🌸 UPDATE: I am glad to announce the search is over! bsky.app/profile/ante...
🌸 UPDATE: Last week I put out a call for help continuing a 1,200 year long dataset of peak cherry bloom records.
I am glad to announce the search is over! We've been in touch with Dr. Genki Katata, a researcher and former collaborator of Prof. Aono, who is continuing this dataset.
When we put out the call for help we could not have imagined this response! To everyone who reached out, shared leads, suggested organisations, or simply spread the word: thank you so much!
It was really special to see how much Prof. Aono’s work means to so many people. ♥️
You can help if you:
🌸 Have botanical expertise and can identify Yamazakura peak bloom from photos
🌸 Are local to Arashiyama and have access to species-specific bloom reporting
Please DM me here or email me at [email protected]. Even a lead helps — thank you!
Prof. Aono’s story and my call for help were even covered in The Guardian and The New York Times!
www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...
www.nytimes.com/2026/04/17/c...
Dr. Katata has shared the latest peak bloom date for 2026 — the 29th of March — with us. He will be carrying the series forward. You can find his website here: cigs.canon/en/fellows/g...
We have also updated our chart with the data for 2026 on Our World in Data: ourworldindata.org/grapher/date...
Tuna
Prof. Aono tracked a specific species — Yamazakura (Prunus jamasakura) — in a specific place: Arashiyama, Kyoto.
We've contacted his university, local organizations, and weather services, but unfortunately none can continue the series.
We’re looking for someone who can help us continue it!
I'm a data scientist @ourworldindata.org and I need help from a botanist or someone local to Kyoto, Japan! 🌸
We present one of the world’s longest climate records: 1,200 years of peak cherry blossom dates in Kyoto.
The researcher who maintained it, Prof. Yasuyuki Aono, sadly passed away last year.
