First 2020 Cherry Blossom forecast Japan

It's that time of the year again! On the 9th of January, the Japan Meteorological Corporation (JMC) published the first 2020 Cherry Blossom forecast for Japan. A cherry blossom forecast? What? Yes, a cherry blossom forecast. In japan, Sakura (or cherry blossom) season is one of the most important seasons in the country. It's a time for celebration and for people to go out and enjoy the beauty of the cherry blossoms and the arrival of spring. The forecast, published every year by the JMC, gives people an opportunity to plan their trips so that they can visit the best places to watch cherry blossom (Kyoto for example), at the right time, and enjoy the festivities. 

Publishing such a forecast may sound a bit over-the-top, as I know that in the Netherlands we don't care much for when what blooms, but I can assure you, in Japan you don't want to miss it! Considering that the cherry blossom blooming only lasts about two weeks, and most of the festivities take place at the height of blooming, you have to plan ahead. In this way you can make the most out of your "sakura experience". 

Following the cherry blossom forecast is a great way of planning your trip to Japan. It does not only provide you with the chance to visit some of the great festivities and seeing the Japanese people in a more relaxed and open setting, it also allows you to get the most amazing views, beautiful weather and super dope pictures. 

However, if you have already planned your trip and now it turns out you might just miss the Sakura, no worries! About a month before the Sakura season, there are some areas in which other types of cherry blossom already start blooming. So if you are around tokyo in February, you might head out to Kawazu for Kawazu-zakura, or Atami for Atami-zakura. If you arrive around the mid/end of April and you still really want to see and experience Sakura, your best option would be to go to the north of Japan, so Aomori, or if you have the chance, Sapporo. 

Well, for now this forecast can give you a good idea of when to see the cherry blossom where, but keep an eye on the JMC website for more updates and the exact dates! 

If you want to know more about the best ways to enjoy cherry blossom in Japan, read my blog 7 tips for enjoying cherry blossom season in Japan :)

 

 

 

 

Image
Follow the author: hannahlow
Promotions
verzekering studeren in het buitenland

Ga jij binnenkort studeren in het buitenland?
Regel je zorg- en reisverzekering via JoHo!

Supporting content
7 tips for enjoying cherry blossom season in Japan

7 tips for enjoying cherry blossom season in Japan

Japan changes, the temperature rises, a sweet smell is in the air and flocks of people are gathering in places all over Japan. Somehow the rules change, people eat in the streets and drink outside, not everywhere, but under the charm of beautiful pink flowers; it's sakura season. 

Japan is nearing one of it's most popular times of the year; cherry blossom, or sakura, season. It's a big thing in Japan, drawing tremendous amounts of both local as well as international tourists. While cherry blossoms can be seen in any part of the world, in Japan it is not just the cherry blossom, but the whole atmosphere that comes with it which makes it special. 

Sakura season is one of the best times of the year to visit Japan. The weather is comfortable, there's lots to do and temples and shrines are even more beautiful than usual. But how do you plan a trip around cherry blossom time? Here are some tips to have a maximum chance of success. 

Check the cherry blossom forecast
Cherry blossom in Okinawa blooms as early as the beginning of january due to the warmer temperatures. However, the season lasts until around the end of April/the beginning of May, so there's plenty of time to plan your trip if you don't care where in Japan you'll go. However, if you do have a specific area you want to visit, say Kyoto for example, check out the more detailed and regularly updates forecast on the Japan National Tourism website. Blooming of cherry blossom lasts for about two weeks, with the full bloom (mankai) being reached after about 1 week after the firts blossoms open up.  

Decide where you want to see cherry blossom
There are many places to enjoy sakura. Depending on what you like, it can be good to decide on where to see the sakura beforehand. I personally enjoy Kyoto, due to the large variety of places to see the cherry blossom (both in the city as well as in more natural settings), the beautiful Kamo river and because it's still so traditional. However, there are many, MANY more beautiful places to watch sakura. Here you can find some recommendations on where to go. 

BOOK! 
Since cherry blossom season is so popular in Japan, not only foreigners fill up the hostels and hotels, but also national tourists. Therefore accommodation can fill up fast, especially in the most popular cities like Kyoto and Tokyo. Also, be prepared for higher fares at this time due to the large influx of tourists. 

Participate in Hanami
Hanami is the Japanese word for 'flower viewing' and is the most important word when referring to the Japanese sakura celebrations. It is usually done during the peak of cherry blossom bloom and while you can participate by just walking around and watching the flowers, the most common way is to have a picnic under the beautiful cherry blossom trees. It is truely amazing to participate and sit between celebrating Japanese people eating from their Bento's and drinking their (alcoholic) drinks. However, it is important to keep in mind some unwritten rules.

- Respect the trees!! The cherry blossom trees should not be damaged in whichever way. I remember when I studied in Kyoto, someone broke a branch off of a cherry blossom tree. This was big news in both Kyoto and I even believe in other parts of Japan. Here in the Netherlands we wouldn't care to much if a tree branch was broken off, but in Japan the police became involved and it seemed very important to catch the culprit. 

- Don't leave your garbage. The Japanese are very clean. They never leave their garbage, and definitely not underneath the beautiful cherry blossom trees. So be sure to bring a garbage bag and clean up after yourself so you can truely experience the Japanese ways of hanami

- Bring food (bento boxes for example) and drinks (but be sure to check the rules of the park you're going too, since some don't allow alcohol or barbecues). Also, hanami is about sharing food as well, so bring some paper cups and plates so everyone can join. 

Find a festival
Seek out a cherry blossom festival to get the most out of your experience. If you're in town at the top-bloom of cherry blossoms, it is likely that there will be a festival, somewhere. It can sometimes be difficult to find out where, but local hostel/hotel staff can probably help you with that and show you the way to the best festivals in, for example, parks or temples. 

Eat the seasonal specials
All kinds of special food and drink items can be found during sakura season. In the konbini you can find special rice balls (onigiri), red-bean treats and sakura-mochi, which are sticky rice cakes. Furthermore, in some places you will be able to find special sakura bento boxes filled with all kinds of food perfect for celebrating hanami

Stay up after nightfall
In both cherry-blossom season and autumn-leave season in Japan, nightfall doesn't mean the end of the festivities. At this time, with cherry blossom in full bloom, a lot of places light up the beautiful trees. You can find these places outside in the city, but also many temples, shrines and castles will open their doors at night to the general public. One of my most favorite places in Kyoto are Maruyama park, where you can see a huge, old and beautiful cherry blossom tree, and Toji temple, where you can see the five-storied pagoda amidst the lit up trees. 

Let me know if you were able to experience the cherry blossoms this year and whether you liked it in the comments below! :) 

 

 

How to see the Japanese Giant Flying Squirrel in Japan

How to see the Japanese Giant Flying Squirrel in Japan

Heyy all!

I had never heard of the Japanese giant flying squirrel before I went to Picchio Wildlife Research Center in Japan. But when I heard about them, I immediately looked up some pictures and of course...... they are just as cute as everything in Japan. 

The Japanese flying squirrel is one of the biggest (not THE biggest though) flying squirrels in the world and is native only to Japan. Therefore when you visit Japan and are looking for some wildlife to spot, this is definitely one of the animals you should try to find! They occur in Honshu, Kyushi and Shikoku, so quite a large area, and next to that they mostly live in the forest. Conditions that make it really hard to find one by yourself. So what to do? Well, like I mentioned in one of my latest blogs, I went to Picchio Wildlife Research Center and was able to go on one of their amazing flying squirrel tours and it was... AWESOME.

I don't want to spoil too much for you, so I won't mention everything, but I will tell you a little bit about how it was so you know what to expect. 

The tours start in the afternoon with an amazingly fun and interactive lecture about the giant flying squirrel. It's truely amazing with how much enthusiasm the guide can talk about these animals, and as he admits himself, he's very passionate. After this lecture it's time to go out. Picchio has helped to accommodate some of the squirrels in the inhabited areas through putting up nest boxes. In this way the squirrels have a place to stay even in areas where many trees were cut down. The staff keeps track of where the animals go, so they know exactly which nest box to visit, and, due to their experience to know quite well when the squirrels fly out to look for food. Therefore the success rate of seeing a flying squirrel when going on a tour with Picchio is quite high. 

So after the lecture you go out with the group to look for some flying squirrels. Sometimes they are really close, sometimes a bit further away, but it's always a nice walk in that area anyway :). When you arrive at one of the locations where a squirrel is, the thing you do is wait. However, you get binoculars from the staff, so you will be able to check the nest to see if they are coming out. Also, there is another little surprise so that even if it takes long for them to come out, you can see them in the mean time. Then, when they suddenly come out, you immediately put away the binoculars so you don't miss any of the action. The squirrel looks around, climbs up a tree and then.. IT FLIES! So cool :D sometimes you even get the chance to see it fly twice, or even to see two of them (rarely happens I think). But it's really amazing. They are so big, cute, fluffy and cool... I have done the tour twice and enjoyed it so much both times. I would recommend it to everyone. It's also great for kids, really exciting and the lecture is entertaining for people of all ages. However, don't expect to take some amazing pictures (I was kind of hoping to take some haha, what was I thinking), since they use a red flashlight and camera flash is not allowed so that the animals aren't disturbed. This was my best picture: 

So, I can say it has been one of the cooles wildlife encounters in Japan so far (in the list of suddenly seeing a big kamoshika walking slowly in the woods, seeing the onsen monkeys, and seeing some snakes here and there). The tour costs about 3300 yen for adults and 2500 yen for children (however, check the website for current prices. The money is well spent since Picchio has an amazing bear conservation project (without them the bears in the area wouldn't have survived) and the staff work day and night to make their conservation work worthwile. 

I would love to hear your experience with wildlife in Japan, or tips and recommendations if you have some. Please tell me about it in the comments! And if you have any questions (also about the other animal encounters) don't hesitate to ask! 

Cheerssssss, 
Hannah

 

14 things to know before visiting Japan!

14 things to know before visiting Japan!

Japan, the land of traditions. So you're visiting Japan and are ready for an amazing trip, but after all the stories about polite Japanese people you become a bit worried.... What is okay to do and what isn't? What should you avoid doing when eating? In this blog I will tell you about the most important things to take into account when visiting Japan. I've asked my Japanese friends for advice so that I wouldn't miss a thing, so here we go!

Eating

1. Don't stick your chopsticks (straight) in a bowl of rice while taking a break from eating
This is one of the most common things foreigners do (and I do it myself at home sometimes as well). Although it is very easy to just stick your chopstick into the rice, please try to avoid it! The name for this is tsukitate-bashi. At funerals a bowl of rice is placed at an altar with chopsticks in the standing up straight in the center. Therefore it's very impolite to do this at any other occasion since it will remind Japanese people of funerals. 

2. Don't pass on food from chopsticks to chopsticks
This is another funeral related tradition. However, at funerals it is not the food which is passed on, but the bones of the cremated deceased person. 

3. Tips are not necessary
Although things are changing in Japan, giving tips is still an uncommon practice. At some smaller bars and where young people work (for example at hostels), tipping sometimes happens, but usually at the normal Japanese bars and restaurants tipping is absolutely not necessary. People simply just don't do it, so by not tipping you can avoid uncomfortable situations. 

4. Paying the bill at the counter
Not really something that has to do with impoliteness, but more of a tip I'd like to give you. Often when going for dinner somewhere, you'll get the receipt at the table. Since in the Netherlands you almost always pay at the table I made the mistake of waiting or asking if you can pay but then being directed to the counter at the entrance. In Japan, you just take your receipt and walk to the counter to pay. Nowadays it's a practice I try to do in the Netherlands as well. It saves time waiting and is quite convenient actually!  

Of course, these are only the most important things. If you want to know more about dining etiquette, check out this page for example: https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2005.html

In public

1. Don't be loud!
Japanese are very calm and quiet people. They generally talk in this way too. Even though we, the Dutch, and many other cultures are used to speaking more loudly, it can be considered very rude in Japan. Of course it is difficult to talk in a more quiet way, especially if you're enthusiastic about all the awesome things you're experiencing, but try to be aware of the way you and your friends are talking, especially in public places like the subway, restaurants, etc. 

2. Don't eat or call while in public transport
Eating or calling over the cellphone should definitely be avoided when in public transport. While eating is generally alright on the shinkansen or long bus rides (try to avoid smelly food or food that makes a lot of noise though), it is not okay to eat on the subway. The same is true for making phonecalls, although I feel like these should be avoided in all kinds of public transport. 

3. Wearing a (surgical) mask 
Although it might feel weird to you, it is very normal and considered polite to wear a mask in Japan when you're feeling sick. In the hard-working society this can be a way to still come to work without putting co-workers at risk of becoming sick too. However, the mask can also be used to prevent yourself from becoming sick. If you want to know more about these surgical masks and why people wear them, check out this article: https://japantoday.com/category/features/lifestyle/why-do-japanese-people-wear-surgical-masks-its-not-always-for-health-reasons . 

4. Responding to irrashaimase
Okay, to be fair, this doesn't really have to do with politeness or etiquette I believe, it's more of a funny addittion. When I was in Japan I went shopping sometimes (doh...!) and I was always greeted by several shop employees calling irrashaimaseeeee, which means something like "can I help you" although it is just meant in a welcoming way. It took me weeks to figure out how to respond to this. Although I'm a bit ashamed to say this, the first couple of times I just responded by saying Irrashaimase back to the shop employees which means that I was responding to a loud "Welcomeeeee" by saying "Welcomeeee" haha. Then I thought maybe to say Arigatou, which means thank you. But after observing other people in the shop I realised it is perfectly normal to say nothing at all! Just let the people welcome you like they welcome everyone and continue your shopping like nothing has happened :) 

Conversations/Visiting a Japanese person

1. Take off your shoes before entering someone´s house
This is very important. Keeping on your shoes is a definite no-go. Houses are kept very clean, so shoes don´t belong there. This rule is also important for temples, in many changing rooms in shops, or in more traditional restaurants. A way to know whether you should take off your shoes is buy looking around. If you see a small elevation in the floor with for example tatami, you should definitely take off your shoes, if you see pairs of shoes without there owners, that could be an indicator too ;) but usually the elevation in the floor is the main cue. 

2. Use "name"-san when talking to someone
When you meet someone and adress this person, or adress another person when talking about him/her, use the honorific -san. This is the most commonly used, so also the most safe one to use. There are other ones like -chan and -kun for close friends or family, or -senpai/-kohai for colleagues or fellow students. However, -san is used in a way like Sir/Madam and therefore a polite way to address anyone new. Using -san is also the easiest way since it's used for both men and women. Therefore, really try to use it. The Japanese have many many honorifics for all kinds of relationships, so not using one is quite strange and I think kind of implies that you both are totally equal. -san provides the safest option for avoiding this. Never introduce yourself with the honorific -san though! To use -san, you simply put it behind someones last name, however once you get a little bit more familiar, it is fine to use it with the first name as well. So, for example, Löwenhardt-san or Hannah-san are both fine. 

3. Try to avoid sarcasm
This is really something I experienced first-hand. I'm used to being sarcastic since it's quite a common practice in the Netherlands, however in Japan being sarcastic can totally be taken the wrong way. Japanese friends please correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe there is not such a thing as sarcasm in Japanese language. Therefore really be careful with making sarcastic jokes for example. I have offended people in this way because they took it seriously, which really wasn't my intention. Luckily I was able to explain it, but it's better to avoid these situations in any case. 

Onsen etiquette

1. Always wash yourself properly
The most important things when visiting an onsen is to really really wash yourself before going in. These bath houses are kept as clean as possible, by the owners and the visitors. When you go into a bath house, it is obligatory I would say to first spend some time washing yourself. Not just 2 or 3 minutes, but really for at least 5-10 minutes. Wash every part of your body and if you have long hair, tie it up. It is perfectly normal to bring soap, towels, shampoo, a toothbrush or other things with you to clean yourself. 

2. Be aware of the rules for tattoos
Tattoos are still a taboo in Japan unfortunately, do to their association with the Yakuza (Japanese maffia). Onsen are one of the most traditional places and I think especially because of that and because of the nakedness still very strict in their tattoo rules. Nowadays there are some onsen which you can enter with tattoos, however, be aware that in most you can't so you'll probably have to ask or read the signs before going in to avoid any uncomfortable situations. 

3. Go in naked
Yes, just do it! It's an onsen, and the best way to experience this, and probably even the only way, is to go in naked! Nothing to worry about, the (wo)men there are used to being there and seeing each other naked. It maybe takes some time to get used to, but just focus on the bath and on being there, not on possible thoughts in your head. Going in with bathing clothes really doesn't happen, maybe at some very big 'onsen' or spa houses, but there you won't get the proper traditional experience.

Well, these are in my opinion and my friend Yusuke's (see picture below!) opinion the most important things you should no when visiting Japan. Don't stress, however, people are super nice and friendly and if you do make a little mistake you always have you foreign looks to make up for them so you will be forgiven!

Cheers, 
Hannah 

 

Content categories
Comments, Compliments & Kudos

Add new contribution

CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.
Image
Access level of this page
  • Public
  • WorldSupporters only
  • JoHo members
  • Private
Statistics
[totalcount]