Japan counts down to cherry blossom fever

Mito, Japan

JAPAN's cherry blossom season kicks off boozy parties across the country and draws tourists from far and wide, but the annual coming-of-spring ritual isn't official until inspectors like Hisato Nishii sign off on it.

Over the past few weeks, local weather offices have been sending civil servants like Mr Nishii out to so-called barometer trees that signal when sakura - cherry blossom in Japanese - have bloomed.