Japan's cherry blossom arrives

Japan's much anticipated cherry blossom has arrived earlier than the average season, according to reports.

Forecasters had made an error last week when they announced it would arrive on March 18th in Tokyo, only to find a computer glitch delivered inaccurate data. They then revised their forecast to Wednesday.

According to the BBC, the agency's chief of technology, Akira Honda, announced that some flowers had bloomed and therefore the season had begun.

He said: "At this afternoon's observation, we observed six flowers blooming. So, we claim cherry blossom bloomed today."

This year's blooming is one of the earliest on record and will herald a great deal of excitement in Japan.

There are many tours and festivals to coincide with the season and Japanese residents celebrate its arrival.

In the US capital Washington, a similar reaction can be seen at the National Cherry Blossom Festival which commemorates the giving of 3,000 cherry blossom trees from Tokyo to Washington in 1912.