What March Feels Like
March is when Japan starts transitioning from winter. Early in the month it's still properly cold, but you can feel the anticipation for the cherry blossom season amongst locals and travellers alike. The plum blossoms kick things off first, and by the second half of the month things have warmed up enough that the first cherry blossoms start coming into bloom in the warmer cities.
It's also a month of endings and beginnings for Japan itself. March closes out the school and business year, so you'll spot students in hakama taking graduation photos at shrines, farewell parties filling up izakayas, and sakura flavoured everything hitting the convenience stores well before the actual blossoms show up.
Why March Can Be a Great Time to Visit and How to Plan It
March suits travellers who want the spring feeling without the spring circus. You get the plum blossoms and the first properly warm days, all before the April rush arrives.
However, the tradeoff is that you're early. The first half of the month still feels like late winter in most places, and if seeing cherry blossoms at full bloom is the whole point of your trip, April is the safer bet. But if you'd trade a guaranteed bloom for breathing room, March is quietly one of the smartest months to visit.
March is also a fair bit kinder on your wallet than April. Flights and rooms run cheaper for most of the month, though prices start climbing in the last week as cherry blossom season kicks off. If you're aiming for late March, book ahead.
For pacing, a two week trip gives you room for two regions without rushing, and if the blossoms matter to you, plan to be in one of the big cities for the last week of the month when the first flowers open. For one week, you're better off staying in one area. Tokyo and Kansai both have plenty going on through March, and the spring destination guides cover what's on where.
March Weather and What's in Bloom
March weather is all over the place. It also varies a lot by region. Tokyo, Kyoto and the Honshu cities sit around 6 to 13 degrees, single digits early on and mid teens by the end, while up north Sapporo is still cold and snowy. Head west and it's a bit milder, with Hiroshima and the Inland Sea coast a bit warmer and Fukuoka milder still. Okinawa is another world, already in the low 20s. One day can be properly warm, then a cold snap rolls through and brings a late dump of snow, even in the cities. So don't get your hopes up that the weather will be very stable, just bring some extra layers.
However, the first cherry blossoms typically start opening around the 20th of March in the warmer big cities, with Tokyo and Fukuoka usually among the earliest. Up north it's a different story. Hokkaido, Tohoku and the prefectures along the Sea of Japan coast like Niigata and Toyama are still properly in winter through most of the month, and the ski resorts up there run all the way through.
March also gives you some of the clearest skies of the year. The rainy season hasn't started, and the crisp air means you've got a real shot at seeing Mt Fuji properly, whether from a Tokyo observation deck or out the shinkansen window, and city views in general are at their sharpest before the spring haze rolls in. You'll still cop the odd rainy day, but nothing like the wet months later in the year. Photographers get some of their best conditions of the year too. And it's one of the few months where you can ski in the morning and be standing under early blossoms a day or two later, which sums up March pretty well.