TOKYO: People in Japan plan to spend the highest amount this year on cherry blossom-viewing outings in the past six years, a survey by private meteorological company Weathernews Inc. has shown.

The average budget for this blossom-viewing season came to 2,831 yen, the highest since the survey began under the current format six years ago. The figure grew by 301 yen from last year and exceeded the pre-pandemic 2019 average by 103 yen.

The survey was conducted between Feb. 24 and March 3 through a smartphone app. Respondents were asked to select their cherry blossom-viewing budgets from between zero yen and 10,000 yen in 500-yen increments, and the calculated average excluded those who said they will spend zero yen.

The average budget was the highest in Yamanashi Prefecture, west of Tokyo, at 3,688 yen, followed by Tokushima and Okayama prefectures in western Japan at 3,684 yen and 3,410 yen, respectively. Last year’s top-spending prefecture, Akita in northeastern Japan, was sixth at 3,282 yen.

The survey showed that 52 pct of respondents said they will go view cherry blossoms, and that more people plan to go on blossom-viewing trips than last year. Weathernews believes that the average budget was pushed up by transportation costs for such trips in addition to food and drink expenses.

The survey also asked cherry blossom spots that people want to visit. Hirosaki Park in Aomori Prefecture, northeastern Japan, topped the rankings of such locations, while Mount Yoshino in Nara Prefecture, western Japan, Miharu Takizakura in Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan, and Goryokaku Park in Hokkaido, northernmost Japan, were also popular.

According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, cherry blossoms started blooming in 39 of Japan’s 47 prefectures by Tuesday evening. Cherry trees in the Kyushu southwestern region and other parts of Japan are in full bloom.

JIJI Press