It feels embarrassing to say now, but I almost threw in the towel on my latest trip to Japan, right as it was beginning.
As you’ll know if you visited Japan during the 2026 cherry blossom season, this year’s bloom was historically early. Or maybe you don’t know this, and happened into a perfect trip completely by accident. If so, then good for you!
In my case, however, two different things were true. The first? My even-year spring trips to Japan never focus only on sakura. Although there’s frequently some overlap, cherry blossoms are a nice-to-have during these trips—they aren’t a need-to-have.
Simultaneous to this, however, the historically early nature of this year’s bloom meant that unless I significantly pivoted the first portion of my trip northward, I might not see any cherry flowers in mankai at all.
Looking back, of course, this doesn’t seem existential, even though I did end up making the necessary pivot.
You see, the warm winter that caused the cherry blossoms to be early also brought forward the blooms of azaleas, wisteria and peach blossoms, to name just a few of Japan’s other spring flowers. Had sakura season been on time, I might not have seen these other flowers in the same glory I did.
On day one of my trip, however, plodding through Fukushima prefecture with most trees completely green, I felt like I had missed the boat entirely, a delusion my jet lag was happy to reinforce, even intensify.
As the photos of Japan in spring that I’m about to share illustrate beautifully, my disappointment quickly bloomed into delight. So whether you’re planning a future Japan trip that you know won’t line up with cherry blossoms season for logistical reasons, or are traveling now and have missed them due to a late or early bloom, I aim to bring you hope and inspiration.
