Where to see cherry blossoms outside of Japan

Ask anyone to come up with a bucketlist of travel experiences and we imagine the same sort of things will come up time and time again: Walking the Great Wall of China. Snorkelling on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Exploring the Grand Canyon.

Right at the top of ours is (or was, as I was lucky enough to catch it for myself in 2024!) catching cherry blossom season in Japan.

Happening just once a year, the fact that hanami is only possible for two weeks (or even shorter, depending on the weather), makes the event that much more special. Bound to make us all introspective, the ephemeral beauty of the cherry blossom blooms reminds us to value beauty no matter how fleeting, and to stop and smell the sakura.

That, and the pink and white hues are rather pretty on camera.

But at a time when overtourism is affecting cities like Tokyo and Kyoto, it might be time to consider alternative destinations for cherry blossom season – and there are numerous options all around the world.

While you might not technically be able to tick off this bucketlist item, here are 9 places you can see cherry blossoms outside of Japan.

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Visitors to China’s capital in March and April will want to head to Yuyuantan Park for cherry blossom viewing. There are nearly 3,000 cherry blossom trees in the park, comprised of around 40 varieties, some of which bloom later than others – maxing your chances of catching the park as it turns from green to pink.

As an alternative, visit the park in autumn to see the Gingko trees turn yellow.

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The birthplace of Beethoven, there’s plenty of things to see and do in Bonn, from visiting the House of the History of the Federal Republic of Germany to catching a concert by the Beethoven Orchestra Bonn. But come April, there’s only one place you should be heading (at least, if you want to see cherry blossom blooms, that is): Heerstraße. The street within Bonn’s old town is lined with pink cherry blossom trees, having been planted in the 1980s as part of a project to improve the area.

Worried about missing the show? There’s an Instagram account dedicated to tracking the blooms, @kirschbluetebonn, that you can follow for updates.

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The largest Japanese diaspora can be found in Brazil, so it’s little wonder that cherry blossom trees have made their way here, too. Unlike Japan, the sakura trees here bloom in August, during which time you’ll be able to attend the Cherry Blossom Festival in Campos do Jordão. Taking place at Parque da Cerejeira, there are traditional displays of music, dance and martial arts as well as tea ceremonies and a pop-up food court serving up sushi, udon and okonomiyaki.

More information: parquedacerejeira.com.br/festa

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Cherry blossoms blooming in Copenhagen is rather a new phenomenon, with 200 sakura trees donated to the city to mark the 200 years since the birth of The Little Mermaid author Hans Christian Andersen in 2005. Planted in Langelinie Park, the city now celebrates the Copenhagen Sakura Festival every April. Alongside cherry blossom viewing, the festival sees displays of traditional Japanese culture, from judo and karate to calligraphy and origami.

More information: sakurafestival.dk

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While sakura typically refers to a type of ornamental tree grown purely for is flowers, in Jerte Valley, the blooms fall and then are replaced weeks later by picota cherries. The valley is home to more than a million trees, and mid-March turns the area into a sea of white blooms for around two weeks. Return between May and August and you’ll be able to see the fruits being picked, and enjoy special tasting and walking routes.

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It might surprise you to discover that the cherry blossom capital of the world isn’t in Japan, but in Georgia in the USA. The city of Macon is home to 350,000 Yoshino trees thanks to the efforts of two residents: William A. Fickling Sr., who began propagating the trees in the ’50s, and Carolyn Crayton, who spearheaded a community effort to plant them in the ’70s. You can view the trees all over the city, including along Ingleside Avenue, or Third Street, in Wesleyan Woods and on Fickling Farm. The Cherry Blossom Festival, which has been running since 1982, begins on 22 March, with pageants, balls and even a wiener dog race… no, we’re not too sure what that has to do with sakura, either.

More information: cherryblossom.com

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Japan might historically have stolen most of the attention when it comes to cherry blossom season, but South Korea is increasingly becoming a destination to visit in the spring months. Rather than sakura, the blooms here are known as 벗꽃 (beotkkot), and are a slightly different species to those found in Japan. You can find them all over the country, with the first blooms typically starting on Jeju Island in the third week of March, but those visiting the capital Seoul will have to wait until the start of April. In Seoul, you can experience the Yeouido Cherry Blossom Festival, with more than 1,500 king cherry trees concentrated in the area, or head to other popular viewing spots like the five palaces or Seoul Forest. Nami Island is also a popular day-trip from Seoul to see the blooms.

Read next: Trip planner: Choose your ideal adventure in South Korea

Vancouver’s love affair with cherry blossom trees began a century ago when the mayors of Kobe and Yokohama donated 500 trees to be planted at the Stanley Park cenotaph in honour of Japanese Canadian veterans of WWI. Donations from Japanese-Canadian citizens continued throughout the years, and now there are more than 40,000 around the city. The different varieties bloom at different times, and you can see a map of where to go throughout March and April on the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival website here.

More information: vcbf.ca

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Floral diplomacy saw the first cherry blossom trees planted in Washington D.C. in 1912 as a gift from the mayor of Tokyo City, with the USA responding in kind by gifting flowering dogwood trees to Japan. The first trees were planted on the north bank of the Tidal Basin in West Potomac Park, which is where most of the trees are now concentrated. Washington D.C. marks the National Cherry Blossom Festival between mid-March and mid-April, with art installations, performances and a parade.

More information: nationalcherryblossomfestival.org

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