Hirosaki Park was lit up from April 14th in response to the early blooming of cherry blossoms.

Hirosaki Park is one of Japan's leading cherry-blossom viewing spots, with 1,700 Yoshino cherry trees blooming on a site of about 49.7 hectares. This year's flowering was the earliest on record since 1947, 15 days earlier than normal.

The four organizations that host the Hirosaki Cherry Blossom Festival are busy dealing with early blooming, and the "Hirosaki Cherry Blossom Festival" scheduled from April 21 will be held from April 15 as a "quasi-festival system". The illumination of the cherry blossoms, which is one of the highlights of the cherry blossom festival, has been brought forward from April 14th.

The somei-yoshino cherry trees in the park are already in full bloom, and the city's Parks and Green Spaces Division, which manages the park, announced that a blizzard of cherry blossoms was seen in the outer moat on the south side. There are also reports of sightings of “flower rafts” floating on the surface of the water on social media, and the first day of the semi-matsuri festival is expected to attract a large number of people as the Somei Yoshino cherry blossoms are in full bloom.

A woman in her 30s who visited Hirosaki Park from Aomori for the purpose of lighting up said, "I heard that the full bloom was early this year, and the light up was earlier, so I forced myself to come. It's more beautiful than its reputation, and I can see it all the time. Sakura. The festival is just starting, so I want to come back at least once more,” he said with a smile.

The Hirosaki Cherry Blossom Festival runs from April 21st to May 5th (April 15th to April 20th is the semi-festival period). The light-up will be held until 22:00.