Cherry trees reached full bloom in central Tokyo on Thursday, three days earlier than usual amid warm weather, and two days later than last year, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
About 80 percent of buds on the Somei-Yoshino variety of cherry tree at Yasukuni Shrine were in bloom, the agency said.
On Thursday, cherry blossoms were also in full bloom in the cities of Fukui, Gifu and Nagoya in central Japan, as well as in Wakayama and Tottori in western Japan, and Saga in southwestern Japan. The flowers peaked earlier than usual in all of the cities.
Temperatures reached as high as 20.2 degrees Celsius in Tokyo, on par with an average for late April, while Gifu and Wakayama saw temperatures above 22 C, on par with those in early May.
