If you can’t make it to Japan for the sakura season, there are places here in the United States where you can still enjoy the pink blooms of cherry blossoms. Where are some of the best places to view cherry blossoms in the United States.
Each year at springtime, the Japanese celebrate the arrival of cherry blossoms and their ephemeral flowers. The pink blossoms are celebrated with sakura matsuri or cherry blossom festivals all around Japan. People also take to the parks in Japan for hanami or viewing of the flowers.
According to a study and analysis by Japanese snack box subscription company Sakuraco, they have derived a list of the ten best places in the United States to view cherry blossoms. With this, perhaps you can have your own sakura matsuri.
The results of these study, completely non-scientific, were derived by analyzing categories like average Google review score, annual sunshine hours, annual rainfall and the number of Instagram hashtags to reveal which locations across the US are the best to visit during the cherry blossom season.
Top 10 Best Places To View Cherry Blossoms In The United States
According to the research, the best state to view cherry blossoms is California with three of the top ten spots. The top spot is in Los Angeles.
Here are the top ten places to view cherry blossoms in the United States, according to Sakuraco.
10. Brooklyn Botanic Gardens, New York City
9. Meadowlark Botanical Gardens, Vienna
8. Charles River Esplanade, Boston
7. Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis
6. Fort Worth Botanic Garden, Fort Worth
5. Fairmount Park, Philadelphia
4. San Mateo Japanese Garden, San Mateo
3. Balboa Park’s Japanese Friendship Garden, San Diego
2. Dallas Arboretum, Dallas
1. Descanso Gardens, Los Angeles
So there you have, the crown for the best place to view cherry blossoms in the United States is Descanso Gardens, Los Angeles.
Descanso Gardens has a highly respectable average review score of 4.7/5 on Google and high social media popularity with over 100,000 hashtag mentions on Instagram. Additionally, the state’s high number of sunshine hours and relatively low rainfall rate make it likely that you’ll have ideal weather for cherry blossom viewing on any given day.
Other parks that made it into the top 30 include New York City Parks like the New York Botanical Garden and Sakura Park in Riverside Park.
Cherry Blossoms in Different States
Depending on the state, cherry blossoms typically bloom at their peak between the beginning of March and the beginning of May. In warmer regions with milder winters, the blossoms typically start to appear in early March. Cherry blossoms, on the other hand, typically bloom later in April in colder states.
Different cherry blossom trees bloom at various times, and they only do so for about two weeks.
View the full study here.
