Cherry blossom, Washington, DC.

Cherry blossom. Image by hfobia / CC BY 2.0

The springtime cherry blossom (sakura) season is underway in Japan, where the opening of the flowers is celebrated across the country. The sakura were reportedly in full bloom in Tokyo on the weekend, some five days earlier than usual. Fukuoka, on Japan’s southern island of Kyūshū, saw blossoms three days earlier than usual. In a number of places in the country, temperatures have reportedly been higher than average for this time of year. Read more: nhk.or.jp