Japan Overall Update

2021.04.06

Japan is now in the middle of the beautiful cherry blossom (called “Sakura” in Japanese) season. While Japan is still closing its border to foreign travelers, Japan took a step forward by lifting all emergency declarations domestically and accelerating vaccination efforts. We expect the “business track” (allows non-Japanese business travelers from certain country to enter Japan) to be resumed first then the travel restrictions will be lifted incrementally later this year.

We will update Japan’s travel restrictions in the next newsletter.

Look Ahead – Japan Travel

While there is still an uncertainty in terms of the timing when Japan opens its border, one thing is certain – we will share the beauty of Sakura with people from all over the world in 2022 here in Japan again! Hopefully, we can share another beautiful season this year 2021 – fall foliage & New Year Holiday.

Book Ahead – Cherry Season 2022

Tokyo: blooming on 3/14, full bloom on 3/22 (blooming date range from 2011-2020: 3/14-3/31)
Kyoto: blooming on 3/16, full bloom on 3/24 (blooming date range from 2011-2020: 3/22-4/3)

This variation might make it difficult to determine the travel date to fully enjoy the full bloom as the flowers lasts only less than 10 days, however, not all Sakura blooms all at once, say in Kyoto, and you may see an early Sakura in the warmer area and later in the mountain area.

You missed Sakura? Do you know you can still enjoy Sakura in late April in Tohoku and May in Hokkaido? These places have some famous Sakura spots, too!