The cherry blossom season in Tokyo was declared officially open on Tuesday March 14, ten days earlier than normal, a record earliness becoming recurrent in recent years and linked to global warming.
This moment marks the beginning of "
hanami
", the Japanese tradition of admiring the new blossoms of "
sakura
" (cherry trees) and celebrating the arrival of spring by organizing picnics with family or friends.
A well-attended event
The flowering of cherry trees is thus an event watched closely throughout the country.
The Japanese media compete in forecasts on its precise calendar across the archipelago and cover the news with enthusiasm each year.
The delicate flowers in white and pink colors had already appeared this early in Tokyo in 2020 and 2021, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) based on its 70 years of statistics on the subject.
They hatched six days later last year.
"
We've had a lot of hot days in March
" so far, a JMA official told television cameras in Tokyo on Tuesday in an attempt to explain the precocity of the phenomenon.
“
Climate change may also have played a role
,” he slipped.
The JMA had already estimated in 2021 that the phenomenon was linked to the upward trend in temperatures.
Cherry blossoms in Ueno Park, Japan.
novitaly / stock.adobe.com
The celebrations around the "
hanami
" had been partially spoiled between 2020 and 2022 by the Covid pandemic, the Japanese authorities having advised against festive gatherings during this period, even outdoors.
The 2023 vintage of hanami in Japan will thus be the first to be celebrated without restrictions since 2019. It will also be a first in four years for foreign tourists, to whom Japan was closed between 2020 and 2022 because of the health crisis. .