Tour to Japan during cherry blossom season. Tours to Japan Japan excursion tour cherry blossoms
Tour operator for Japan KMP Group offers you a wide selection of different tours to Japan, from sightseeing tours and holidays in Japan, to business and yacht tourism, spa tours and treatment, as well as family tours with a visit to Disneyland.
Japan is one of the most mysterious countries and is worth visiting at least once in your life. Despite the fact that the culture of the Land of the Rising Sun was very strongly influenced in its time Chinese culture, it is distinguished by its originality and amazes with its special aestheticism.
Location and climate of Japan
This uniqueness is largely due to the location of this country. Japan consists of more than four thousand islands, the most important of which are Hokkaido, Ryukyu, Shikoku, Honshu and Kyushu. The country has access to several seas: from the west its coast is washed by the Sea of Japan and the Korea Strait, from the east - by the Pacific Ocean, from the north - Sea of Okhotsk, A South coast washed by the East China Sea.
Enough most Japan's territories are mountainous areas, and on its territory there are enough a large number of volcanoes, several of which are still seismically active.
Japan's climate also varies greatly by region. The north of the country has a temperate climate: in the summer months the air temperature here warms up to +30 C, but winters here are quite severe: the thermometer can drop to -15 C.
In the south, a tropical and subtropical climate prevails, which causes high summer temperatures: up to +38 C (about +16 C in winter) and a large amount of precipitation per year.
Popular resorts
Tours to Japan will take you to a special world. This world lives according to its own laws that have existed for several centuries.
KMP Group specialists have been studying Japan for many years; we travel to this country regularly, but even for us it continues to be a source of new discoveries and inspiration. Japan is a country with a special aesthetics, a special culture and history, here even the nature is imbued with some special charm that makes you come here again and again to admire the red autumn maples or cherry blossoms.
The Land of the Rising Sun provides a huge selection of places and attractions. As part of our excursion tours around Japan, we have tried to select for you the most interesting routes, during which you will better get to know this country, its culture, its past and present. The Japanese managed to realize the Buddhist ideal of the “Middle Way”: an amazing combination of opposites. Here you will see the harmony of technology and attention to the environment, incredible performance and relaxed detachment, respect for nature and the use of the latest scientific developments.
The KMP Group company invites you to choose exactly the tour to Japan that is right for you. Traveling to Japan can be very different in its excursion program and the duration of the tour. It may be only 3-4 days or several days, it may be different regions of the Land of the Rising Sun, but one thing remains unchanged - a special, incomparable “taste” of travel.
During your tours to Japan you will hardly be able to resist local cuisine, which has already won its fans all over the world. An abundance of seafood, specially prepared vegetables and rice, and, of course, Japanese tea, which has turned into a real ritual - all this is a mandatory part of the program. All this allows us to understand how completely ordinary everyday things like making tea or contemplating cherry blossoms can turn into a special sacrament, imbued with sacred beauty and timeless meaning.
Tours to Japan combine both traditional Japanese aesthetics with the concepts of “wabi-sabi”, and modern metropolises with the latest technologies. Moreover, all this is often available to you in the same place.
And, most importantly, tours to Japan are the brightest impressions, positive emotions and a touch of the centuries-old wisdom of the Japanese people. We guarantee you all this!
Attractions
We recommend starting any acquaintance with Japan with its capital, Tokyo. Here you will see an amazing combination of modernity and tradition. The Japanese tend to have a caring attitude towards their culture, nature and all living things in general. This is largely dictated by the influence of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism, the combination of which created the amazing originality for which Japan is so famous.
In Tokyo, be sure to visit Shinjuku Gyoen Park, the Samurai Museum, Odaiba district, National Museum advanced science and technology "Miraikan" and the oldest Buddhist temple in Tokyo, Senso-ji. However, the number of attractions of the Japanese capital is not limited to these places, and in addition to Tokyo, you should definitely visit Osaka, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Nikko and Kanazawa.
Write to us, we will be happy to help you get to Japan!
These days you can walk around Tokyo on your own, without haste, or take additional excursions for a fee according to your taste: museums, shopping, restaurants, pedestrian streets - we will tell you what you might like!
Shibuya Crossing, the fashionable shopping district and shops of Ginza, or perhaps the skyscraper district of Shinjuku: both in the evening and during the day, this area will give you a good idea of the real life of Tokyo residents in all its colors: from the dating houses and bars in the Kabukicho district to the bars, designed for three visitors and luxury department stores. In the Harajuku quarter, you will be repeatedly surprised by the creativity and courage of young boys and girls from Japan.
You can take a full-day excursion to Kamakura and Yokohama, to the samurai city of Nikko and ride pirate ship overlooking Fuji. Go on a full day to the Hakone resort with hot springs and views of Mount Fuji.
For nature lovers: numerous parks in Tokyo with cherry blossoms. For gastronomy lovers - a gastronomic walk from different regions.
And in the evening you can look into Memory Lane or one of the izakayas - a kind of tavern where they serve alcoholic drinks combined with delicious snacks at an affordable price. Izakayas are popular not only among the Japanese themselves, but also among tourists.
Tour program
Departure day: Departure to Tokyo
Night flight from Moscow to Tokyo.
Day 1: Arrival in Tokyo, hotel accommodation
Arrival at Narita airport. Meeting Russian speaking guide, group transfer to Tokyo (travel time approximately 1.5 hours).
Optional (for an additional fee) - night admiration of the sakura garden with illumination.
Day 2: Tour of Tokyo
Tour of Tokyo. Lunch is included in the program.
First of all, you will go to Shinto shrine Meiji Jingu, dedicated to Emperor Mutsuhito (Meiji), and admire the cherry blossoms in the temple park.
The further excursion will be devoted to getting to know the most popular areas of the city. You'll visit the modernist district of Shinjuku and the fashion district of Harajuku. WITH man-made island Odaiba, where the picturesque Rainbow Bridge leads, offers an amazing panorama of all of Tokyo.
You will visit the Legends of Edo hot spring complex, where you will stroll along the recreated streets of medieval Tokyo, plunge into thermal baths under open air and get acquainted with traditional Japanese cuisine. Then you will enjoy a colorful performance by geishas.
Optional (for an additional fee) - dinner cruise on Tokyo Bay on a comfortable ship Simphony (19.00-21.30).
* IMPORTANT! People with tattoos are strictly prohibited from visiting hot springs.
Day 3: Continuation of the tour of Tokyo
Tour of Tokyo. The program includes lunch at a Japanese restaurant during the excursion (buffet). Enjoying rare varieties of Japanese tea (sakura, pumpkin tea, chestnut tea, oolong tea, matcha tea, ginger tea, rice tea, herbal teas) is included in the program.
The central Tokyo district of Ginza is called the front window of Tokyo; here you can feel the atmosphere of one of the main shopping centers in the world. The symbol of Ginza is the Wako department store building, built in 1894, with a turret with a clock that chimes the time every hour. The central building of the National Kabuki Theater, which pleases the eye with the perfectly regular lines of the Japanese architectural style.
The area of the Imperial Palace, where more than 2000 Japanese matsu pine trees grow, considered a symbol of longevity in Japan. The arched stone Double Nijubashi Bridge, which led to the inner chambers of the imperial palace. Ieyasu, the first of the Tokugawa shoguns, began building his castle here in 1590. During the Edo period, his descendants turned the castle into the largest in the world. The Emperor and his family live in the western part of the Imperial Palace grounds, which were rebuilt after World War II. The public is allowed here twice a year: on the Emperor's birthday and on New Year's Day.
A walk through the Eastern Garden of the Imperial Palace, which is a striking example of palace garden art of the national style.
Admiring sakura in the famous parks of Tokyo. This spring ritual, obligatory for all Japanese, is called “hanami” - admiring flowers.
Hamarikyu Samurai Park, where modern Tokyo architecture and traditional landscape design are intricately intertwined. This was originally the hunting ground of the Tokugawa shogun, and in memory of these times, the park now hosts hunting demonstrations and exhibitions of hawks and falcons. The park later became a vacation spot for the Imperial Family, and in 1945 it was donated to the Government of Japan. The park has since been declared a Cultural Property of Japan. A special place in the park is occupied by the black pine "kuromatsu", planted back in 1709. This is the largest pine tree in Tokyo.
Ueno Park is considered by many to be the best place for cherry blossom viewing in Tokyo. In 1873, Emperor Meiji ordered the creation of a city park on a vast area on a hill, following a European model. Trees and bushes brought from all over the country were planted along the three main alleys, which turned Ueno into a kind of botanical garden. Especially a lot of different varieties of sakura were planted. And since then, every spring Ueno has become a place of pilgrimage for tens of thousands of residents and guests of the capital who want to admire the blooming Japanese cherry trees.
The historical quarter of Asakusa, rich in souvenir pavilions, retains the aroma of pre-war Tokyo. The Buddhist temple of Senso-ji, which was given land by the great shogun, the founder of the Japanese capital, Tokugawa Ieyasu. In the main hall of the temple there is an original image of the Goddess of Mercy - Kannon. A treasure trove of national crafts is the Nakamise-dori shopping street, which is now also famous for its huge selection of souvenirs. The bell that struck time during the Edo era.
If desired (additional charge, pre-order) - in the evening you can visit the national geisha and samurai show with dinner. Group transfer to the show, back to the hotel - on your own.
Day 4: Excursion to Mount Fuji
Excursion to sacred mountain Fuji. Lunch with local Japanese cuisine during the excursion - all dishes are cooked on the clear waters of the spring, which the area at the foot of Fuji is famous for.
Ascent by bus to the 5th station of the sacred volcano Fuji (approximately 40 minutes, the ascent is made under favorable weather and road conditions). From this station, located at an altitude of 2305 m, in the summer they hike to the Fuji Peak, which soars at an altitude of 3776 m above sea level. In 2013, the Fuji volcano, which the Japanese have called the boundary between earth and sky since ancient times, received a new birth - it was listed by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage.
There is a winding road leading to the 5th station. Mountain road Subaru Line is 30 km long, from which travelers observe an exotic landscape: frozen streams and lakes of lava, placers of gravel and black blocks of basalt.
From the bus window we will observe the mysterious Forest of Ghosts. Among its twisted tree trunks, in the swirling gray fog, in the dead silence, the souls of those who took their own lives on Fuji are said to be hidden. The famous novel "Black Sea of Trees" by Matsumoto Seichio takes place in this forest of Aoki-ga-Hara. The Forest of Ghosts is considered one of the most scary places on Earth, and thrill-seekers from all over the world strive to get here.
In case of unfavorable weather or road conditions, we will visit the Fuji Museum instead of the 5th station.
An ensemble of ancient and samurai houses "minka" at the foot of Fuji, where you can get acquainted with the life of the inhabitants of medieval Japan. Here you can find samurai armor and swords, silk cocoons, tatami rice mats, various handicrafts and even antique children's toys, some of which closely resemble Russian nesting dolls. Here you can taste ancient cuisine and take souvenir photos in exotic surroundings. 18 houses with rice straw roofs represent a fantastic landscape of ancient Japan with Fuji in the background. Dressed in a samurai outfit or a woman's kimono, we will become an organic part of this landscape and be captured as a memory in such an exclusively exotic form. (Changing into national costumes is carried out several times during the day, additional payment on the spot).
Visit to the winery, free wine tasting.
Day 5: Free day in Tokyo
Free day.
For those who wish, additional group excursions(pre-booking required, pre-payment):
- Hakkeijima and Yokohama Amusement Park with RG by train and taxi with entrance fees (no lunch).
10.00-18.00
An impressive aquarium with numerous inhabitants ocean depths, a vibrant show with sea animals, a museum of Japanese ramen noodles with tasting, Chinatown, an observation deck of the Landmark Tower skyscraper with a high-speed elevator listed in the Guinness Book of Records.
- Excursion to Nikko - a place that, as its name says, exudes sunshine.
We will cross the red bridge of Shinkyo, which previously only envoys of the shogun could walk on, see the Hall of the Three Buddhas of the Rinno-ji Temple and the bronze pillar of the world, in which 1,000 Buddhist sutras are walled up. Planted in the 17th century, the alley of cryptomerias leads to the granite Torii gate at the entrance to temple complex Toshogu. Here is the first earthquake-resistant building in Japan, built in the 17th century, and the Sacred Stable with the world-famous bas-relief of three wise monkeys, whose poses say: “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.” We will also visit the amazing Temple of the Singing Dragon Honjido. 200 stone steps will lead us to the bronze Hodo Pagoda, under the arches of which lie the ashes of the great shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu.
Day 6: Excursion to the cities of Kamakura and Yokohama
Check out from the hotel.
You will travel to ancient Kamakura and modern Yokohama. Lunch is included in the program.
Kamakura - the ancient capital of Japan and a resort town on the coast Pacific Ocean. You will certainly see the bronze statue of Amida Buddha, created in the mid-13th century and 13.5 meters high.
In Kamakura you can also visit the Shinto samurai temple Tsurugaoka Hachimangu, dedicated to the deity of warriors, walk along the bridge eternal life, thrown over a pond with lotuses. You will truly enjoy walking along the wide road leading from the sea to the temple, along which there is an alley of sakura trees on both sides.
After visiting the ancient capital of Japan with its preserved identity, you will go to modern Yokohama, where you will get acquainted with the beauty of Japanese nature in the Sankei-en Garden, which was created in 1906 by the wealthy silk merchant Sankei Hara. The garden is a monument of Japanese culture. In that landscape park on a huge area of 180,000 square meters, in addition to delightful plants, there are 16 architectural structures, which were brought from different parts of Japan. These are, in particular, a three-story pagoda built in the 16th century, brought from Kyoto, the Rinsyunkaku Villa, built in 1649, and the Chosyukaku tea house. With everyday life ordinary people introduces a typical medieval peasant house transported from Gifu Prefecture. Everyone can take part in a traditional Japanese tea party.
Private transfer to the hotel in Narita by shuttle bus Narita Limousine Bus (included in the program), check-in, rest.
Tokyo - Kamakura - Hakone
March 29 – April 4 (departure March 28)
The price is indicated for 1 person (in a double room with one bed) for a group of 6 people.
Supplement for accommodation in a single room with one bed - 150 USD.Supplement for accommodation in a double room with two beds - 90 USD
Included in the price
- visa application
- transfers to and from the airport
- comfortable hotel in the city center
- night at the hot springs
- 4 excursions* with guide
- 6 breakfasts, 1 dinner
- entrance fees to temples
- rented transport** (except excursion on the 4th day)
Attention:
* the order of excursions can be changed
** for a group of less than 6 people, excursions will be organized by public transport
Paid separately
- medical
- personal expenses
Flights
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Day 2: Sakura viewing in Tokyo
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Useful information All materials Hide materials
April 6, 2016, 10:20 Inshotei: A Place to Enjoy Spring Snacks While Admiring the Sakura
Pink fog envelops cities and villages as cherry fever begins in Japan. Resistance is useless: you need to enjoy these delicate petals. When else to do this, if not during a lunch break or during a delicious dinner? Here are a few places where you can enjoy not only hanami, but also delicious spring snacks.
It looks like a diner, perhaps spoiling the overall appearance of the park, but it looks exactly the same as it did many centuries ago. True, the cafe was renovated less than ten years ago, and today it serves sukiyaki (beef with vegetables) and classic Kaiseki cuisine.
During cherry blossom season, Inshotei also serves seasonal dishes in special tiered bento boxes.
The most delicious dinner is served in Hasidaya. A big plus is its location. From the second floor window there is a beautiful view of the cherry blossoms.
The restaurant's cuisine is replete with chicken dishes, teppanyaki, yakitori and tebasaki wings. Interestingly, when it gets cold outside, they offer hot nabe in pots.
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Once you arrive in the Kichijoji area, you can head to Kin no Sara, a place that boasts an ideal location right at the entrance to Inokashira Park. From the magnificent open-air terrace, a magnificent panorama appears. Here you can taste delicious dishes of inventive modern Japanese cuisine.
The cherry blossoms in Tokyo were in full bloom on Thursday. The Japan Meteorological Agency said warm weather meant it happened three days earlier than usual this year. True, the 2015 record has not been broken. According to the agency, about 80% of the buds on cherry blossoms are of the Somei-Yos variety.The flowers in the Yakusuni Temple have already blossomed. On Thursday, pink blooms also blanketed the cities of Fukui, Gifu and Nagoya in central Japan, Wakayama and Tottori in the west, and Saga in southwestern Japan.
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In all cities, Japanese cherry trees bloomed ahead of schedule this year. In Tokyo, a temperature of +20.2°C was recorded (which corresponds to the long-term average values at the end of April), and in Gifu and Wakayama the thermometer showed even higher - 22°C of heat - the temperature usual for May in this region.
Based on materials from online publications.
25 March 2016, 17:47 Tokyo hotels turn pink for cherry blossoms
Sakura trees are beginning to bloom all over Japan. On these same days, preparations are underway for hanami, the traditional Japanese custom of admiring spring flowers. The custom originated in the Heian period (794-1185). Even though the word hanami means “admiring flowers”, in fact it means contemplating cherry blossom petals. It is a period of relaxation and fun for families and friends under the canopy of the enchanting cherry blossoms.
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| Restaurant Steak House Katsura |
In addition to gardens and observation platforms, from which landscapes of indescribable beauty open up cherry blossoms, there are other great places in Japan where many people are celebrating the arrival of spring. Many establishments organize a range of events. For example, restaurants offer their visitors to enjoy the unusual taste of seasonal dishes.
For most Japanese restaurant chefs, spring is a period that inspires them and fills them with creative energy. Mountain vegetables and sea bass are especially popular. A unique menu featuring these ingredients is available at this time of year.
The Prince Sakura Tower Tokyo Hotel, as well as the nearby Grand Hotel The Prince Hotel Shin-Takanawa, located near Shinagawa Station, for example, hosts an annual festival. It starts on March 19 and ends on April 10. The Japanese garden located on the territory of the hotels becomes open to visitors. Everyone can enjoy the beauty of more than 230 flowering trees of 19 types of sakura, which bloom until the end of April.
At the restaurant hotel The Prince Sakura Tower Tokyo has a special balcony. Here you can not only taste charcoal-grilled fish, but also admire the symbol of Japan. At the same time, guests feel very comfortable thanks to the heated floor. The total cost of the menu is 35 thousand yen. Dishes include lobster, grilled Kobe beef, shrimp and crab. But in the hotel restaurant Ristorante Caffe Ciliegio you can admire the sakura through the huge panoramic windows. This establishment offers guests an Italian menu for a total of 7 thousand yen.
The Tokyo Marriott Hotel is located in Gothenyama, a neighborhood of Tokyo famous for its cherry orchards. He kicked off the spring with a "Spring Delight" promotion held at the hotel restaurant and bar. There is a special themed menu dedicated to sakura available. The event will continue until April 15. Recently, the open-air sakura terrace “Sakura Terrace Box” has also become available to visitors. Here the menu is presented in themed lunch boxes wrapped in special furoshiki fabric. The obento includes 16 small dishes: from appetizers to desserts, incl. soup. The total menu price is 3,900 yen. You can order this lunch box from noon to 4 p.m. The restaurant also offers “Sakura Afternoon Tea”: amazing buns containing mashed sakura fruits. The tea set costs 3,600 yen per person. You can enjoy your meal from 13:00 to 16:30.
The gardens of Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo are another establishment that does not ignore the cherry blossom season. In its garden, located in Mejiro, guests can enjoy 120 cherry blossom trees in bloom, as well as a variety of spring dishes on the menu of the hotel's restaurant. This can be done until April 10.
Japanese restaurant Miyuki offers spring menu "Hamanu Gozen", costing 5,500 yen and "Kaiseki", costing 16,500 yen. And here Italian restaurant Il Teatro can delight visitors with pasta with veal fillet and truffles costing 5,500 yen and 16,500 yen respectively. Themed dishes are also available on the menu buffet Hotel Chinzanso. The cost for an adult is 4,200 yen, and for students and schoolchildren - 2,600 yen.
Based on materials from online publications.
Soon Japan will turn into a continuous garden. Hanami, the season of admiring cherry blossoms, will be the occasion for folk festivities and a series of national festivals. Picnics in the lap of nature under pink inflorescences covering the trees with a magical cloud is an ancient Japanese tradition.
What to drink and what to eat are determined by customs. Along with the classic sweet, sakura mochi, and other themed snacks for the spring season, the Japanese are happy to add a touch of modernity and extravagant piquancy to the time-honored custom. The present century also makes its own adjustments. Large corporations have discovered a fantastic marketing ploy. Food products that are familiar to everyone, but with the symbolism of sakura - doing business on the blossoming of the symbol of Japan is now a fashionable trend.
Global holdings have released a line of popular products “adjusted for the wind.” The high tourist season, which is built on the two-week cherry blossom season, ensures good sales and a prosperous financial future for the project. As a result, as in parks throughout Japan, everything from beer to coffee, from chocolate to chips is blooming on supermarket shelves in a riot of pink hues, and even McDonald’s has succumbed to the onslaught of hanami-mania. TOP 10 amazing and unusual products that you want to try just for the packaging design alone, in our rating.
- 2 . Now that you are the proud owner of a cherry blossom mug, why not fill it with sakura cola from Kimura? Real sakura leaf extract gives this fizzy drink a true spring taste. Interestingly, these are not the brand’s first “alchemical” experiments. Previously, they had already invented curry, tomato and wasabi flavored soda. Customers were not only alive, but also satisfied with the new product. So, definitely, the company knows what it is doing.
- 4 . If the wonder drinks sake or chu-hi are too strong for your sophisticated taste, then the sakura motifs in Sanktgalle beer are just what you need. Moreover, the manufacturer, when inventing this drink, probably drew inspiration from the original gastronomic traditions of Japan. Sakura mochi is a spring treat made from rice cake and beans wrapped in sakura leaves. It is noteworthy that this type of beer is brewed in a brewery based in Kanagawa Prefecture. Here they are very careful not only in the production process, but also in the raw materials supplied. For the production of beer, exclusively cherries from Takato (Nagano Prefecture) are used. The interesting taste of sakura mochi, together with the low hop content, makes Sanktgalle beer a light and refined drink like spring.
- 6 . It is known that Nestle has already “tested” bars with pumpkin and, of course, cherry flavors on Japanese customers. But this year, the company decided to go further with its bold ideas. Kit Kats with pistachio and raspberry flavors began to come in a spring-themed box. The owners of the company claim: this is the perfect taste of “hanami pleasure”.
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| Lindt |
- 7 . The Lindt company presented a win-win option to customers. Sakura macarons are an apotheosis for those who are beside themselves with sakura sweets. The treats are filled with cherry ganache puree. The taste of real hanami is available from April 12 in the Lindt Chocolate chain cafe. For those for whom this is not enough, they can get culinary ecstasy by tasting an ice-cold smoothie made from cherry juice and white chocolate, decorated with white chocolate chips and a design of cherry syrup.
- 9 . What would it be like without Red Bull? The consortium could hardly stay away from the sakura trend. Rest assured, this pink energy drink is designed to keep you awake (whether you like it or not) until the early hours of all hanami parties.
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| Baskin Robbins |
- 10 . After a 24-year lull, the company strives to literally “blow up” the taste buds of sweet tooths. The brand managed to create something... Salted ice cream with sakura flavor. Sounds weird? Take another look at the previous 9 points - are you still surprised by anything? Real sakura leaves and sea salt, combined with the sweet, creamy taste of ice cream - it clearly took a quarter of a century to come up with this. You can try this delicacy until the end of May.
Sipping a pink Red Bull, eating a sakura burger with cherry butter or macaron, you will undoubtedly remember this spring in Japan for a long time. In addition, manufacturers have provided for the delicate side of life. Toilet paper with a cherry blossom print is probably designed to make your trip to the bathroom as unforgettable as the height of all cherry blossom parties combined. Eat, pray, love... sakura - not a bad motto for a hanami, right?
Based on materials from online publications.
March 19, 2016, 10:10 The Cherry Blossom Front begins its journey across the archipelago, heading towards northern Japan
Sakura began to bloom in Japan on Saturday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. The trees of the Somei-Yoshino variety are always the first to bloom; they can already be observed in various regions of the country. Sakura blossomed four days earlier than usual on Saturday in Fukuoka. Seven days early in Nagoya. The agency explains this by unusually warm weather conditions. The height of flowering is expected from March 26 to 29.
« I feel the breath of spring“,” said Yasutaka Nanri from the city of Fukushima, who was just passing by a flowering tree. " I can't wait for the trees to bloom all over Japan and the cherry blossom viewing festival to begin.».
The Japan Meteorological Agency is responsible for monitoring the cherry blossom front across the country. The agency issues relevant reports and forecasts throughout the season, informing how the bloom is gradually moving from south to north Japan. Not only Japanese hanami lovers are interested in the accurate forecasts of the meteorological agency, but also tourists who come from all over the world to celebrate the cherry blossoms.
The Japan Weather Association is urging people planning to attend Hanami to organize their trip earlier than usual this year. Cherry blossoms will be in full bloom as early as late March and also in the first week of April in the western Kanto region.
Based on materials from online publications.
The transition from winter to summer is just beginning, and that means it's time for the magic - flowering season. As winter loosens its grip, delicate petals begin to push their way out of the buds on the fancy branches. In February it is plum, and at the end of March it is sakura. This is the earliest sign that, soon, warmth will gradually envelop the entire Japanese archipelago. This process, like its surreal, rose-colored results, portends something incredibly good for the Japanese, albeit difficult to describe. Even strict civil servants become kinder when the cherry blossoms bloom.
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| Sakura blooms in Tokyo at the end of March |
The weather still echoes the chill of winter, but the hearts and minds of the Japanese population have already begun to thaw. I can only describe it as " spring break souls." While the word "hanami" simply means "watching flowers" in Japanese, the spring festival of joy symbolizes everyone's favorite time of year: spring. So, get your raincoat and picnic utensils ready, and we'll choose a location that best suits your family's preferences. Below are a few places in Tokyo that should be on your spring walking map.
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Yoyogi Park. This is one of my favorite places for hanami. Although, this place may not be the best for children. Sure, there are beautiful trees and a unique holiday atmosphere, but you'll also find broken bottles, aggressive crows, and hordes of drunken local college students. However, despite all this, there is something about this park - perhaps it is the energy of the local nature that makes you come back here every season. People here really do whatever they want: they hold costume parties, banquets and sing karaoke. Everyone around is friendly and welcoming to children. But, being drunk, they may not notice that they are lighting a cigarette a few inches from your baby’s face, so you should be careful. Best place for family vacation located in the center of the park - right behind the fountains. There are not many flowering trees here, but there is a lot of space where children can frolic and run around without fear of bumping into other strolling passers-by.
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Arisugawa Park. Located a few minutes from Hiroo Station. There are not many sakura trees in this park, but there are a lot of picturesque places. Near the library there is good platform for babies. The National Azabu supermarket is right across the road - everything you could need for a picnic can be bought there. Since Arisugawa Park is hilly, it will be fun for older children to play hide and seek. There are many stone steps in the area. Those walking with strollers can use the sidewalk that runs along the entire perimeter of the park.
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| Ueno Park |
Ueno Park. This is the 800-pound “gorilla” that holds the lead among all Tokyo Hanami parks. But all I can advise is to stay away from this place. I've been there with my kids a few times over the last decade and I've always wanted to leave immediately. If there are child-friendly areas in the park, I would like to know them. But all I saw were dozens of hopelessly drunk bodies lying right under the flowering trees. Those with claustrophobia, beware.
Aoyama Cemetery. Here you'll find some of the most vibrant and photogenic spots of the season, but be warned - this is a cemetery, so respect and etiquette must be observed. It's a beautiful place to take babies, but it's not a place where children should play. The best option- walk.
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| Nakameguro River |
Nakameguro River. The landscape here is especially magical after sunset. This perfect place for a walk, though not in the afternoon. Flowering trees grow mainly on the main highway, where children have little room to maneuver. But all the coastal restaurants and kiosks are along the sidewalk, and this perfect place for walks, snacks and admiring the trees. Especially after dusk, because the cherry blossoms are illuminated with artificial illumination.
Shinjuku Gyoen National Park. My main choice for families during the hanami season (and not only) - Shinjuku Gyoen. The garden is rich in beautiful trees and picturesque places for relax. The welfare and cleanliness of the park is well maintained: there are no pigeon droppings or broken glass. Lawns are neatly mowed and not trampled. If it's cold outside, you can take a tour of the newly renovated greenhouse to warm up. By all accounts, Shinjuku Gyoen wins. In particular, it is worth considering the fact that the hanami season here lasts even longer, because “yaesakura” grow here, which usually bloom for about two weeks after other varieties of cherries have already fallen off. There are, however, a few caveats: the park closes at 4 p.m., and drinking alcohol on site is prohibited. Bags are often checked at the gate, although I have witnessed guards turning a blind eye to a bottle of wine or sake.
Based on materials from online publications.
10 March 2016, 13:43 One of the main characters at the cherry blossom festival will be a Norwegian woman
A 27-year-old Norwegian woman has become the first Western woman to be chosen to star in the cherry blossom festival in Tsubame, Niigata Prefecture. During the festival, all participants dress in costumes of courtesans from the Edo period (1603-1868).
Annette Hansen, who now lives in Tokyo, was chosen by festival organizers to play one of three oirans, or courtesans, who will parade through the city's streets on April 17. For the first time in the festival's 74 years, a non-Japanese woman has been chosen to play this key role, officials from the Tsubame City Tourism Board announced.
Hansen, who came to Japan in 2010, is a hotel reservations manager at one large company. According to official statements from local officials, the Norwegian was chosen based on a rigorous selection process consisting of two rounds.
« It is a great honor for me to be chosen to play the role of Oiran. This festival is associated with native Japanese traditions, because during its holding a special role is given to national clothing and the symbol of Japan - sakura" said Annette Hansen.
In addition to the Norwegian, two more Japanese women will take part in the festival. All three will be dressed as courtesans. The festival will also feature around 70 participants as servants. After the official part, an extensive photo session with the participants is expected.
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The main heroines of the holiday will be wearing sandals with a 15-centimeter platform. They will have to demonstrate the unique Oiran walking style that they used to entertain guests back in the Edo era.
It is worth noting that when making the final decision regarding the main heroines of the holiday, among other things, their physical fitness was taken into account. The fact is that the total weight of the girl’s outfits is about 30 kilograms.
Annette Hansen also said that she was very worried, because at previous festivals there were unpleasant embarrassments when girls chosen for the role of courtesans could not complete their participation in the festival due to an excessive two-hour physical activity. In addition to the outfit, the girls will also wear a special wig from the Edo period, which was customary to wear in that era.
Based on materials from online publications.
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| Pepsi with sakura flavor will appear on the market for the first time |
Japanese beverage maker Suntory has announced its first-ever release of sparkling water with the unique flavors of Sakura and Pepsi, the first batch of which is due to be released this spring.
When it comes to soft drinks in Japan, local consumers are spoiled for choice with a wide range of options, from winter white Pepsi to Halloween-themed Ghost Pepsi. The Japanese national manufacturer of Pepsi, Suntory, has many original products, for example, a drink with a combined lemon and mint flavor, or even a salted watermelon flavor, but sakura-flavored Pepsi has never been released.
Something slightly similar was produced by other manufacturers, for example, cola-flavored strawberry milk, which appeared in the spring of 2014 during the cherry blossom season.
Back in the middle of winter, bottles of Asahi beer began to take on spring motifs associated with the upcoming cherry blossoms. The Japanese brewery recently released a new line of beer called Asahi Super Dry. The alcoholic drink will go on sale this spring. It will be available for purchase for a limited period: only in the spring.
The beer itself, as a drink, will not change at all - it will still be the same Asahi Super Dry beer. Only the design of its packaging will change. The bottle will be decorated in the bright pink color of sakura during their most active flowering period. Such a bottle, without a doubt, will be an excellent decoration for the holiday of contemplating Japanese cherries.
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For the second year in a row, Asahi is welcoming spring with its special line of drinks. Last year, spring beer was joyfully received by the Japanese, especially by the fair half. Consumers bought about 620 thousand bottles alcoholic drink, which was twice the expected results. This year it is planned to release several times more seasonal products.
The beer line will be represented by bottles with a capacity of 633 and 500 milliliters and cans with a capacity of 135, 250, 350 and 500 milliliters, as well as a special two-liter aluminum mini-keg.
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Regardless of the volume, all containers have a bright and festive design. It is worth noting that Asahi Super Dry beer has already gone on sale in cans with a capacity of 350 and 500 milliliters, the rest of the products will become available and go on sale starting March 8. Note that beer in cans of 633 and 500 milliliters was almost completely sold out on February 2, and should go on sale again on March 29.
The spring beer line Asahi Super Dry will be on sale until the end of April. Therefore, if you are going to Japan during this period, do not miss this great opportunity to purchase an exclusive offer from the Asahi brewery.
« If only we could fall like cherry blossoms in spring—so pure and radiant!»
World War II transformed the color of cherry blossoms. The twenty-two-year-old kamikaze pilot who composed this haiku before dying in action in February 1945 had no idea how soon Hiroshima and Nagasaki would give a new "bloom" to the familiar cherry blossom - a blossom transformed into the human ideal of beauty attainable thanks to a beautiful death. You need to be it in order to enjoy it to the fullest, and become a part of it, just as the suicide bombers became.
« Dear Parents", wrote another, " please congratulate me. I was given a great opportunity to die. This is my last day. The fate of our Motherland now depends on the decisive naval battle in the south, where I will fall like a blossom from a shining cherry blossom».
The cherry blossom has long symbolized extinction, beauty, the beauty of extinction, and the ideal warrior of Japan. He always glorified self-sacrifice. That is why, at the threshold of the 20th century, it was the cherry blossom that united the concept that men who die for their sacred Motherland actually became cherry blossoms, because they acquire an unearthly, superior beauty, “so pure and radiant!” they become.
Other countries also raised warriors and patriots, imbued with a vision of individual life as trivial compared to service to the Motherland. But none of them were endowed with such eerie, terrible beauty as the cherry blossom.
A more practical example of how another culture deals with the same topic is a short excerpt from a letter that a young French revolutionary fighter wrote to his father in 1792. " Our freedom can only be guaranteed if there is a mattress made of corpses on the bed.... I agree to become one of them" (Quoted by historian Simon Scham in Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution). The Japanese would rightfully admire his fortitude, but it is a pity that he was not a poet.
It was, in the words of Ivan Morris, " one of the strangest and sharpest weapons in the history of war" - "a one-way glider that comes close to the target even at high altitude, and then dives sharply down at great speed in order to detonate the warhead on an enemy ship... the craft of suicide itself could disable the ships of the enemy navy, which are now ( 1944-1945) besieged the islands of slow-breathing Japan. In addition, the use of such weapons would demoralize foreigners who were not psychologically prepared for such methods of war.”
This weapon was named oka, in honor of the additional reading Cherry Blossom. The Americans gave it another name - Tank Bomb or in other words “idiot bomb”.
About 5 thousand Japanese troops “fell like a cherry blossom.” The damage they were able to inflict on US and allied ships was minor. However, as intended, it had a very strong psychological impact, but the result was unexpected. Hoping to demoralize the enemy, the Japanese did not even think that the Americans had decided to use extraordinary methods to fight such an extraordinary country. And these turned out to be bombs dropped on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, 1945.
On August 16, Japan surrendered. On the same day, Vice Admiral Takijiro Onishi, who was the initiator of the Oka terrorist attack, committed ritual hara-kiri right at his own residence in Tokyo. He was also a poet. " Today in a flower, tomorrow in the scattered wind. “This is our flourishing life.” Can we really think that its scent lasts forever?»
Based on materials from online publications.
The celebration of the Chinese New Year is still in full swing, but it is already known that a record number of foreign tourists came to Japan to celebrate this holiday. After this event, the country's hotels and restaurants will have only a month to prepare for the next huge wave of tourists who will arrive in March and April to welcome spring and see the cherry blossoms.
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Predicting the exact start date of hanami has always been considered a matter of primary importance for the Japanese tourism industry. The popularity of the country is growing rapidly, everything more tourists from different countries want to visit the island state.
According to Japanese experts, this year sakura will first bloom in the southwestern part - the cities of Fukuoka and Kumamoto. This will happen around March 25th. Behind them, on March 26, sakura will bloom in Tokyo and Nagoya. Ancient capital Kyoto will see cherry blossoms on March 29, while residents and tourists in the northern city of Sapporo on the island of Hokkaido will only be able to enjoy cherry blossoms from May 2. As a rule, it takes about a week for a flower to fully bloom.
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The forecast is based on ongoing temperature studies taking into account data from the last few months. Typically low temperatures in late fall and early winter and high temperatures in early spring lead to early flowering. As for 2016, this year the timing corresponds to the annual average.
China's airlines intend to take measures to fully accommodate increased passenger air travel in March and April. It was during this period that there was a rapid increase in the number of Chinese tourists coming to Japan.
According to the staff of the Tokyo representative office of China Southern Airlines, they have taken measures to increase the number of places for transporting tourists during the cherry blossom period. In March - April 2015, 3 million 200 thousand tourists visited Japan. Among them, about 800 thousand are guests from China.
The Japan Meteorological Center will update its cherry blossom forecast every day starting February 24. If we talk about last year, the forecast for the beginning of cherry blossoms was with an error of three days.
Based on materials from online publications.
May 5, 2015, 11:57 Sakura, planted by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, bloomed in Moscow
The cherry tree that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe planted in Moscow two years ago has blossomed. As a sign of hope for the development of friendly relations between Japan and Russia, Abe, while on an official visit in April 2013, planted a tree in the Japanese garden managed by the Russian Academy of Sciences. The sapling was taken from a cherry tree planted in the garden in 1986 by his late father, former Foreign Minister Shintaro Abe, who promoted Japan's relations with the former Soviet Union.
