The first day is a standard affair. Your guide will pick you up at the airport and assist you with preparations for the tour. A private coach will take you to your hotel in the heart of the city. After the check-in procedures are completed, you will have the rest of the day to yourselves.

This day is designed around 3 different sakura viewing spots, each a different experience. On the first one, you will enjoy the hanami custom as the Japanese do, eating a light lunch under a cherry tree. For the second, you will visit either the East Garden of Tokyo Imperial Palace or Shinjuku Gyoen, both of which offer you great sakura views and neatly organized gardens. Finally, you will see cherry blossoms light up during the evening at Chidorigafuchi.

The sakura appreciation will be interspersed with famous Tokyo spots along the Sumida River, Asakusa and Odaiba. You will see, among other things, the Senso-ji temple, Tokyo Skytree, Tokyo Tower, and Rainbow Bridge over Tokyo Bay. You will also have an early dinner of delicious sushi at Tsukiji, the famous fish market. The best is yet to come, for you will be treated to even more marvelous sights on the next day.

The main highlight of the day is of course Mt. Fuji, which has high visibility during early spring. The destinations have been chosen to bring you the classic views often featured in Japanese postcards. You will see many faces of the great mountain: looming over a city, during lunch, reflected on a lake, outside your hotel. As beautiful as Mt. Fuji pictures are, they are at least twice as picturesque with the cherry blossoms in the same frame.

In an attempt to further capture the quintessential Japanese experience, we chose the meal and accommodation accordingly. For lunch, you will enjoy a local recipe. The famous udon noodles prepared with vegetarian ingredients is a specialty of the Fuji Five Lakes region. As for your hotel, it will feature not only an impressive panorama, but also indoor and outdoor hot spring baths. You will also enjoy a nice dinner of Koshu beef.

A bullet train will take you to Kyoto, a historic city of a thousand temples. Two of them you will visit today: Heian Jingu and Ginkaku-ji. In the former, you will see budding shidare-zakura blossoms, also known as the weeping cherry. From the latter, you will take a walk on the famous Philosopher’s Path, a 2-km stretch of blooming cherry trees. A canopy of flowers will filter the sunlight along the path, creating a breathtaking scene.

Throughout the day, you will experience the classic side of Japan that Kyoto epitomizes. For lunch, you will try authentic Kyoto cuisine, delectable for not only your palates but also all your senses. In the evening, you will enjoy a stay in a true ryokan in Kameoka, a hidden gem just west of Kyoto. In this atmospheric lodging, you can enjoy good food and refreshing onsen. Get plenty of quality rest after the long walk in Kyoto!

Today, you will see the first highlight of the Classic Sakura tour. In the morning, you will board the Sagano Romantic Train from Kameoka Station. The scenic railway runs slowly along the Hozu River, affording you an incredible view of the surrounding nature, including the rows of cherry trees and the beautiful mountains. Stopping at Arashiyama, you will then take in even more unbelievable sights, including the panorama from the Togetsukyo bridge and the bamboo grove.

After a delightful kaiseki lunch by the river, you will return to the city of Kyoto and visit another of its iconic landmark: the golden pavilion. This temple will bedazzle you with its glittering exterior, reflected in the water along with the greens that surround it. You will bid Kyoto goodbye after briefly revisiting it and leave for Nara, where you will be staying tonight.

Nara Park is simply gorgeous in spring, combining both adorable wildlife and a forest of cherry trees. You can take your time feeding the cute deer that roam around and enjoying the scenic view in the park. You will then visit the great temples and shrine that make Nara world-famous. In particular, you will see the country’s largest Daibutsu statue in the country’s largest wooden structure.

For the complete the Nara experience, you cannot miss out on the tea porridge for lunch. Called cha-gayu in Japanese, the dish originated in old Yamato, which was Nara’s name more than 1,700 years ago. At the end of the exciting day, you will once again return to your hotel in Nara, where you will stay another night.

Leaving Nara in the morning, you will be brought to another highlight of this Classic Sakura tour. Mt. Yoshino is by far the most famous cherry blossom spot in the country. Just by reaching the foot of the mountain, you will be treated to an explosion of spring colors. From there you will first ascend the mountain up to the Naka Senbon area, and then work your way down until eventually arriving at your starting point at Yoshino Station.

On the way down you will visit a shrine and a temple. The former features an iconic view of a thousand cherry trees covering entire slopes within an eyeshot. The latter has the second largest wooden structure in Japan, making it a nice follow-up to Todai-ji on the previous day. Words do not do the beauty of this mountain justice -- and as they say, seeing is believing. After the awe-inspiring adventure at Mt. Yoshino, you will be transferred to Osaka.

Exactly one week since your arrival in Tokyo, you will once again be touring a big city. As a change of pace from the natural attractions of the past few days, you will be visiting the man-made landmarks of Osaka. Two impressive works architecture await you: first is the repurposed Osaka Castle, now a museum, and second is the two connected towers collectively referred to as the Umeda Sky Building.

From atop the castle you will be able to see Nishinomaru Park teeming with visitors during the cherry blossom season, whereas on the open-air observation deck of the skyscraper you may see as far as the Awaji Islands across the strait on a typical clear day in spring. Of course, a classic Osaka tour is not complete without the famous crab dishes in Namba! As you will be staying yet another night in Osaka, this is also your chance to enjoy the lively evening atmosphere of the city.

On your penultimate day in Japan, you will visit the ultimate castle. The newly restored castle complex, known for its brilliant white exterior, is the largest, best preserved, and most visited castle in the country. While exploring its vast premises, you may also get the chance to witness a sakura-fubuki (literally “a blizzard of cherry blossoms”) as the petals fall at the end of the flowering season.

Aside from the castle, another attraction of the day is the Japanese beef that Hyogo Prefecture is so renowned for. A teppanyaki lunch, where the chef prepares the beef in front of you, is an essential experience that you cannot miss in a classic Japan tour. When your time in Himeji is up, you will be brought to a hotel near Kansai International Airport, from which you will be flying out tomorrow.

You have completed the Classic Sakura tour! We hope that you enjoyed your trip with ILJT! On the last day, you will check out of your hotel and conduct an independent transfer to the airport. Have a safe flight back home, and see you again soon!