Going on a 14 day cruise Apr 5-19 2025 Tokyo to Tokyo. Will likely see some
sakura in bloom on excursions (e.g. Osaka, Kanazawa, Fukuoka, Aomori) and in Tokyo. Choice seems to be: go pre-cruise for the sakura hopefully in bloom in Kyoto (not guaranteed) and avoid the Top Ten sights because of the madness or hope to get more reasonable overcrowding in late April after the cruise ends.
I am in my early 70s and will travel with my wife
who is unusually hassle adverse. First and likely only time to Japan (had to cancel two earlier trips due to disasters (the big earthquake/tsunami and the pandemic).
by Rare-Oil-6550
4 comments
If your wife is crowd averse I think going later is better – it will still be very busy but past the very peak crowds . You can see blossoms much further north at that time if you still want to .
I hope you enjoy your first time in Japan!
Kyoto will be crowded in April no matter what. That said, aside from the most popular / influencer advertised spots, it shouldn’t be unbearably overcrowded. Crowds tend to avoid very early mornings, evenings, so there’s a number of places like Kiyomizudera or Fushimi Inari which you can try at unusual times of the day.
I’d suggest going early april
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Excellent! all these ideas are supporting going during (potentially) peak bloom and being smart
about when and where to venture. Many thanks.