Sakura Springtime

What an absolute delight it is to experience Japan during the sakura (cherry blossom) season!  We were so blessed to arrive at all the main attractions just as the flowers came into full bloom, and experienced perfect springtime weather.

Here's are my three favourite Hanami (flower-viewing) spots:

1) Philosopher's Walk, Kyoto *

This is a beautiful path along a canal lined with hundreds of cherry blossom trees.  It's a 2km walk from Ginkakuji (Silver Pavilion) to Nanzenji that's so breathtakingly beautiful, it's almost surreal.  It was so hard to just put down the camera for a minute and take in the splendour of the moment:  the pink blossoms against the blue skies juxtaposed against the natural green plants that lined the canal.

2)  Gardens at Tenryu-ji Temple, Arashiyama (Kyoto) *

The Tenryu-ji temple was established in 1339 by shogun Ashikaga Takauji, and presided over by the eminent Zen master Muso Soseki.  This is a World Heritage Site and there's a 500yen fee to get into the gardens, which I highly recommend because the cascading cherry blossoms create walls of fragrant pink flowers every where you turn!  I'm told the autumn scenes are equally stunning.

3) Around Hakone *

Hakone is an area famous for its hot springs, located about 100km away from Tokyo.  The mountains, bridges and streams provide a very pretty backdrop to the cherry blossoms that dot the landscape.

Photo courtesy of Khaw Li Ki, which was taken on a moving bus.  Well done Seester!

* Please click on the individual links for more travel ideas and information from Japan-Guide.Com