Every year, cherry blossoms begin to appear in the south of Japan in late March, progressing north to Hokkaido by early May. But the season is variable, and the blossoms only last about two weeks in any given area, so the progressing "cherry blossom front," or sakura zensen, is carefully tracked on the morning TV weather reports as people anticipate heading out for their hanami, or cherry blossom viewing parties.

If you want to keep up yourself, the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) offers its own cherry blossom tracking page, which you can find below. Updated according to information from the Japan Weather Association, it shows the dates of the first blooms in each region across the nation, with the previous year's date below as a reference.

If you scroll down, you'll also see the typical dates of the much-awaited full bloom, or mankai, when each area's cherry blossoms are at their best, and you can get the prediction for this year by clicking on any individual city. Happy hanami hunting!