Japan's cherry blossom season came a little later than expected this year

Thousand-year-old weeping cherry blossoms (Shidare-zakura) at the Kodaiji Temple in Kyoto. — Photos: LEESAN

Japan’s Sakura Matsuri festival started as a simple celebration of spring time, but has since evolved and developed to become a major pillar of the country’s tourism industry.

In just 30 days – from mid-March to mid-April – the number of inbound tourists in Japan can easily surpass three million. It is not hard to imagine how much this influx of tourists will stimulate consumption in various economic sectors. Even the very commonplace matcha ice cream, seasonal desserts and pharmaceutical gifts, along with the sandos and bentos sold in Japan’s ubiquitous convenience stores, are snatched up each day.