Cherry blossom continues north in April, following the bloom in Tokyo and Kyoto. Lowland routes gain fresh foliage.

JNTO’s April guide points to Hirosaki Cherry Blossom Festival in late April and early May, and to spring mountain openings such as the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route and Kamikochi’s late-April ceremony.

What To Watch

Watch the sakura front move north, but do not treat April as only cherry blossom. Alpine walls, reopened hiking gateways, fresh green, and early wisteria all belong to the month.

Hanafuda Lens

April is the wisteria suit. The four cards are the cuckoo, a plain ribbon, and two wisteria chaff cards.

How We Know

This page uses JNTO for April blossom, Hirosaki, Tateyama Kurobe, and Kamikochi context. Nintendo Museum supplies the Hanafuda month structure, and Koi-Koi supplies the exact card face used in the hero image.

The Wisteria Suit

April's Hanafuda suit is Wisteria: four exact Koi-Koi card faces in the site deck, shown here without redraws or substitution.

April Hanafuda card: Wisteria, Cuckoo, Animal/Object
CuckooAnimal/Object
April Hanafuda card: Wisteria, Plain ribbon, Ribbon
Plain ribbonRibbon
April Hanafuda card: Wisteria, Wisteria chaff, Chaff
Wisteria chaffChaff
April Hanafuda card: Wisteria, Wisteria chaff, Chaff
Wisteria chaffChaff

Sources

  1. Japan in April, Japan National Tourism Organization. Accessed 2026-09-02. Used for sakura travel, Hirosaki Cherry Blossom Festival, and spring mountain-route context.
  2. Try Playing Hanafuda!, Nintendo Museum. Accessed 2026-09-01. Used for the 48-card, 12-month Hanafuda structure and Nintendo Museum workshop context.