Central Tokyo stayed in a flower-chilling spell after April began, but on the 6th the temperature topped 20°C shortly after noon, and real spring weather finally arrived. Stepping out of the building to enjoy a long-awaited stretch of sun, we found Kyoritsu Girls’ Junior and Senior High School nearby holding an entrance ceremony. New students and families formed a long line in front of Kyoritsu Hall after the ceremony, waiting for commemorative photos. The tense newcomers make you want to cheer them on.
This year the cherries in central Tokyo opened on March 20 and reached full bloom on the 27th, but the later chill made the flowers last, so the entrance ceremony could still take place under blossoms. Reports say that from 1953 to 1990, cherries in central Tokyo opened from late March through early April, and peak viewing often overlapped with entrance ceremonies around April 10.
After April 2, 1988, however, there has been no opening once April has begun, and since 2000 some years have seen bloom as early as mid-March. The image “cherries = graduation” has, if anything, taken hold. Earlier bloom is of course driven mainly by global warming, but “urbanization” from shrinking green space also seems to play a part.
According to the Japan Weather Association, today’s warmth will give the cherry front a push north, and it looks set to race up the archipelago toward Hokuriku, Tohoku, and Hokkaido faster than average.