Does anybody know where to find peak bloom dates of specific cherry blossom tree species (Prunus jamasakura)? Looking for help continuing a 1,200-year cherry blossom record!

Hi all, I'm a data scientist at u/ourworldindata and I need your help continuing a 1,200 year old dataset about peak cherry bloom dates.

This Kyoto cherry blossom dataset runs from 812 AD to today and tracks peak bloom dates of  a specific species (Prunus jamasakura), at a specific location in Arashiyama, Kyoto.

The researcher who maintained and updated this data sadly passed away last year. We are looking to continue it, as it's a vital data set for long-term climate research! I've contacted his university, local weather services, and organizations in Kyoto, but none of those can help us continue the series.

That's why I am turning to Reddit for help!

We are hoping that people local to Kyoto could help us with the following questions:

• Are there any local publications that publish peak bloom dates by species? We've found data for Somei-Yoshino (Prunus × yedoensis) online, but that is sadly not suitable for this series.
• Do you know of any researchers or naturalist groups in Kyoto who monitor native cherry species specifically? Every lead helps!
• If you are botanically inclined yourself: Would it be possible to identify Yamazakura peak bloom from photos taken in Arashiyama (e.g. from here or here) or do you know of anyone who could go there and check?

I know it's a long shot, but any leads would help a lot! My DMs are open or you can reach me at [tuna@ourworldindata.org](mailto:tuna@ourworldindata.org).