Blossom Season

Day by day

1. Day 1

   The first petals

   Tokyo

   Night at Sumi House

   morning

   Met at the airport and driven into the city, past riverbanks already turning pale pink.

   afternoon

   Rest at the hotel, then tea in a quiet garden around the corner.

   evening

   Dinner of spring vegetables and sakura-cured sea bream in Kagurazaka.

2. Day 2

   A weeping cherry at dawn

   Tokyo, Komagome and Yanaka

   Night at Sumi House

   morning

   Rikugi-en at opening, the great weeping cherry hanging over the path like a waterfall.

   afternoon

   Yanaka cemetery, where locals picnic under the blossom among old gravestones.

   evening

   Lanterns under the cherries along the Sumida River, and a boat if the night is warm.

3. Day 3

   Mountains and mist

   Hakone

   Night at Nagi

   morning

   Romancecar train to Hakone, its blossom a week behind the city.

   afternoon

   An open-air museum among the hills, then a ryokan with a view of Fuji if the clouds allow.

   evening

   A private bath, and dinner served in your room.

4. Day 4

   The philosopher’s path

   Kyoto

   Night at Yuzuriha

   morning

   Shinkansen west, Fuji on the right, if you remember to look.

   afternoon

   The Philosopher’s Path in the late afternoon light, petals on the canal.

   evening

   Check into the ryokan, and a dinner where the season is in every dish.

5. Day 5

   Temple blossom

   Kyoto, Daigo-ji

   Night at Yuzuriha

   morning

   Daigo-ji at opening, where a warlord once held a blossom party for 1,300 guests.

   afternoon

   A lesson in making spring wagashi, the sweets that change with the blossom.

   evening

   Hirano Shrine’s cherries lit at night, a local favourite since the tenth century.

6. Day 6

   A house under the trees

   Kyoto, Okazaki

   Night at Kinari Machiya

   morning

   Move to your machiya; then a boat along the Okazaki canal, under a tunnel of cherry branches.

   afternoon

   The weeping cherries at Heian Shrine’s garden, reflected in the pond.

   evening

   A picnic dinner under the trees, the way Kyoto families do it.

7. Day 7

   The late bloomers

   Kyoto, Omuro

   Night at Kinari Machiya

   morning

   Ninna-ji’s low Omuro cherries, usually among the last to open in the city.

   afternoon

   Matcha and a spring sweet at a tea house in the northwest hills, then a nap if you want one.

   evening

   Dinner at a counter in Kamishichiken, Kyoto’s oldest and quietest teahouse district.

8. Day 8

   Deer and blossom

   Nara

   morning

   Nara Park at 7am, the deer grazing under the cherries before the first tour bus.

   afternoon

   Isuien garden, and the old merchant streets of Naramachi.

   evening

   Persimmon-leaf sushi and local sake by the five-storey pagoda.

9. Day 9

   A thousand trees

   Yoshino

   morning

   An early drive to Yoshino, a mountain famous for its cherries for a thousand years.

   afternoon

   Walk up through the lower and middle groves while the upper ones are still in bud.

   evening

   A farewell dinner of mountain vegetables and arrowroot sweets.

10. Day 10

    Petals in your luggage

    Nara to Kansai Airport

    morning

    One last walk in the park while the deer are still lazy.

    afternoon

    A private car to the airport, bags already checked through.

    evening

    A few pressed petals in your passport.