Actually cruising Japan during cherry blossom time is probably better than a land tour as the crowds are enormous and everything is a lot dearer. good to arrive in a place knowing you have a bed for the night.
However predicting when the flowers are going to be at their peak is difficult a year in advance as the times are variable. For example on our cruise the blooms were on schedule in Kanazawa but not much further north in niigata they were esrly and nearly finished when we got there. but then we were supposedly too early for Akita an the surrounding area but they were in full bloom. So the more ports the better chance of seeing them in full bloom.
Also a good thing we did was before the cruise spent time in Osaka and Kyoto. We flew into Osaka where we stayed at the Imperial Hotel on the river. a very large park on both banks of the river t here with thousands of cherry trees. We spent 5 days in kyoto staying at the Westin which was an easy walk to several of the best areas such as the Philosphers walk. Plus they had a shuttle to kyoto station but it stopped half way close to other great places for the cherry blossom. That was in the second half of March.
We also went north to the Akita,Aomori area by train and it was stunning particularly Hirosaki castle. So the trip report. some of the photos don't show up but a couple of refresh goes and most can still be seen.
Japan starts at post 43.
*snip* And who would go for wasabi or sweet potato Kit Kats- .. *snip* Turns out Bangkok is quite the place for "collectable" Kit Kats. Who knew? Where To Get 15 Japanese-Flavoured KitKats At One Place (Hint: It's Not In Japan) | ladyironchef: Food & Travel
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So which cruise is best. Well any of them would be good but I would prefer the longer ones. So I would probably do number 3 starting 30/3 as the later one might miss best time in southern Japan though better in the north. But if you do visit Osaka and Kyoto before the cruise then the later cruise is better although it does miss Kanazawa which was one of the highlights with Kenrokuen garden which shouldn't be missed.
. Trying again.
