四月
April in Japan
Peak bloom rolls north like a slow wave. Miss it in Tokyo and you can chase it to Tohoku for another three weeks.
Weather
Mild and green: Tokyo 10-19°C. Rain showers knock petals down; locals call the last drift hanafubuki, blossom snowstorm.
What's on
Hanami picnics in every park; blue tarps go down at dawn. The Takayama Spring Festival in mid-April rolls gilded floats through a mountain town.
Where to go
Yoshinoyama's mountainside of trees, Hirosaki Castle in late April, the Fuji Five Lakes with snow still on the summit.
On the table
Takenoko bamboo shoots, hanami dango, sakura-flavoured beer you'll buy once.
