If you're planning to visit Japan in Spring to enjoy the cherry blossoms, you'll surely be interested in knowing where and when the best conditions will be. Thankfully, the Japan Meteorological Corporation updates a "Cherry Blossom Forecast" listing the dates when cherry blossoms will start to flower and then, when they will reach full bloom. The best time to enjoy sakura, the period usually lasts for about a week in each location.

According to their most recent update on February 15th, the cherry blossoms are expected to begin flowering (abbreviated as "BF" below) on March 26th and reach full bloom (abbreviated as "FB" below) on April 3rd in Kyoto, on March 26th (BF) and April 2nd (FB) in Osaka, and on March 19th (BF) and March 27th (FB) in Tokyo.

The breakdown by region from south to north is as follows:

Kyushu Region

Fukuoka Castle, Fukuoka.

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• Fukuoka: 3/21 (BF), 3/30 (FB)
• Saga: 3/25 (BF), 4/2 (FB)
• Nagasaki: 3/22 (BF), 3/31 (FB)
• Kumamoto: 3/22 (BF), 3/31 (FB)
• Oita: 3/23 (BF), 4/3 (FB)
• Miyazaki: 3/21 (BF), 3/30 (FB)
• Kagoshima: 3/20 (BF), 3/30 (FB)

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Shikoku Region

• Tokushima: 3/27 (BF), 4/3 (FB)
• Takamatsu: 3/26 (BF), 4/3 (FB)
• Matsuyama: 3/25 (BF), 4/4 (FB)
• Kochi: 3/21 (BF), 3/28 (FB)

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Chugoku Region

• Tottori: 3/31 (BF), 4/8 (FB)
• Matsue: 3/31 (BF), 4/7 (FB)
• Okayama: 3/28 (BF), 4/4 (FB)
• Hiroshima: 3/24 (BF), 4/2 (FB)
• Shimonoseki: 3/25 (BF), 4/3 (FB)

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Kinki Region

Osaka Castle Park, Osaka.

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• Hikone: 3/31 (BF), 4/8 (FB)
• Kyoto: 3/26 (BF), 4/3 (FB)
• Osaka: 3/26 (BF), 4/2 (FB)
• Kobe: 3/27 (BF), 4/5 (FB)
• Nara: 3/28 (BF), 4/4 (FB)
• Wakayama: 3/25 (BF), 4/2 (FB)

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Tokai Region

Nagoya Castle, Nagoya.

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• Gifu: 3/23 (BF), 3/30 (FB)
• Shizuoka: 3/23 (BF), 3/31 (FB)
• Nagoya: 3/22 (BF), 3/31 (FB)
• Tsu: 3/25 (BF), 3/30 (FB)

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Hokuriku Region

• Niigata: 4/9 (BF), 4/14 (FB)
• Toyama: 4/5 (BF), 4/10 (FB)
• Kanazawa: 4/4 (BF), 4/10 (FB)
• Fukui: 4/4 (BF), 4/9 (FB)

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Kanto-Koushin Region

Chidori-ga-fuchi moat in Tokyo

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• Mito: 3/29 (BF), 4/5 (FB)
• Utsunomiya: 3/29 (BF), 4/4 (FB)
• Maebashi: 3/26 (BF), 4/2 (FB)
• Kumagaya: 3/24 (BF), 3/31 (FB)
• Choshi: 3/30 (BF), 4/6 (FB)
• Tokyo: 3/19 (BF), 3/27 (FB)
• Yokohama: 3/23 (BF), 3/30 (FB)
• Kofu: 3/24 (BF), 3/31 (FB)
• Nagano: 4/9 (BF), 4/15 (FB)

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Tohoku Region

Second torii gate at Ōsaki Hachimangu shrine, Sendai City.

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• Aomori: 4/22 (BF), 4/26 (FB)
• Morioka: 4/18 (BF), 4/24 (FB)
• Sendai: 4/7 (BF), 4/12 (FB)
• Akita: 4/18 (BF), 4/22 (FB)
• Yamagata: 4/14 (BF), 4/18 (FB)
• Fukushima: 4/7 (BF), 4/11 (FB)

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Hokkaido Region

• Muroran: 5/4 (BF), 5/9 (FB)
• Hakodate: 4/29 (BF), 5/2 (FB)
• Sapporo: 5/2 (BF), 5/5 (FB)

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Note: This information is current as of February 15th

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If you'd like to keep up to date with the latest cherry blossom forecast, please check the Japan Meteorological Corporation's just-released information site, also compatible with mobile platforms.