Note: The cherry tree opening dates provided in this itinerary are estimated by the Japan Weather Association. The best viewing periods are estimated by Klook. Japan Sakura Activities If you don’t want the hassle of searching for Cherry Blossoms on your own, check out some of our Cherry Blossom tours with convenient pickups from the city! City Activity Tokyo Yokohama Sankeien and Miurakaigan Cherry Blossom Festival Tour from Tokyo Fuji Area Sightseeing, All-You-Can-Eat Fruits & Mt. Kachi Kachi Ropeway Day Trip from Tokyo Early Spring Kawazuzakura Cherry Blossom Viewing Tokyo Mt. Fuji Area Sakura Viewing & Shinobi No Sato Ninja Village Day Tour Tokyo Fuji Shibazakura, Mt. Fuji 5th Station & All-You-Can-Eat Strawberry Picking Day Tour Mount Matsuda and Hakone Day Trip from Tokyo Matsuda Cherry Blossom Festival, Mt. Fuji, and Strawberry Picking Tour in Tokyo Mt.Fuji and Lake Kawaguchi Scenic Spots Day Tour from Tokyo Mt. Fuji Viewing at Arakurayama Sengen Park, Strawberry Picking and Spring Flower Day Trip from Tokyo Minobusan Kuonji Temple Day Trip with Strawberry Picking in Yamanashi Kyoto Arashiyama, Tenryuji Temple, Ninnaji Temple Kyoto Cherry Blossom Tour Kyoto Cherry Blossom Viewing at Hirano Shrine and Philosopher's Path Half Day Tour Kyoto Ninnaji Temple, Kamigamo Shrine, Nagaraki Path, & Botanical Garden Day Tour with Cherry Blossom Viewing Kyoto Toji Temple and Nijo Castle Cherry Blossom Night Illumination Tour Kyoto Aquarium Admission Ticket Okinawa Cape Manzamo & Kaiyohaku Park & Kouri Island Seasonal Limitation Cherry Blossom Tour Fukuoka Yanagawa River Cruise and Tea Tasting Japan Travel Essentials Japan Rail Pass An essential for travelling between cities in Japan, the Japan Rail Pass or JR Pass is available in multiple packages in terms of regions, duration, seat options and more. Using the JR Pass is the easiest and most convenient way to discover Japan. For travels around the whole of Japan, you can opt for the 7 Day Whole Japan Rail Pass. There are also 14 day and 21 day options available. For burning questions on this transport pass and how it works, check out these JR Pass FAQs. Unlimited 4G WiFi Device A must-have when travelling is Internet connectivity to access maps, translations, information on-the-go. Make sure you stay connected at all times with a Japan-wide unlimited WiFi device which you can pick up at the airport. With no minimum rental days, you have the flexibility to rent the device according to your itinerary. You can also share the cost with your travel companions since the WiFi router can connect up to 14 devices at one time. With high-speed and smooth internet all over Japan, you can conveniently return the device at one of the many airports in Japan. It’s especially useful if you’re exploring around Japan and your arrival and departure are at different airports. Klook pro-tip: Make full use of the Spring sale on Klook - the Great Sakura Sale (GSS) for extra savings on your holiday! Simply key in the code KLOOKGSS15 to enjoy SGD15 off min spend SGD200 or KLOOKGSS35 for SGD35 off min spend SGD400. Find out more here! FUKUOKA Opening: 19 MARCH 2019 Best viewing: 27 MARCH - 4 APRIL 2019 FUKUOKA Getting to Fukuoka Fukuoka is a five-hour shinkansen ride from Tokyo. You can get there via the Nozomi trains on the Tokaido/Sanyo Shinkansen line. However, Nozomi trains are not covered by the JR Pass. If you want to use your JR Pass, you can take the Hikari and Sakura trains. It’s an one extra hour to the travel time with a transfer at Shin-Osaka Station. Alternatively, you can hop onto a private airport transfer to your hotel for added comfort! Fukuoka City Essentials Item Description Prepaid IC cards For travelling on trains, subways, and buses Fukuoka private car charter Travel around the city comfortably and conveniently with a professional driver Cherry Blossom Viewing Sites Uminonakamichi Seaside Park A popular place in Fukuoka for flower viewing, the Uminonakamichi Seaside Park is a family-friendly public park where you can stroll around, explore via the cycling trails, or simply sit beneath the cherry trees for a picnic. When in full bloom, you can witness a beautiful sakura tunnel! The cherry tree variants that you can find at Photo Credit: kimon for Flickr this park are mainly Somei Yoshino and Oshima. Nishi Park With over a thousand trees plated on this hillside park, Nishi Park is easily one of Japan’s top sakura viewing spots. Besides cherry blossom viewing, there is also Terumo Shrine on site. A perfect place for an afternoon picnic, Nishi Park is a must-visit! Photo Credit: zaimoku_woodpile for Flickr FUKUOKA Must-do Fukuoka activities Yanagawa River Cruise A famous river in Fukuoka, you can cruise along aboard a traditional gondola-like ‘donko’ boat on the Yanagawa river cruise. A tranquil and scenic ride, you can take in the sights of Japanese architecture and early 20th century warehouses on either side of the river. It’s also especially beautiful during the sakura season! Fukuoka Castle & Maizuru Park Within Maizuru Park in the heart of the city, you can find the ruins of Fukuoka Castle. With only its ruined walls and a few towers remaining, it’s still a popular spot amongst visitors. Surrounding the area, you can find walking trails and lookout points in the park! Maizuru Park is also home to over a Photo Credit: jpellgen & sonotoki for Flickr thousand cherry trees, so it’s perfect for the sakura season as well. Fukuoka Must Eats Motsunabe Tonkotsu Ramen (Hakata ramen) A local Fukuoka dish, motsunabe is a The city of Hakata in Fukuoka is the birthplace hot pot dish consisting of beef or pork of the rich and mouth-watering tonkotsu tripe with cabbage, leek, bean sprouts ramen, also known as Hakata ramen. and other vegetables in a soup flavoured with soy sauce and/or miso. With its milky-white pork bone broth paired Boiling and cooked at the table, it’s best with handmade noodles, a generous helping of served with rice! pork slices and topped with various condiments, this addictive bowl of ramen is absolutely life-changing! Photo Credit: securecat for Flickr Photo Credit: cityfoodsters for Flickr TOKYO Opening: 22 MARCH 2019 Best viewing: 29 MARCH - 6 APRIL 2019 TOKYO Getting to Tokyo Tokyo has two major international airports - Narita International Airport and Haneda Airport. Depending on which airport you’re flying in to, you can get to the city via several methods. If you’re on a budget, you can hop on the airport limousine bus. For those who want to travel with ease, you can get a private airport transfer. If you’re in a rush, the Tokyo Skyliner, which connects Narita Airport and downtown Tokyo, is the fastest express train in Japan! Tokyo City Essentials Item Description Tokyo Subway Ticket Unlimited rides on 13 routes and over 250 stations on both the Tokyo Metro or Toei Subway lines Tokyo Skyliner Get from Narita Airport to Ueno (downtown Tokyo) and vice versa in just 41 minutes Limousine Bus Ticket Travel between Haneda Airport or Narita Airport and downtown Tokyo on budget and hassle-free Suica IC Card Prepaid travel card on JR East trains, underground lines and buses Cherry Blossom Viewing Sites Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons Photo Credit: andersondotcom for Flickr Shinjuku Gyoen Ueno Park One of Tokyo’s top gardens, Shinjuku Gyoen Over a thousand cherry trees are spread is home to more than a thousand cherry across the wide expanse of Ueno Park. trees. With over a dozen varieties, the sakura However, you can find many of them at the trees here bloom over a long period, so you centre street of the park leading towards the still hanami there even if you’ve missed peak National Museum and surrounding the season slightly! Shinobazu Pond. Other sakura viewing spots: Chidorigafuchi, Sumida Park, Yoyogi Park, Meguro River TOKYO Must-do Tokyo activities Tokyo Disneyland & DisneySea No matter what age you are, you’re never too old or too young for a bit of Disney magic in you! You can visit one of the two Tokyo Disney theme parks or opt for a 2-day pass and visit both! Just get ready for the most magical day ever. Tokyo SkyTree Feel like you’re on top of the world or at least the city in Tokyo SkyTree! This stylist and futuristic landmark offers its visitors stunning sights of the landscapes below from the observation decks. Whether it’s day or night, you’ll be treated to quite the view! Tokyo Must Eats Tsukemen Monjayaki Invented in Tokyo 1962, tsukemen has Somewhat of a distant relative to become wildly popular and certainly okonomiyaki, the monjayaki is a made up of a puts an interesting twist to your thin batter with cabbage and seafood or meat everyday ramen. To eat this noodle dish, then cooked on a flat griddle. This dish is you first take your cold noodles, dip into especially popular in Tsukishima, with a street your broth, then slurp it down! of over 100 monjayaki restaurants! Photo Credit: Wikipedia Photo Credit: 31029865@N06 for Flickr NAGOYA Opening: 23 MARCH 2019 Best viewing: 30 MARCH - 7 APRIL 2019 NAGOYA Getting to Nagoya Nagoya is connected to Tokyo via the JR Tokaido Shinkansen. Depending on which train you opt for, the journey can take from less than two hours to three hours. The fastest is the Nozomi train, which takes 1 hour and 40 minutes. Meanwhile, the Hikari train takes about 2 hours and the Kodama train about 3 hours. For Japan Rail Pass holders, you can only use it for the Hikari and Kodama trains.