The cherry blossom season has officially kicked off in Nagoya, central Japan.

Weather observer / We were able to confirm at least six Somei Yoshino flowers are blooming, so we can say that the cherry blossom season has officially started.

The start is 7 days earlier than average and 9 days earlier than last year.

Buds were seen at Yasukuni Shrine’s “sample tree”, which is used as a benchmark for the declaration of the cherry blossom season.

Weather observers checked if there were flowers blooming on the tree on March 17.

Five flowers need to be blooming in order to officially declare the start of the cherry blossom season.

Weather observer / I don’t think we can make the declaration today. There is only one flower that is about to bloom.

Temperatures are expected to be moderate despite rain forecasts after March 18, and the flowers may start blooming soon.

Meanwhile, the lack of rain has led to a record-breaking water shortage in central Japan.

At Ure Dam in Aichi Prefecture, workers pumped up water mixed with sediment left at the bottom of the dam on March 18.

The dam said it is the first time it had to do such work since it began operations in 1968.

Approximately 280,000 tons will be pumped out. However, the water is expected to run out in about 10 days unless there is heavy rainfall.

Five cities in the prefecture have called on residents to refrain from using water between 11PM and 5AM.

Rice farmers voiced concern as the water shortage comes ahead of the rice-planting season.

Farmer / It affects the amount of rice we can produce. If we can’t secure the exact amount of water  we need for these rice paddies at the time we need it, there will be all sorts of problems.

More than 40,000 rapeseed flowers were also in full bloom in Kochi Prefecture, which officially declared the start of its cherry blossom season on March 16.

People across Japan are longing for the iconic sakura flowers to bloom.

According to Weathernews, the Hanami season is officially expected to kick off in Japan’s capital Tokyo on March 18 and in Osaka on March 25.

In northern Hokkaido, where temperatures are lower hence the flowers start blooming later, the season is expected to kick off officially on April 25 in the City of Sapporo and May 7 in the City of Kushiro.