A wooden house glowing at dusk among cherry trees in full flower

The Classic Cherry Blossom Tour of Japan 2027

departure
30 March to 10 April 2027
guaranteed departure
Confirmed
duration
12 days, 11 nights
group size
Limited to 8 guests
price, per person
$22,500, twin share

30 march to 10 april 2027 · japan

From the palace moat to the Japan Sea

Each spring the cherry blossom crosses Japan in a slow tide of pale pink, and the whole country goes out to sit beneath it. For twelve days this journey travels with it. In Tokyo, clouds of blossom arch over the moat of the Imperial Palace, and petals drift on the water at dusk. At Mount Fuji you soak in your own onsen with the majestic mountain before you. In Kyoto a picnic from a Michelin-starred kitchen is laid for you beneath the canopy, and an evening is spent in a private teahouse with the geiko of Gion. Come and sit beneath the blossom with us.

The route of the tour across Japan: Tokyo, Mount Fuji, Kyoto, Kinosaki Onsen and Osaka
Boats on the Chidorigafuchi moat in Tokyo, its banks in full blossom in the late light
Tokyo Tower lit gold at night, framed by cherry blossom
The painted old pine of a Noh stage, in warm gold and green
A sushi chef setting a piece of chutoro on a black lacquer plate at a hinoki counter

tokyo · nights 1 to 3

A picnic under the blossom

The first evening is kaiseki beneath a Noh stage, with the actors performing between the courses. The next afternoon belongs to hanami, on rugs laid beneath six hundred cherry trees in Yoyogi Park, with a bento from a Michelin-starred kitchen and cold sake. That night you sit at an Edomae sushi counter, a few feet from the chef.

Mount Fuji turning rose at dusk above the lights of Fujiyoshida
The Chureito Pagoda above the cherry blossom at Fujiyoshida, Mount Fuji beyond at dusk
A full kaiseki course laid out in lacquer and fine ceramics

mount fuji · nights 4 to 5

Mount Fuji from your own bath

Most people see Mount Fuji once, from a train. You stay two nights at its foot, in a ryokan set in its own Japanese garden, and your room has an open-air bath facing the mountain. At dusk the snow on the summit turns rose, and you watch it from the water.

Two maiko kneeling side by side in a tatami room by the window
Kinkaku-ji, the Golden Pavilion, over its mirror pond in the late light
Gion Shirakawa at dusk, the stone lane lined with cherry blossom and willow, its lamps lit

kyoto · nights 6 to 8

An evening with the geiko of Gion

The teahouse door slides shut behind you, and the lantern-lit lane of Gion goes quiet. In a private room upstairs, geiko and maiko dance a few feet from you, pour your sake and lead the old games of the ozashiki. Kyoto is three nights, with kaiseki at a counter holding two Michelin stars and a morning beneath the ten thousand torii of Fushimi Inari.

The canal of Kinosaki Onsen at dusk beneath cherry trees in full flower, its lamps lit
A room at Nishimuraya Honkan, its round window open to the garden

kinosaki onsen · night 9

The onsen town on the Japan Sea

Kinosaki is a small town of seven public baths on a willow-lined canal, and its guests walk between them in yukata and wooden geta. You stay at Nishimuraya Honkan, kept by one family for seven generations, and dinner is the Sakura kaiseki, with Tajima wagyu.

Osaka Castle above its cherry trees in full flower
A single piece of horse mackerel nigiri on a hinoki sushi counter, the cuts of tuna laid out behind

osaka · nights 10 to 11

Osaka, and the castle in blossom

Osaka Castle stands above three thousand cherry trees, and the road from the Japan Sea ends beneath it. Your last two nights are at the Imperial Hotel Osaka on the Okawa River, and the last evening is omakase at an Osaka sushi counter.

Yoshinoyama at blue hour, the temple town lit on the mountainside
Two deer grazing beneath cherry trees in full flower in Nara

extension available · nara, yoshinoyama, hiroshima and miyajima · 4 days

Yoshinoyama, and the Inland Sea

Yoshinoyama has drawn pilgrims for more than a thousand years, and thirty thousand cherry trees climb its slopes in four bands. Below it lies Nara, where deer walk among the great temples beneath the blossom. The day ends with Kobe beef grilled at your table.

$7,000 per person, twin share

The great torii of Itsukushima in the water against a gold sunset
Hiroshima Castle seen through cherry blossom
The corridors of Itsukushima Shrine over the water at dusk

Saturday 10 to Tuesday 13 April 2027, ending in Tokyo.

Miyajima and Hiroshima

Further west, the vermilion torii of Itsukushima stands in the sea off Miyajima. You spend an afternoon at the Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima, and the last evening is a dinner of oysters and fish from the Inland Sea.

Add the extension: Nara, Hiroshima and Miyajima, 10 to 13 April.

  1. Tokyo3 nights
  2. Mount Fuji2 nights
  3. Kyoto3 nights
  4. Kinosaki Onsen1 night
  5. Osaka2 nights
  6. Naraextension
  7. Yoshinoyamaextension
  8. Hiroshimaextension
  9. Miyajimaextension

The Classic Cherry Blossom Tour of Japan 2027

The itinerary book for The Classic Cherry Blossom Tour of Japan

The itinerary sets out all twelve days, with every hotel named, and it is yours to keep.

$22,500 per person, twin share

A deposit of $3,500 per person secures your place.Safe, secure, encrypted payment, by card or bank transfer.

Reserve your places

Arashiyama in Kyoto: a woodblock print by Utagawa Hiroshige of cherry trees in flower on the hills above the Togetsu Bridge
The Togetsu Bridge at Arashiyama, Kyoto. Utagawa Hiroshige, 1853.

hanami

A twelve-day Japan cherry blossom tour

This Japan cherry blossom tour follows the blossom for twelve days, from the moat of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo to the castle in Osaka. More than a thousand years ago the emperor’s court in Kyoto sat beneath the cherry trees each spring to watch the flowers, and called it hanami.

In the eighteenth century the shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune planted cherry trees along the Sumida river so that all of Edo could share in it, and riverbanks, castle parks and temple gardens across Japan have been planted for it ever since. The custom has never left Japan. Twice on this tour, in Tokyo and in Kyoto, a picnic is laid for you beneath the trees, where your Tour Directors know the blossom is best.

The highlights of the tour

  • Two hanami picnics from Michelin-starred kitchens, in Tokyo and in Kyoto
  • Your own open-air bath with Mount Fuji in view
  • An evening in a private teahouse with the geiko and maiko of Gion
  • The seven onsen of Kinosaki, in yukata and geta
  • Kaiseki at a counter with two Michelin stars, and an Edomae sushi counter in Tokyo

The shape of the journey

You stay in the finest luxury hotels and ryokan in Japan, each one chosen personally by us for its luxury, its comfort and its setting.

A room at Executive House Zen at dusk, its wall of glass over the garden

where you stay

Hotel New Otani Tokyo, Executive House Zen

Executive House Zen is the New Otani's hotel within a hotel, above a Japanese garden of ponds, stone lanterns and old trees. You stay in a Deluxe Twin room, with breakfast and the lounge included. A Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star hotel for seven years running, it also holds a Michelin Key.

A Noh performer in mask and robes, mid-movement on a dark stage

Day 1 · Tuesday 30 March

Kaiseki beneath a Noh stage

A private chauffeur meets you at the airport and brings you to Executive House Zen. That evening, kaiseki is served in Nihonbashi beneath a Noh stage, with Noh and Kyogen between the courses.

Cherry trees meeting over the Meguro river in Tokyo

Day 2 · Wednesday 31 March

The first hanami picnic in Yoyogi Park

Cherry trees meet over the Meguro river. In Yoyogi Park the first hanami picnic is laid beneath the trees. That night, an Edomae sushi counter.

Day 3 · Thursday 1 April

The blossom over the Chidorigafuchi moat

The Chidorigafuchi moat in blossom, then Asakusa, the old lanes of Yanaka and the view from Tokyo Skytree. The evening is yours.

1 of 6next, Mount Fuji

The full twelve days are in the itinerary: each day in full, every hotel named, and every dinner and evening that is included.

The price, and the payment terms

the price
$22,500 per person, twin share. One inclusive price, tax included.
the deposit
$3,500 per person secures your place.
the balance
Due 95 days before departure.
how to pay
Safe, secure, encrypted payment, by card or bank transfer.
cancellation
Our cancellation terms are set out in full in the Booking Conditions.

Because true luxury is having less to think about.

Everything arranged, everything anticipated.

In the one price

  • Kaiseki at a two-Michelin-star restaurant in Kyoto
  • Two hanami picnics, with bentos from Michelin-starred kitchens and cold sake poured beneath the blossom, in Tokyo and in Kyoto
  • Kaiseki beneath a Noh stage in Tokyo, with Noh and Kyogen performed between the courses
  • An evening in a private teahouse in Gion, with geiko and maiko
  • Two nights with your own open-air bath, Mount Fuji in view
  • The Sakura kaiseki at a ryokan with two Michelin Keys and a member of Relais & Châteaux, with Tajima wagyu
  • An Edomae sushi counter in Tokyo, and omakase at an Osaka counter to close the journey
  • Three nights at a Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star hotel in Tokyo, which also holds a Michelin Key
  • The Executive Lounge in Tokyo: champagne and hors d'oeuvres in the evening, and a Pierre Hermé nightcap
  • The Club Lounge at the ryokan beneath Mount Fuji, and an open-air onsen on its roof facing the mountain
  • Lunch cooked over charcoal at the hearth of an old thatched farmhouse beneath Mount Fuji
  • Three nights at a Michelin Key hotel in Gion
  • Two nights at a Forbes Travel Guide Four-Star hotel on the Okawa River in Osaka
  • First class on the shinkansen, and a private luxury car and chauffeur for each couple to and from the airport
  • Your Tour Directors with you throughout, fluent in English and Japanese
  • Breakfast every morning at your hotel or ryokan, in the Japanese or the Western manner
  • Every entrance and reservation on the route, arranged before you arrive

International flights are not included. We advise you on which flights to book, so that you land in good time for the welcome evening.

Two women in kimono preparing tea on tatami
Sukiyaki simmering in a cast-iron pot, beef, tofu and vegetables
Champagne and pastries in the lounge of Executive House Zen, the garden and the city beyond
A hanami bento of inari and spring sweets in a wooden box, cherry petals beside it

Never a front desk

Rooms and tables are ready before you reach them, and you never stand at a front desk.

Before you fly

Your Tour Directors meet you on a private video call, take you through the twelve days and hear what you most look forward to. A digital welcome pack follows, with what to pack for the season and the details of your chauffeur.

One table

The group is limited to 8 guests, and you dine at one table.

In our guests’ words

The team’s care and attention to every detail made us feel truly pampered.

E. Lim

No request was too big, we were looked after so, so well.

John H

This was a truly remarkable tour.

M & W Day

the journey

Japan is all we do

For almost two decades, Luxury Japan Travel has created and operated journeys through Japan. We plan, organise and run every tour.

The most sought-after doors in Japan, and its most exclusive places, open only from within. Your Tour Director opens them: one of our own, fluent in English and Japanese. They enhance every day, turning a beautiful journey into a deep and authentic experience of Japan. In a private teahouse in Gion, as the geiko teach you the old games of the ozashiki, your Tour Directors explain each one as it is played.

Japan cannot be seen. It must be discovered.

Request the itinerary, and the twelve days are set out for you, with every hotel named.

Considered. Intimate. Perfect.

$22,500 per person, twin share

Questions

How many guests travel on the tour?

Limited to 8 guests, a truly small group tour. The whole group fits in a private teahouse room with the geiko and maiko.

What is the pace of the tour like?

The mornings begin slowly. The afternoons at Mount Fuji are yours, and in Kinosaki the evening and the morning are left for the onsen. You walk at your own pace throughout.

What is included in the price?

One inclusive price covers every night at the hotels and ryokan on this page, your Tour Directors, a private luxury car and chauffeur for each couple to and from the airport, first class for the long distances, a private vehicle on certain days, and every entrance and experience on the itinerary. It includes every breakfast and the other meals detailed in the itinerary. Our Booking Conditions set out everything it covers.

When does the tour run, and when should I enquire?

From 30 March to 10 April 2027, twelve days and eleven nights, as a guaranteed departure. It is limited to 8 guests, and a deposit of $3,500 per person secures your place.

More questions, and the terms

Can you cater for dietary requirements?

Tell us your requirements when you book, and every kitchen on the route will know them before you arrive.

Where does the tour finish?

In Osaka, after the farewell sushi dinner and two nights at the Imperial Hotel Osaka, and a private chauffeur takes you to the airport. The extension, by way of Nara, Yoshinoyama, Hiroshima and Miyajima, finishes in Tokyo, where a private chauffeur takes you to Haneda or Narita.

How long does the tour spend in Kyoto?

Three nights, at Hotel The Celestine Kyoto Gion in the machiya streets of Higashiyama. On the eighth evening a private teahouse room in Gion is set for the group, with geiko and maiko. Every way to see the city with us is on our luxury Kyoto tours page.

Can I travel solo, and is there a single supplement?

Our published tours are twin share, and every place is taken by a couple or by two friends travelling together. To travel solo, or as a couple on a journey entirely to yourselves, The Private Collection offers four private journeys on dates you choose, with your own personal Tour Director. A journey shaped around you from the first conversation is the Custom Tour of Japan.

Can I bring my children?

Every guest on our published tours is eighteen years of age or older. If you would like to bring your children, or three generations of one family, we plan a Custom Tour of Japan around your party alone, and agree the rooms and the days with you as the journey takes shape.

Will the tour suit me if I have a health condition or a concern about mobility?

Please tell us when you enquire, and we will answer you honestly. The pace of this journey is gentle, and most of the walking is through gardens and temple precincts, or along a lakeshore or a coast. If a published tour would ask more of you than you would like, a Custom Tour of Japan is designed around you, at whatever pace suits you.

What happens to our luggage between hotels?

Very little of it falls to you. On certain days your luggage is sent ahead to your next hotel and is waiting in your room when you arrive. On every other day it travels with you. Either way, you go straight to your room.

Will I need a visa to enter Japan?

That depends on the passport you carry, and the rules change from time to time, so we will point you to the official source for your nationality. Tell us where you are travelling from when you enquire and we will direct you to the right guidance, and remind you of anything that needs doing before you fly.

Is tipping expected in Japan?

Tipping is not customary in Japan. In restaurants and hotels the service is in the bill. A gratuity for the Tour Directors at the end is standard practice and welcomed.

What happens if I need to cancel?

Our Booking Conditions set out the cancellation terms in full, and we will gladly talk you through them before you book. We strongly recommend comprehensive travel insurance, and we are glad to tell you what it should cover.

Who runs the tour once we are in Japan?

Luxury Japan Travel runs it from the first plan to the farewell. The route, the hotels and the days are ours, and your Tour Directors lead them.

Do the Tour Directors speak Japanese?

Yes, fluently, and in English too, so wherever you go in Japan you need no Japanese of your own.

How does this tour differ from your other journeys?

Each of our published tours follows one season on set dates, and each has its own page with the full route. If you are choosing between two of them, tell us the month you have in mind and who is travelling, and we will tell you which suits you, and why.

How it works, and the terms

How to reserve

Request the itinerary, or send us an enquiry. A deposit of $3,500 per person secures your place, and the balance is due 95 days before departure. Before you travel, your Tour Directors call you again.

Payment

One inclusive price, tax included. Payment is safe, secure and encrypted, by card or bank transfer.

The terms

Your booking is governed by our Booking Conditions, which set out what is included and our cancellation terms in full. Booking Conditions.

Good to know

Comprehensive travel insurance is strongly recommended, and we will tell you what your policy should cover.

$22,500 per person, twin share