Visitors from far and wide have been traveling to Japan, with the country breaking a tourism record in 2024. Between Jan. 1 and Nov. 30, projections indicated that nearly 33.4 million travelers visited Japan, according to the country's government site. Nearly three million Americans visited the country in 2024. Hokuto Asano, first secretary at the Embassy of Japan, told Fox News Digital that the number of visitors last year ended up reaching 36 million. Yukiyoshi Noguchi, who is the counselor at the embassy, said 2024 was declared the "U.S.-Japan Tourism Year" by both governments.

As spring approaches in Japan, the country's weather forecasters face one of their biggest missions of the year: predicting exactly when the famed cherry blossoms will bloom. Japan's sakura (cherry blossom) season is feverishly anticipated by locals and visitors alike. Many tourists plan their entire trips around the blooms, and Japanese flock to parks in their millions to enjoy the seasonal spectacle. "People pay more attention to the cherry blossom season than any other flower in Japan," said Ryo Dojo, an official of the statistics unit at the Meteorological Agency. The most basic element of predicting when the delicate pink and white petals will begin to unfurl is a large data set of temperatures.