A cherry tree seen budding at the Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo
© AFP/File Kazuhiro Nogi

TOKYO (AFP) - The weather bureau is in charge of declaring the start of cherry blossom season, an annual rite of spring that lasts only a few days and sends the entire country out picnicking and drinking beneath the flowering pale pink trees.

The Japan Meteorological Agency declared the official opening of the season in Tokyo on Saturday, six days earlier than average and one day sooner than it had last forecast, telling the nation that spring has come.

In the lead up to the announcement an expert team headed by Tomomi Kurita carefully observed a Somei-Yoshino cherry tree twice a day, morning and afternoon, so as not to miss the crucial, defining moment.

"We announce the official opening of cherry flowers in Tokyo once confirming that five or six flowers are open on the sample tree," Kurita told AFP.

Map showing the expected dates for this year's cherry blossom in Japan
© AFP/Graphic

"It has to be no fewer than five or six because that is how it's decided.

"The branches on the sample tree have grown widely on the sides, so we use a pair of binoculars to take the utmost care not to miss any bud opening or mistake a pigeon feather for a flower," he said.

The sample tree -- as well as another tree designated as a substitute should something happen to the first -- are at the Yasukuni shrine in central Tokyo. The shrine venerates millions of war dead and is highly controversial, with many viewing it as a symbol of militarism.

But in spring, the shrine takes on another role -- as prime location for viewing the explosion of cherry blossoms.

Millions of Japanese each year enjoy the age-old ritual of sitting in groups beneath the trees to bask in the short-lived beauty of the cherry blossoms, which for centuries have inspired poets and artists.

Families, students and colleagues converge under the clouds of falling white and pink petals to eat and drink -- often to excess -- and sing and dance. Magazines publish special editions on the best places for cherry blossom viewing parties.

The season is so cherished by Japanese that cherry blossom forecasts are a top story for national media.

Japan Meteorological Agency staff member Reiko Igawa checks out a cherry blossom tree in Tokyo
© AFP/File Kazuhiro Nogi

The weather agency releases maps of the "cherry blossom front," much like a front for rain or a typhoon, as it sweeps the Japanese archipelago moving northeast.

"I feel a bit of pressure to carry out this duty as the responsibility is significant," said Hiroyuki Uehara, another cherry blossom expert at the weather agency.

Last year, weather officials even offered a public apology, bowing deeply at a press conference, after miscalculating the opening date, blaming a glitch with a new supercomputer introduced specifically to calculate opening dates of cherry flowers.

Uehara said he has "worked hard to learn the job, which has a long history".

Japan's weather authorities have forecast the opening of the cherry flowers since 1955, initially relying on the manual method of weighing each growing bud.

Officially, cherry blossoms are just one of 12 plants and 11 birds and insects whose seasonal appearances are monitored by the weather agency -- the others include swallows, fireflies, plums and azaleas.

"Originally weather authorities had offered observation details of seasonal items for farmers and fishermen so they could time their annual workload like planting rice seedlings," said Uehara, adding: "But cherries have always been the most popular."

The agency introduced a new mathematical formula in 1996 looking at temperatures across Japan, but the history of marking the official opening of cherry blossoms dates back to the Meiji era (1868-1912). The same sample tree has been monitored at the Yasukuni shrine since 1966.

Japan Meteorological Agency staff check out cherry blossom trees
© AFP/File Kazuhiro Nogi

Even after studying the cherry blossoms for years, Kurita admitted he was still in awe.

"For many people in Japan, this time of year marks a time for change like graduating from school and starting a fresh year at a new place," Kurita said.

"For such a sentimental time, cherry trees which almost looked dead a little while ago but are fully in bloom all at once are really impressive," Kurita said.

"It is a way to learn a transition from one season to another," he said, adding: "And people party."

©AFP

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