Japan Cherry Blossom

Into the city and checked in, with the evening free. Blossom timing shifts by a week or two each year, so the order of the days is arranged around where the front has actually reached rather than a fixed plan. Overnight in Tokyo.

Blossom morning. Ueno Park, where the avenues are lined with sakura and the hanami parties stake out ground from early, then the Chidorigafuchi moat beside the Imperial Palace, where the trees lean out over the water and rowing boats can be taken out beneath them. Both are best walked early. Afternoon free; evening in the city. Overnight in Tokyo.

Meiji Jingu's forest in the morning — cedar rather than cherry, and a useful contrast. Asakusa and Senso-ji at midday, with the arcade behind it for street food. Then Shibuya and Shinjuku for the city at full volume after dark. Overnight in Tokyo.

Into the mountains by fast train and mountain railway. The afternoon is Lake Ashi and the ropeway over the sulphur vents, with Fuji across the water on a clear day. Blossom comes later at altitude than in the city, so Hakone often catches it a week or two behind Tokyo. The night is at an onsen ryokan — bath, then a served dinner. Overnight in Hakone.

South to Kyoto by shinkansen. The rest of the day is for Fushimi Inari and its torii, quietest in the late afternoon when the light comes through the gates sideways and the coach parties have gone. Evening in the Pontocho lanes. Overnight in Kyoto.

The canal walk between Ginkaku-ji and Nanzen-ji, which is the single best blossom hour in the city when the trees are out — the water is narrow, the branches meet over it, and the petals sit on the surface. The temples at either end are worth the entry: Ginkaku-ji's moss and sand garden, Nanzen-ji's great gate and its brick aqueduct. Overnight in Kyoto.

Arashiyama, west of the city. The bamboo grove first and early, before it becomes a queue. Tenryu-ji's pond garden beside it, then the Hozu riverbank where the blossom hangs out over the water and the boats come down from the gorge. Afternoon free on the west side. Overnight in Kyoto.

Kinkaku-ji or Kiyomizu-dera by day — the golden pavilion at opening, or the stepped lanes of Ninen-zaka and Sannen-zaka below the eastern temple. Then Maruyama Park in the evening, Kyoto's oldest public park and the centre of its hanami, where the great weeping cherry is floodlit after dark and the food stalls stay open late. Overnight in Kyoto.

East to Osaka. The castle moat is one of the better blossom settings in Kansai, with the keep rising white behind the trees. Evening in Dotonbori — okonomiyaki cooked on the counter, kushikatsu in Shinsekai under the tower, and the neon along the canal. Overnight in Osaka.

A last Osaka morning — Dotonbori is at its quietest early, and Kuromon market is the place to eat before a flight — before the transfer for your onward journey.