Daily Photo Record: One Month of Cherry Blossoms Blooming in Tokyo, 2024

This is a daily fixed-point observation of the 2024 cherry blossoms (Somei Yoshino), compiled from photos taken every day for one month.
The record spans from March 20th to April 19th, covering everything from the early budding stage, the official bloom, and full bloom, to the “Hazakura” stage (fresh green leaves) after the petals have fallen.

The location is Shinjuku Central Park in Shinjuku, Tokyo, located near the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building.
You can use this record to estimate how many days it takes from the initial bloom to the best viewing time, or to see how long the full bloom actually lasts.

The following are the 2024 cherry blossom bloom and full bloom dates across Japan, as announced by the Japan Meteorological Agency.

City	Bloom Date	Full Bloom Date
Sapporo	April 18	April 23
Sendai	April 2	April 8
Kanazawa	April 1	April 7
Tokyo	March 29	April 4
Nagoya	March 28	April 4
Osaka	March 30	April 6
Hiroshima	March 25	April 1
Takamatsu	March 29	April 4
Fukuoka	March 27	April 2
Kagoshima	March 26	April 5

※Data source: 2024 Japan Meteorological Agency observations

As of 2024, the average bloom date for Tokyo is March 24th. This means that in 2024, the cherry blossoms bloomed 5 days later than usual.

While photographing, I noticed that the cherry blossom petals appeared to have a weaker pink hue than expected, with many appearing almost white. I have not digitally enhanced the pink or adjusted the color tones because I want to show the reality of the scene.

The pigment in cherry blossoms comes from anthocyanins, and the intensity of the color is affected by the temperature. It appears that the color was lighter in 2024 due to the specific weather conditions of that year.

Please enjoy the chronological photo records below.

Wednesday, March 20, 2024

This is when the temperatures just began to warm up. The cherry blossoms still appear far from blooming.

Thursday, March 21, 2024

Early in March, some weather forecasting agencies predicted the bloom for March 19th, but as you can see, the flowers haven’t opened yet.

Friday, March 22, 2024

If you look closely, the buds are becoming more prominent in some areas, but it feels like it will still take a few more days to bloom.

Saturday, March 23, 2024

With the pleasant, warm weather, it finally feels like the blooming is just around the corner.

Sunday, March 24, 2024

More buds look ready to pop, but they haven’t opened yet. The large crowd isn’t there for flower viewing, but for an event called “TOKYO outside Festival” being held that day.

Monday, March 25, 2024

The official bloom was announced in Hiroshima on this day.

Tuesday, March 26, 2024

The official bloom was announced in Kagoshima on this day.

Wednesday, March 27, 2024

The official bloom was announced in Fukuoka on this day.

Thursday, March 28, 2024

The official bloom was announced in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, on this day.

Friday, March 29, 2024

The official bloom was finally announced here in Tokyo and also in Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture. Only a very small portion of the tree has opened at this stage.

Saturday, March 30, 2024

The official bloom was announced in Osaka on this day. Flower viewers have started to appear; while it’s not yet peak bloom, there were many people due to an event called “PARK CLEAN UP.”

Sunday, March 31, 2024

The flowers have progressed rapidly over the last few days, and more visitors are arriving for flower viewing.

Monday, April 1, 2024

The official bloom was announced in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture, and the full bloom was announced in Hiroshima on this day.

Tuesday, April 2, 2024

The official bloom was announced in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, and the full bloom was announced in Fukuoka. It’s almost peak viewing time here, and a full bloom announcement seems imminent.

Wednesday, April 3, 2024

We are entering the full bloom stage and it looks beautiful, but there are few flower viewers due to the rain.

Thursday, April 4, 2024

The official full bloom was announced for Tokyo, Nagoya, and Takamatsu. For Tokyo and Takamatsu, the bloom and full bloom announcements occurred on the same day.

Friday, April 5, 2024

The full bloom was officially announced in Kagoshima.

Saturday, April 6, 2024

The full bloom was officially announced in Osaka.

Sunday, April 7, 2024

The full bloom was officially announced in Kanazawa on this day.

Monday, April 8, 2024

The full bloom was officially announced in Sendai on this day.

Tuesday, April 9, 2024

Due to the severe weather with heavy rain and strong winds, a large number of cherry blossom petals were blown off.

Wednesday, April 10, 2024

The low pressure passed and it was a clear day with high pressure. The number of petals decreased rapidly, and the fresh green leaves became more noticeable.