Japan Cherry Blossom Tours 2020
Cherry blossom season and spring is a beautiful time of year to travel to
Japan. With the changing of the seasons people across the country enjoy
the vibrant early plum blossom before the more popular and delicate colours of
the cherry come into bloom.
We have designed our blossom tours to capture some of the best displays the
Japan has to offer. However, our tours include much more than simply the
opportunity to enjoy some of the cherry blossom festivals that are held in
different parts of the country. Japan is a country that allows you to
enjoy terrific scenery, fascinating castles, temples, shrines, culture, a rich
history as well as delicious food as you travel around.
In previous years our cherry tours have seen many early bookings, well in advance.
For our tours for the 2019 blossom season we closed to
additional bookings
in early in the New Year. As this is a very popular time of year it is best to contact us
to secure your place as soon as practical. You can either use our simple contact us form or email us
directly at
admin@japancustomtours.co.nz
March and April 2020 Japan Cherry Blossom Tours
Similar to the past few years we have put together a
sequence of tours covering the main cherry blossom
festival season. These trips commence early in March and run through to the end
of April and are designed to maximise the opportunities to view the different
types of sakura (blossom) as it progresses
from south to north. (More information on the forecast blossom timing can be
found here.)
For spring 2020 we are
offering five main cherry blossom tours. As in previous years we are continuing to offer a
set of two week tours starting during the weekend in Tokyo and returning two weeks later. In addition, we
are running a slightly longer tour across the last two weeks of March and a shorter trip
based around an eleven day schedule in April. As with our other tours
there is flexibility to add additional days at the start or end of the trip for those
wanting additional or extra free time in Tokyo or to explore nearby locations.
Building on previous years we have made some changes to our schedules based on
guest feedback and improvements to the order and travel times in some places.
This has resulted in a reduction in travel times between locations, but also
things like an additional scenic journey between Takayama and Matsumoto, and
incorporating a visit to the city of Sendai and one of the "three views of
Japan, Matsushima Bay.
With most arrivals occurring one or two days prior to the commencement of the
tours this allows us to meet you at the airport, transfer you to your
hotel in Tokyo and provide an initial
introduction to Japan and Tokyo, one of the largest and vibrant cities in the
world. This also gives you some free time to adjust to the time-zone, and
explore a few areas of the city that interest you before we head off on our
journey around the country. We understand many guests wish to arriving
before the formal start of a tour due to flights and flight pricing, this allows people
flexibility to easily join a tour. For our 2019 blossom tours the early
arrivals also allowed us to offer an optional Fuji/Hakone excursion which was a
popular add-on for many people.
We have designed the cherry blossom tour schedules taking into account the dates for
the Japanese cherry blossom festivals and viewing in each
location. These dates are based on the average flowering times from the last ten years
and are a guide only. (The actual dates are out of our control.) However, there
are a couple of things that make chasing the cherry blossom a little easier.
Firstly, the early part of the season is when plum trees are flowering, providing an
alternative offering of spectacular colours.
Secondly, the "official" cherry blossom forecasts refer to a specific five petal
variety (somei yoshino), and there are many different types of cherry trees - some that flower earlier and
some later, extending the season. Certainly for our previous tour seasons we had cherry blossom viewing
across a two month period. We also take pride in finding tranquil and uncrowded
spots for our guests to enjoy the blossom season across the full March and April
season
Cherry blossom tours and Schedules
Each year we update our schedules incorporating feedback from guests and to
build in improvements over the previous year's tours. Our
2020 cherry
blossom tour brochure
contains the outline for our planned tours for 2020 as well as useful information
relating to the tours themselves. The following provides a brief
description of the tours we are planning for spring 2020. A tour brochure
is available for download using the following link.
Early Cherry Blossom Tour during March (Sunday 15th March to Saturday 28th March
2020)
Starting in Tokyo, before heading south to Hiroshima and the
beautiful Miyajima. From our most southern point of our journey we head
back to the old capital of Kyoto, a city of history and culture. Departing
for the west coast we visit Kanazawa and the Kenrokuen Gardens chasing the
blossom before heading into the Alps and Nagano.
Heading north we visit the city of Sendai and the beautiful Matsushima Bay
before returning to Tokyo for the weekend and the the blossom season at the many
parks and gardens around the city.
Japan Spring Blossom Tour (Friday 20th March to Sunday 5th April 2020 -
sorry, fully booked)
This spring tour incorporates time in the Japanese Alps, relaxing ryokan and
onsen time, smaller locations and more of an art&culture focus. With stays
in Matsumoto, Takayama and Kanazawa the initial trip across the main island of
Honshu includes visits to two castles and several UNESCO World Heritage sites
including Shirakawa-go.
The southern portion of the tour embraces Hiroshima, Takamatsu and Okayama.
This allows time in the picturesque Kurashiki, visits to historical sites and
beautiful gardens, and a day exploring the "art island" of Naoshima.
Then time in Kyoto hits several of the famous sites of the city, including a
trip across to the first capital of Japan at Nara, before returning to Tokyo.
Classic Cherry Blossom Tour (Sunday 29th March to
Sunday 12th April 2020)
The peak period for cherry blossom viewing starts in Tokyo at the end of March, including some of the famous and popular viewing locations around the
city before heading south to Kyoto a selection of its famous sights before
heading to Hiroshima.
From Hiroshima we head to the mountains and the scenic Takayama for two nights.
Completing the journey across the island we enjoy a visit to Kanazawa before
returning to the Alps of Nagano for a stay at a traditional Japanese inn and onsen.
Our next destination sees us heading to the Ogawara cherry blossom festival near Sendai city,
as well as including a
cruise around Matsushima Bay (considered one of the "three views of Japan".) The end of the tour sees us return to Tokyo.
Heritage Blossom Tour (Tuesday 7th April to Friday 17th April 2019)
Departing Tokyo this tour visits Kyoto for a selection of its famous sights (Nijo Castle, Kinkakuji,
Fushimi Inari), and a few of the famous cherry blossom locations well known to
the Japanese including one of the longest running annual festivals in Japan.
We include a day trip to the first capital of Japan at Nara, before completing
the southward journey to Hiroshima and the island Miyajima with its floating
torii gate.
Leaving Hiroshima we return to Kanazawa on the west coast of Japan for its
gardens and castle before spending two nights in the alps at Takayama for the
beautiful mountain scenery.
Late Cherry Blossom Tour (Wednesday 15th April to 28th April 2019)
Our late cherry tour includes a trip to the north of Tokyo including side
trips from Sendai (for Matsushima and Kakunodate), and also Aomori for the
Hirosaki Castle Park, a site with 2,600 cherry trees and a beautiful cherry
blossom festival.
Returning to the centre of the country, we stay in the mountains at an onsen near Nagano and a visit to the
snow monkeys before two days in the western city of Kanazawa and the mountain
town of Takayama. From Takayama we have options to either return to Tokyo
via the scenic mountain bus to Matsumoto and then express train, or continue our
journey to the historic capital of Kyoto.
Price inclusions/exclusions
We price in Japanese yen, but can quote in
your local currency on request.
Early Cherry Blossom Tour: The price for fourteen days
(accommodation for thirteen nights) is from Y595,000 per person share
twin/double.
Japan Spring Blossom Tour: The price for seventeen days (accommodation for
sixteen nights) is from Y745,000 per person share twin/double.
Classic Cherry Blossom Tour: The
price for fifteen days (accommodation for fourteen nights) is from Y695,000 per person share twin/double.
Heritage Blossom Tour: The price for eleven days (accommodation
for ten nights) is from Y525,000 per person share twin/double.
Late Cherry
Blossom Tour: The price for the base fourteen day tour (accommodation for thirteen
nights) is from Y595,000 per person share twin/double.
For solo travellers (one person, without a shared room), the cost of
accommodation is unable to be shared, but we have a policy to limit the extra
cost and have priced our tours for a solo travellers at Y145,000 above the
shared/double/twin rate to partly cover the cost of accommodation.
The price includes:
- Our tour service, including a dedicated guide for the duration of your
tour. That includes a meet&greet at the airport and transfers to the hotel in
Tokyo.
- Accommodation, averaging 4* - 5* properties. We aim to book superior rooms to give additional space
and comfort during your trip.
- Transport, all train travel, subways, and transfers. Taxis are also covered
during the day for our sightseeing as well as the occasional bus connection.
(Not flights to/from Japan.)
- Entrance fees for temples, shrines, castles, parks, gardens, and museums.
These are listed in your agreed tour schedule.
- Evening meals at ryokan (Japanese inn) accommodation are normally
included. In general, we do not include lunch and
dinner meals because Japan has a huge range of foods and we prefer not to
restrict options, especially when food is a significant part Japan.
Exclusions are generally items such as theatre performances, sporting or
other special events, theme parks, lunch and evening meals, snacks/drinks and
other incidental costs such as hotel room service/laundry.
Bookings and Inquiries
If you are interested in joining one of these tours, please contact us or email us
directly at
admin@japancustomtours.co.nz.