The cherry blossom season produces a nationwide frenzy in Japan, as forecasters compete to declare when full bloom will arrive and people unfurl picnic blankets for sometimes raucous flower-viewing parties — at least in pre-pandemic times.

The blooms of the ubiquitous somei-yoshino strain, which accounts for more than 90 percent of the cherry trees planted in Japan, last only around a week and tend to emerge simultaneously in a given region because the trees are clones of a single specimen.

From The Weekender

Between the screen and the streets: What it means to watch and not march

What does it mean to care from a distance? A reflection on privilege and digital solidarity.

Read on The Weekender

And while the tree has become synonymous with blossom season, it is a growing headache for city planners because the strain is prone to disease and tends to grow too large to be well managed in urban settings.

"It's all about planting the right flora in the right place," says Hideaki Tanaka, 63, an expert on sakura — Japanese for cherry blossoms — who is trying to popularize other strains.

"There are all kinds of sakura, not just somei-yoshino. I want to help recreate the old times when people enjoyed a wide variety.”

Popular

Ahok questions Agus' flood mitigation stance in first debate

K-pop group BTS to make comeback in February

Agus cash assistance plan slammed by Ahok, Anies