三月

March in Japan

The month the whole country watches a weather map. The cherry-blossom front starts in Kyushu and reaches Tokyo in the final week.

Weather

Warming fast: Tokyo 6-14°C, still chilly at night. One warm week can move the entire bloom forecast.

What's on

The sakura forecast updates daily from early March. Graduation ceremonies fill trains with hakama. White Day, March 14, answers Valentine's.

Where to go

Kawazu and Kyushu for early blossoms. Tokyo's Chidorigafuchi and Meguro River usually open in the last days of March. Book beds months ahead.

On the table

Sakura mochi, strawberry everything, bento eaten standing under a tree that bloomed early.