The cherry blossom are breath taking in their peak season and I absolutely love capturing couples and enjoying the views with them during our spring shoots. Every year, I get a number of inquiries about cherry blossom photo sessions. So I thought I will do a FAQ post to explain about these sessions and the cherry blossoms.
The number one question that almost all clients will ask.
FAQ: We want cherry blossoms in our photo session. When should we come? Can you recommend a date?
Answer: Unfortunately, I cannot recommend a date. The blooming of the cherry blossoms depends entirely on the weather. While there are general predictions like “early April” or “mid April”, these are predictions based on past year blooms. And it is always possible for cherry blossoms to bloom later or earlier.
The cherry blossoms in different regions are also different. The blooms start from South Japan where it is warmer and slowly move up north. Based on past year blooms, the cherry blossom season in Toyama and Ishikawa prefecture is usually early to mid April.
FAQ: We really can’t decide on a date! Help!
Answer: You can refer to past year full bloom (満開）dates and it will help you to narrow down the dates you can choose from.
Be careful not to confuse 開花(first bloom) and 満開 (full bloom). The flowers take about a few days to a week to reach full bloom.
You can refer to past year full bloom dates here. (Japanese)
FAQ: I’m coming to Japan in late April. Does that mean I will miss the cherry blossom season?
Answer: There are different species of cherry blossoms in Japan. Some are early blooming and some late blooming. The most common and talked about cherry blossoms are:
Kawazu sakura : These are earliest blooming cherry blossoms that bloom usually in February. Unfortunately, we only have small patches of these cherry blossoms in my area. For clients looking for a longer cherry blossom shoot in Feburary, I recommend the Kawazu Onsen area.
Shomei Yoshino sakura: These are the most popular and famous cherry blossoms in Japan. They are extremely lush and look breath taking. We have many beautiful locations of these cherry blossoms in Toyama and Ishikawa prefecture. Some locations are a lot quieter with less crowds compared to locations in major cities like Tokyo and Kyoto. For clients looking for a quieter experience, I do recommend traveling out of the major cities.
Yaezakura: These are the late blooming sakura. Their petals are lush and resembles peonies. If you are coming later in April, you might be able to catch these cherry blossoms.
FAQ: We have decided to do our spring shoot in Toyama! Can we shoot at these two cherry blossom locations? (Client attaches pictures from two locations)
Answer: It depends! The cherry blossoms in different locations (within the prefecture or even within the city) may bloom at different times. For example, Location1 might bloom in first week of April and Location 2 at second week of April.
FAQ: (In Janurary, many clients will tell me this.) We just saw the cherry blossom predictions. It says it will bloom early/late this year! Will we get cherry blossoms?
Answer: It depends.
The travel or meterological websites starts to issue predictions starting from winter. These predictions are based on current weather conditions and observations of the trees. The winter predictions can be prone to changes. A cold/heat wave/typhoon during early spring can easily change predictions. These predictions gets more accurate and firm in March.
FAQ: If everything is so unpredictable, how do we decide on our locations?
Answer: Upon booking, I will send clients a map with shooting locations. Clients will shortlist a few locations that they like.
As the predictions of the blooms get more accurate in mid to end March, we will have an idea of when the first blooms will happen in the prefecture. The cherry blossom websites will slowly update their blooming dates. From there, we will decide our final shooting locations.
A week before your shoot, I will also check the blooming status of shortlisted locations and discuss with clients to decide the locations with the best blooms. There are times we only confirm the locations and schedule a few days before the photo session.
FAQ: Is it too crowded to shoot in the cherry blossom locations?
Answer: The amount of crowds depend on the location. The locations in the main cities are definitely more crowded. Within Toyama prefecture, I have spent a lot of time scouting ocations and finding quiet spots for clients :) Even then, my recommendations for shoots in cherry blossoms are:
Start shooting very early in the morning (for beautiful morning light and quieter moments)
Choose wedding dresses with shorter trains and that are easy to manage. Less crowds does not mean there are no crowds. As much as possible, our shoots should not obstruct walking paths or other patrons.
FAQ: Can you give us some advice or tips to plan for our shoot?
Answer: Upon booking, I will send clients a preparation guide to help you plan for your shoot. The preparation guide will give some advice on items to bring for your shoot, especially to cope with chilly spring weather.
In addition to the information in the preparation guide, I advice clients to plan their travel such that you can adjust your photo shoot date in the event the blooms are early or late. Changes in photo shoot dates are subjected to my availability but I do try to accommodate to clients during the cherry blossom season as much as possible.
Hope this FAQ answers most of your questions! If you have any questions regarding photo sessions with me, please do not hesitate to drop me an email at info@kaiphotographyjapan.com