When is cherry blossom season in 2027?

Expected around 25 March to 5 April in Tokyo, with Kyoto roughly a week later. The dates move every year and are only knowable about ten days ahead.

How do I plan around a date nobody knows?

Book refundable rooms for a ten-day window, keep the Shinkansen flexible, and use the weekly forecasts from January onwards to pick the days.

Both, in that order. Tokyo blooms first; by the time its petals fall, Kyoto is at its peak two hours away by train.

The parks at peak bloom are as busy as anywhere in Japan gets. Mornings before nine and weekdays are the difference between a picnic and a queue.

Is it the most expensive time to visit?

It is one of the two, with the autumn leaves. Hotel rates roughly double in both cities and the better ryokan go a year ahead.

Cherry blossom season 2027

Name: Cherry blossom season 2027
Start: 2027-03-25
End: 2027-04-05
Location: Ueno Park

Tokyo, Japan

25 Mar – 5 Apr 2027

Expected, based on previous years

Nobody announces the blossom. Tokyo's trees usually open around 25 March and hold full bloom into the first days of April; Kyoto runs roughly a week later. Forecasters publish the first 2027 projections in January and refine them weekly.

145days to go

Hotels for these dates

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Our verdict

Go: The first week of April in Tokyo, the second in Kyoto
Stay: Ueno & Asakusa
Book by: September 2026 — the whole of Japan books this fortnight

The one event on this site with no fixed date and no organiser: the trees decide, about ten days in advance. Book flexible rooms for a window rather than a weekend, and plan to move between Tokyo and Kyoto, which bloom about a week apart.

Illustration: a city canal lined with cherry trees in full bloom at dusk, paper lanterns reflected in the water, petals on the surface — Illustration — a generated image of the kind of scene, not a photograph of the venue.

Which days to go

Day	What happens	Hotel price	Our call
First bloom in Tokyo25–29 Mar 2027	The trees open across the city; parks fill in the evenings	×2.2	The safest bet for Tokyo, and the week that fills first
Full bloom30 Mar – 2 Apr 2027	Peak hanami — Ueno, Shinjuku Gyoen and the Meguro river after dark	×2.6	The photographs everyone comes for, and the most crowded parks of the year
Petal fall and Kyoto3–5 Apr 2027	Tokyo's petals drop as Kyoto reaches its own peak	×2.4	Take the Shinkansen west; the second city is usually a week behind the first

Hotel price is what the same hotel costs on these dates against its rate four weeks before the event. Crowd and price are our estimates from how the event has run, not live rates.

Where to stay

Ueno ParkNorth is up. Numbers match the table.A number too close to read sits beside its dot, on a thin line.

#	District	To the venue	Price	What it is
1	Ueno & Asakusa	10 min walk	$$$	Old Tokyo beside the city's busiest blossom park; cheaper than the west side
2	Shinjuku	30 min metro	$$$$	Hotels by the hundred and Shinjuku Gyoen's blossoms twenty minutes' walk away
3	Shibuya & Meguro	35 min metro	$$$$	The Meguro river walk, which is the photograph everyone comes for
4	Kyoto	140 min train	$$$$	Two hours by Shinkansen; blossoms a week later and a different trip entirely
5	Yokohama	50 min train	$$$	Half an hour south, a city of its own, and the overflow that keeps its price

Hotel	What it is	Book
Ueno & Asakusa
Hotel Graphy Nezu	A walk from Ueno Park, which is the city's busiest blossom site	Booking Expedia
Shinjuku
Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo	Large enough to still have rooms, and near Shinjuku Gyoen	Booking Expedia
Shibuya & Meguro
Trunk Hotel	Between Shibuya and the Meguro river walk	Booking Expedia
Kyoto
The Thousand Kyoto	Next to Kyoto Station for the blossoms a week behind Tokyo	Booking Expedia
Yokohama
InterContinental Yokohama Grand	Half an hour south, and the last city nearby to hold its price	Booking Expedia

When to book

12 mo beforeMarch 2026
Kyoto ryokan and the better Tokyo hotels for late March
Already gone
9 mo beforeJune 2026
Central Tokyo at anything close to an ordinary rate
Already gone
6 mo beforeSeptember 2026
Shinkansen reserved seats on the peak weekends
Already gone
3 mo beforeDecember 2026
Most of Kyoto; Osaka and Yokohama are the overflow

Getting there

Haneda is closer to the city than Narita and worth paying for in this fortnight. The Shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto takes two hours and twenty minutes; reserve seats as soon as the window opens, because this is the busiest domestic travel of the spring.

Inside Tokyo, every blossom site is on the metro. Ueno, Shinjuku Gyoen, Chidorigafuchi and the Meguro river are the four that matter, and they are all busiest after dark.

The forecast is published from January and updated weekly. Book refundable rooms across a ten-day window rather than betting on a single weekend.

Flights to HND Trains and buses

Tickets

Forecasts and park information (Japan National Tourism Organization)Official

Questions

When is cherry blossom season in 2027?: Expected around 25 March to 5 April in Tokyo, with Kyoto roughly a week later. The dates move every year and are only knowable about ten days ahead.
How do I plan around a date nobody knows?: Book refundable rooms for a ten-day window, keep the Shinkansen flexible, and use the weekly forecasts from January onwards to pick the days.
Tokyo or Kyoto?: Both, in that order. Tokyo blooms first; by the time its petals fall, Kyoto is at its peak two hours away by train.
How crowded is it?: The parks at peak bloom are as busy as anywhere in Japan gets. Mornings before nine and weekdays are the difference between a picnic and a queue.
Is it the most expensive time to visit?: It is one of the two, with the autumn leaves. Hotel rates roughly double in both cities and the better ryokan go a year ahead.

Updated 2026-10-29 ·See every event in 2027