Hokkaido and Tohoku Cherry Blossoms 2027: Hirosaki, Sendai and Sapporo

The short answer: in a typical year, Sendai blooms in mid-April, Hirosaki in the last week of April, and Hakodate and Sapporo in early May. No official 2027 forecast is out yet, so these are typical dates, not a forecast.

That late start is the north’s gift. If Tokyo has already turned green, or your holiday only works in late April, the blossom is still on its way up the map.

Typical dates, south to north

• Sendai: opens 8 April, full bloom 13 April.
• Aomori city (nearest to Hirosaki): opens 22 April, full bloom 26 April.
• Hakodate: opens 28 April, full bloom 2 May.
• Sapporo: opens 1 May, full bloom 6 May.

These are the Japan Meteorological Agency’s 1991 to 2020 normals. In 2026, Sendai was full on 4 April and Sapporo on 24 April, both well ahead of normal, which is why it pays to keep the dates flexible.

Where to go

• Hirosaki Park, Aomori: castle grounds, moats and around 2,600 trees. The moat filled with fallen petals is the famous picture, and it comes at the very end of the bloom.
• Kitakami Tenshochi, Iwate: a long avenue of cherry trees by the river.
• Shiroishi River, Miyagi: the riverbank known as Hitome Senbon Zakura, a thousand trees at a glance, south of Sendai.
• Goryokaku, Hakodate: the star-shaped fort, lined with cherry trees.
• Maruyama Park, Sapporo: next to Hokkaido Jingu, a local favourite for picnics.

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How to plan it

The Tohoku shinkansen runs from Tokyo to Sendai and Shin-Aomori, and on to Hokkaido via Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto. That makes a north-bound trip easy to string together, one region per few nights. Reserve seats around Golden Week, from late April to early May.

Book the hotel near Hirosaki or Sapporo on a rate you can move, then watch the forecasts from December and the local updates in April. The 2027 dates by city has the full list, from Naha to Kushiro.