The cherry blossom season officially began on Tuesday in Tokyoб the National Meteorological Administration, which fixes the beginning of the season on a special "control" tree at Yasukuni Shinto Shrine in Tokyo said.
Report informs citing TASS that this year the metropolitan cherry blossom season began 10 days earlier than the average and, along with 2020 and 2021, became the earliest since 1953, when relevant statistics began to be recorded.
Tokyo's cherry blossom season officially begins when the first five flowers open on a special "control" tree in the center of the capital.
It is closely watched by specialists from the Japan Meteorological Administration, which has been inspecting all cherry groves since early March. This year, cherry-picking, traditional for local residents in parks and public places, will most likely be held in a regular, wide format for the first time in the past three years - the spread of the new coronavirus in Japan has practically come to naught, and pandemic-related restrictions have been lifted.
In Japan, the five-petal cherry blossom has the status of an unofficial national emblem. The time of full bloom of the Far Eastern cherry will be in April, when the country's parks will literally be engulfed by the sea of flowers of all shades of pink. At this time, crowds of locals and tourists flock there to have picnics under the trees. The first mention of sakura in Japanese literature appeared in 712 AD. The flowering of this variety of cherry in the culture of the country is associated with a slight feeling of sadness and reminds of the transience of beauty. In total, there are five main types of sakura in Japan and at least 200 hybrid varieties.