Cherry Blossom Season — Japan

Met and taken into the city, with the evening free. The route is arranged around where the blossom front has reached, so the order of the middle days is confirmed closer to travel. Overnight in Tokyo.

Ueno Park in the morning, where the hanami parties spread out under the avenues from early, then the Chidorigafuchi moat, where the cherry trees lean over the water and boats can be taken out beneath them. Afternoon free — the Ueno museums are next door if the weather turns. Overnight in Tokyo.

Meiji Jingu's forest first, then Asakusa and Senso-ji at midday. Late afternoon in Shibuya, and the view back over the whole city from a tower deck at dusk, which on a clear evening reaches Fuji. Overnight in Tokyo.

Up into the mountains by fast train and the switchback mountain railway. The rest of the day is unscheduled: a ryokan above the cloud line, the first onsen bath before dinner, and dinner served course by course. Hakone blooms later than the city, so this is often where the trip catches the front a second time. Overnight in Hakone.

The Hakone loop, taken slowly because there are two nights here. The ropeway over the sulphur vents at Owakudani, Lake Ashi below with Fuji across the water when the weather gives it to you, and the shrine whose torii stands in the lake. Second night at the ryokan. Overnight in Hakone.

South to Kyoto by shinkansen, arriving for the afternoon. Fushimi Inari at the hour the light comes sideways through the torii, walking up far enough that the path empties. Evening along the Kamo river. Overnight in Kyoto.

The Philosopher's Path in full bloom, the canal walk between Ginkaku-ji and Nanzen-ji, taken in the morning when the light is on the water. Ginkaku-ji's sand garden at one end and Nanzen-ji's aqueduct at the other. A tea ceremony in the afternoon if you would like one arranged. Overnight in Kyoto.

Arashiyama. The bamboo grove before the crowds, Tenryu-ji's fourteenth-century garden beside it, and the Hozu riverbank with blossom overhanging the water. A shojin lunch inside the temple grounds is the vegetarian option and a good one. Overnight in Kyoto.

The eastern hills. Kiyomizu-dera and the Ninen-zaka slopes below it in the morning, then Gion and Maruyama Park, Kyoto's oldest public park, where the great weeping cherry is floodlit after dark and the stalls run late. Overnight in Kyoto.

A short train south to Nara for the day. Todai-ji's Great Buddha and the deer that have the run of the park, then Kasuga Taisha's lantern-lined approach through the woods. Afternoon in Naramachi's merchant lanes, or the slope of Mount Wakakusa for the view back over the basin. Back to Kyoto in the evening. Overnight in Kyoto.

East to Osaka. The castle moat is lined with cherry and the keep rises white behind it — one of the better blossom settings in Kansai. Evening in Dotonbori, where the okonomiyaki is cooked in front of you and the neon runs along the canal. Overnight in Osaka.

Himeji is a straightforward train away and is spectacular in blossom season: the largest surviving castle in Japan, white against the trees, with the nine walled gardens of Koko-en beside it. If you would rather not move again, the day becomes a slow one in Osaka — Kuromon market, Shinsekai and the tower. Overnight in Osaka.

A last morning in Osaka before the transfer for your onward flight.