Cherry blossom season in Japan is probably the most popular time to visit.

However, a lot of people wonder when’s the best time to view cherry blossoms in Japan in full bloom.

The answer is both, easy and complicated.

You can actually enjoy cherry blossoms in Japan almost all year round!

I’m not kidding you! Read on if you want to know what I’m talking about.
 
So, the best time to view cherry blossoms in Japan is …"!
For the main tourist areas (Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima) cherry blossom season is usually from the end of March to the beginning of April.

You can?t go wrong if you come visit between the last week of March and the first week of April.
There?s also a cherry blossom forecast released each year.
For major cherry blossom viewing spots you can check the current status of the blossoms online, sometimes even with up-to-date photos of the actual location. It’s sometimes difficult to navigate through these websites as they’re all in Japanese, but if you know a few terms, it’s not a big deal.
That being said, there are always exceptions.

I remember a year (2011, right after the big quake) where the cherry blossoms were extremely late. I returned from my spring vacation which lasted throughout the first week of April without having seen sakura in full bloom at all.

Yashima (Kagawa Prefecture), April 1st 2011.
Sometimes a typhoon or rainstorm hits and the blossoms that just were in full bloom the day before have all...