Cherry blossoms flowered in Tokyo and two other prefectures in Japan
 
Spring has officially arrived in Japan.

Cherry blossoms flowered in Tokyo and two other prefectures in Japan, the first of this season in designated observation areas across the country, the Japan Meteorological Agency said on Saturday.

Among the several varieties of "sakura" (cherry trees) in Japan, the "someiyoshino" in Tokyo and Shizuoka opened six days earlier than usual, while the trees in southern prefecture Kumamoto flowered two days earlier, said the agency, which reports annually¹ on this closely watched barometer² of spring.

It was only the fourth time Tokyo has led the archipelago in opening the cherry blossom season. The other times were on March 23, 1979, March 24, 1993, and March 20, 2007.

A Meteorological Agency official said recent warm days helped speed up the opening of those cherry blossoms.

The announcement is made when five or six blossoms are observed on special "benchmark" trees in these areas.

Families, friends and office workers crowd parks to eat and drink beer and sake as they admire the blossoms in often raucous³ "hanami" parties.

It was reported earlier that cherry trees in Washington, the capital of America, also bloomed earlier this year.

日本的春天真的来临了。

据日本气象厅上周六消息，日本首都东京及其它两个县的樱花已经盛开，根据在指定观测点的观察结果，这是今年全日本樱花开得最早的地方。

据日本气象厅介绍，在日本常见的几类樱花树中，今年东京和静冈县的“染井吉野樱” 比往年早开放了六天，而日本南部熊本县的樱花则早开了两天。樱花被视为日本春天的使者，日本气象厅每年都会对樱花开放的时间作详细预报。

这是东京第四次成为日本列岛最早的樱花绽放地。东京的樱花曾在1979年3月23日、1993年3月24日和2007年3月20日最先开放。

日本气象厅的一位官员说，由于近日日本天气温暖异常，所以导致了樱花提前盛开。

樱花开放的消息公布前，气象人员在这几个地区的“样本树”上观测到了五六朵绽放的樱花。

日本的“花见会”（赏樱活动）常常热闹非凡，亲朋好友及同事成群结对地聚在公园里，一边在树下赏樱花，一边吃东西、喝啤酒。

此前有报道称，美国首都华盛顿的樱花今年也提前开放了。

Vocabulary: 

barometer:“晴雨表”