Gorgeous photos show cherry blossoms in full bloom around the world

Between late March and early May, cherry blossom trees sprout their famous flowers in cities around the world.

Once the flowers open, they don't usually last more than two weeks, sometimes withering within three to five days. Their short seasonal lifespan makes viewing trees in full bloom a sought-after experience that some enthusiasts will cross oceans for.

Aside from creating beautiful spring scenery, cherry blossom-related tourism provides an economic boost to high-demand destinations such as Japan. A record 3.1 million tourists visited Japan during its peak cherry blossom season in March 2024. There's even a special word in Japanese, "hanami," for the country's long-held tradition of cherry blossom viewing.

Washington, DC, another destination known for its springtime blooms, hosts an annual National Cherry Blossom Festival that attracts 1.5 million visitors. Corporate sponsors of the festival include Amazon, Hilton, and All Nippon Airways, a Japanese airline.

Public parks and places of worship in the UK, Germany, and China also feature varieties of the flower. Tourists and locals alike gather to walk along the trees, snap selfies, and breathe in the natural floral perfume.

Photos from around the world show cherry blossoms in full bloom this year. Take a look before they're gone.

Japan is famous for its cherry blossom trees, known as "sakura" in Japanese.

Trees along the east coast of Japan's Izu Peninsula in Kawazu first began to bloom in early March.

Cherry blossoms brightened the busy streets of Tokyo later in the month.

White cherry blossoms bloomed at the Jiming Temple in China's Jiangsu province.

Crowds gathered underneath the trees to enjoy the delicate flowers.

Yuantongshan Park in Kunming, China's Yunnan Province, also featured bright-pink cherry blossoms.

In London, people snapped selfies beneath the cherry blossom trees at St. Paul's Cathedral.

Others rollerbladed through the blossoming trees in London's Battersea Park.

Flowering trees created a vibrant pink archway in Stadtpark in Kaarst, Germany.

Fallen petals dusted the park's pathways.

In 1912, Yukio Ozaki, the mayor of Tokyo, gifted 3,000 cherry blossom trees to Washington, DC.

Since then, the capital city has become famous for its springtime blooms.

Pink and white varieties began to peak in late March.