Warm temperatures caused the cherry blossom front to move up the Japanese archipelago at a record-breaking pace this year. The trees reached full bloom in Hakodate on April 24 and in Sapporo on April 26, almost two weeks earlier than average. While our annual reporting of the seasonal spectacle will end on April 30 in Sapporo, the cherry blossoms will continue to delight hanami-goers in more eastern and northern a