Atami and Kawazu in Shikuoza prefecture, start blooming in winter.