Earlier, on April 4th, the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) confirmed that the Somei Yoshino cherry tree at Yasukuni Shrine had entered its peak blooming period, 13 days later than last year and 4 days later than the annual average. An employee from the JMA's regional headquarters inspected the benchmark Somei Yoshino cherry tree at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo's Chiyoda district around 2 PM on April 4th and confirmed that approximately 80% or more of it was in full bloom, the threshold for declaring the cherry blossoms in full bloom in Tokyo. Temperatures in central Tokyo reached 19.9 degrees Celsius that day, 2.5 degrees Celsius higher than average.
The first blossoms began to open on March 29 in Tokyo, five days later than usual. This year's cherry blossom blooming and peaking time in the capital is the latest in about a decade. However, it only took six days for the blossoms to reach their peak, one day less than average. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) said low temperatures in February and March when the buds were developing, but unusually high temperatures over the past weekend accelerated the blooming period.
The cherry tree at Yasukuni Shrine has been used as Tokyo's reference tree since 1966. It is one of 58 designated model trees across Japan. The cherry tree at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo is the 13th to be confirmed to have bloomed.
In recent years, cherry blossoms in Tokyo have typically started blooming early and reached full bloom in March. The last time cherry blossoms in Tokyo hadn't bloomed by April was seven years ago. Following the recent unusually cold spell, temperatures in Tokyo rose to nearly 20 degrees Celsius on April 4th.
According to WeatherNews Inc., a private weather information company, many areas in eastern and western Japan have also predicted this weekend as the best time to view cherry blossoms. Tourists and locals have been flocking to Tokyo's top cherry blossom viewing spots since April 4th. In the capital, numerous popular viewing locations such as Chidorigafuchi Park, the park near Yasukuni Shrine, and the Naka Meguro River are packed with people.
Traditionally, the cherry blossom season marks the beginning of the new fiscal year in Japan. According to Japanese belief, the cherry blossoms symbolize joy and beauty, helping everyone to have a good start to the coming year.
Katsuhiro Miyamoto, Professor Emeritus at Kansai University, estimates that the economic impact of the cherry blossom season in Japan, from tourism to parties held under the blossoms, will reach approximately 1.1 trillion yen this year, up from 616 billion yen last year.
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