Last updated July 26, 2026 · Editorial policy
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The best places to see cherry blossom start in Japan — Kyoto, Tokyo and Mount Fuji, peaking late March to mid-April — and extend to Washington DC’s Tidal Basin, Vancouver, Seoul and European cities like Bonn and Amsterdam. Here are 10 of the best, with when each peaks.
Cherry blossom season is short, unpredictable and worth planning a trip around. These 10 destinations offer the world’s finest displays, from Japan’s temple gardens to a Washington tidal basin planted with trees gifted more than a century ago — each with a note on when it usually peaks.
10 of the Best Places to See Cherry Blossoms
1. Kyoto, Japan
Best months: Sep–Nov · 14–22°C days · rainy (ERA5 climate data)
The world’s most beautiful blossom city: temple gardens, the Philosopher’s Path and riverside lanes turn pink for about a week from late March.
2. Tokyo, Japan
Best months: Sep–Nov · 14–22°C days · rainy (ERA5 climate data)
The Meguro River’s blossom tunnel, Ueno Park’s crowds and Shinjuku Gyoen’s late-blooming varieties — Tokyo peaks around the end of March.
3. Mount Fuji & Fujiyoshida, Japan
Best months: Sep–Nov · 14–22°C days · rainy (ERA5 climate data)
The Chureito Pagoda framed by cherry trees with Fuji behind is Japan’s signature spring photograph, usually peaking in mid-April.
4. Washington, DC, USA
Around 3,000 Japanese cherry trees ring the Tidal Basin, gifted in 1912 — peak bloom usually falls in the last week of March or early April.
5. Vancouver, Canada
Best months: Jun–Aug · 15–22°C days · some rain (ERA5 climate data)
More than 40,000 cherry trees line Vancouver’s streets and parks, with a month-long festival and blossoms from late March into April.
6. Seoul, South Korea
Best months: Apr–Jun · 12–23°C days · some rain (ERA5 climate data)
Yeouido’s riverside road and the palace grounds fill with blossom in early April, alongside one of Asia’s biggest spring festivals.
7. Bonn, Germany
Best months: Jul–Sep · 16–25°C days · rainy (ERA5 climate data)
Heerstrasse in the old town becomes a pink tunnel for around two weeks in April — Europe’s most photographed blossom street.
8. Amsterdam, Netherlands
Best months: May–Jul · 13–21°C days · rainy (ERA5 climate data)
The Bloesempark in the Amsterdamse Bos holds 400 cherry trees, blooming late March to mid-April alongside the country’s tulip season.
9. Stockholm, Sweden
Best months: Jun–Aug · 13–22°C days · rainy (ERA5 climate data)
Kungstradgarden’s cherry avenue draws the whole city for a brief bloom in late April, marking the real start of Nordic spring.
10. Jinhae, South Korea
Best months: Apr–Jun · 12–23°C days · some rain (ERA5 climate data)
Korea’s biggest blossom festival lines a railway track and a stream with tunnels of pink for ten days at the start of April.
How to time a blossom trip
Bloom lasts only about a week at full peak and shifts year to year with the weather, so build flexibility into any trip. Japan blooms south to north — Kyoto and Tokyo usually in the last days of March, the Fuji area and northern Honshu into mid-April — and official forecasts are published from January. Washington DC and Vancouver peak late March to mid-April, and northern Europe follows in late April. Book accommodation early: Japanese hotels sell out months ahead for the sakura window, and prices roughly double.
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Written by
John Morrison is the founder and lead travel writer at Packzup. Over the past decade he has explored destinations across Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Oceania — always self-funded, never on a press trip.
