Last year to build excitement for our trip to Japan, we went looking for sakura. It did essentially provide us with countdown, with sakura known for signalling the start of Spring.

With October being our holiday month and known for the momiji (meaning red leaves), we were going from Spring to Autumn.

It made sense in my head. And it was a nice family trip out last year at the very least.

This year

This year however, we’ve already been to Japan..last year. Albeit not in sakura season and the leaves were only just starting to turn at the end of October.

You can’t give Mother Nature a timescale.

This was very true this year with the blossoms in Japan being a little later than the forecast predicted. They were actually initially predicted to be in peak bloom on my birthday in Tokyo this year.

I was devastated I wouldn’t be there (even though we had no plans at the time to revist…).

Source: Timeout.com

https://www.timeout.com/tokyo/news/the-official-japan-cherry-blossom-forecast-for-2024-is-out-now-011124

Mother Nature had other plans and the sakura were late in Japan. Not by much, I think they had a cold snap which delayed the bloom.

Now normally here in Scotland they already bloom later due to the cold and wet climate. We actually keep watch of a local cherry blossom tree for signs of them blooming here, and I wouldn’t say they were very much later this year (with all of my non tree or blossom knowledge).

Perhaps a week or so?

With us already having been to Japan I still wanted to see the cherry blossoms, because they truly are a beautiful sight and with them having such a short lifespan it makes you really think about how life is fleeting and to make the most of the moment.

We managed to catch them a few days (a week perhaps) past their full bloom. Comparing them to last years photos really. There were a lot more petals on the ground than last year but it has been particularly windy as well lately.

I’m just glad we could see them to be honest.

I also used this as a great lesson for W and her home education. Off camera we discussed how the flowers grow, the biology of the flowers themselves and also about when the petals fall and decompose back into the Earth. As well as the cultural aspect of what sakura symbolizes and represents.

We saw some pretty flowers, did a bit of learning and then had McDonald’s.

A success I say.

Watch our cherry blossom adventure on our YouTube channel!

It was a really nice way to spend the day and thankfully, despite it being a little windy, the sun shone for us to enjoy a lovely day out together.

Using the cherry blossoms as a starting point to count down to our holiday to Japan was wonderful, this year I feel that it is again a starting point but counting down to us actually building a future for ourselves that we want.

If you would like to read more about our adventures in Japan then here is our blog which will have posts about our time in Japan. It will have more info added in due course so keep your eyes peeled!