2015 Cherry Blossom Tour of Japan | Special Experiences in Kyoto

May 05 | Evan | Comments Off |

Before evening returning from the the 2015 Cherry Blossom Tour of Japan, I received a few inquiries about the 2016 Cherry Blossom Tour of Japan! If you are looking for that information, the details of the 2016 Cherry Blossom Tour of Japan can be found here.

It’s on the front page of Japan Photo Guide, “Don’t Just Visit Japan, Experience Japan” and I strongly believe that! There are so many different ways to really experience Japan and Japanese culture. Whether it’s meeting locals, taking part in lessons of culture or witnessing some special events that take place in Japan, unique and special experiences take visiting Japan to the next level! Often the feedback I get from those on the tours to Japan is that the experiences and new friendships are two of the most memorable and important parts about their trip to Japan.

For the 2015 Cherry Blossom Tour of Japan, we had quite a few great experiences! In Tokyo there was a cooking lesson with an English speaking Japanese chef in her home, a visit to a sumo stable and a meal in a Japanese style restaurant with some Japanese locals interested in meeting visitors. In Kyoto, I had arranged for some private lessons with the wonderful people at Kafu.

Our group split into one class for ikebana (flower arrangement) and one class for Japanese Calligraphy and then we all came together again for a tea ceremony demonstration and lesson. You don’t have to be part of a group to sign up for the lessons and they do offer other lessons like cooking experience, sake tasting experience and some other events throughout the year. Everyone had a great time not only learning at their lessons, but also interacting with their Japanese instructors! You can check out their reviews on tripadvisor or visit them on facebook as well!

Want to see more photos from the 2015 Cherry Blossom Photography Tour of Japan? The group tour also went to Tokyo, Miyajima, Hiroshima, Himeji Castle and some of us to The Fuji Five Lakes close to Mt. Fuji. Stay tuned for more photos from the escorted tour of Japan!

2015 Cherry Blossom Tour of Japan | Fuji Five Lakes

Apr 29 | Evan | Comments Off |

After part of the group returned home after the main group tour, for the extension tour of 2015 cherry blossom tour of Japan, we headed to Yamanashi Prefecture to take photos of Mt. Fuji from the Fujigoko or Fuji Five Lakes. We stayed at Kawaguchiko, but also took photos of Mt. Fuji from all five of the lakes, including, Lake Motosu, Lake Shoji, Lake Saiko and Lake Yamanaka. We spent 3 nights and 4 days in the Mt. Fuji area but 2 of them we had rain and clouds all day and 2 we had views of Mt. Fuji.

Believe it or not, seeing Mt. Fuji for 50% of the days is actually ahead of the average for this time of year! It’s well known in Japan that Mt. Fuji is “shy” and I’ve been told that during April, it’s estimated that you can see Mt. Fuji completely clear on only about 1/3 of the days. So even though 2 days gave us nothing, I think we were lucky to see Mt. Fuji half the time we were there! In general, you have a better chance of viewing Mt. Fuji in the Winter months and also earlier in the morning, but of course, anything can happen!

Want to see more photos from the 2015 Cherry Blossom Photography Tour of Japan? The group tour also went to Tokyo, Miyajima, Hiroshima, and Kyoto. Stay tuned for more photos from the escorted tour of Japan!

2015 Cherry Blossom Tour of Japan | Himeji Castle

Apr 29 | Evan | Comments Off |

Himeji Castle, located in between Hiroshima and Kyoto, is considered to be one of the top 3 castles in all of Japan and also one of best spots in Japan for viewing cherry blossoms. Himeji Castle just finished a 5 year long restoration and fully reopened to the public at the end of March. Between the newly opened castle, being one of the top castles in Japan and being one of the best spots for cherry blossoms in Japan, Himeji Castle was CROWDED! Don’t get me wrong, most popular places for cherry blossom in Japan are crowded, so we were expecting this, but we were told it was a 2 hour wait to go into the main keep!

Luckily, the cherry blossoms are all around the outside and since I had arranged to get tickets ahead of time, we didn’t have to wait long to enter the Himeji Castle grounds. We had plenty of time to explore the castle grounds and find great spots with cherry blossom and the castle and photos of just Himeji Castle.

While we did see our first blue sky and the sun for a few hours in the afternoon in Himeji, we didn’t have much of a sunset or sunrise the next morning in Himeji. I know of a few good places for spectacular views of Himeji Castle, which would really had been nice had we weather cooperated with our group tour but like most days of this trip, we had mostly cloudy and some rain but went anyway…

Want to see more photos from the 2015 Cherry Blossom Photography Tour of Japan? The group tour also went to Tokyo, Miyajima, Hiroshima, Kyoto and some of us to The Fuji Five Lakes close to Mt. Fuji. Stay tuned for more photos from the escorted tour of Japan!

2015 Cherry Blossom Tour of Japan | Miyajima and Hiroshima

Apr 26 | Evan | Comments Off |

Japan Photo Guide Miyajima

After spending a few days in Tokyo we took our chartered bus from the hotel in Shibuya to Shinagawa Station for the first ride on the bullet train of this tour of Japan. I love riding the shinkansen and find it relaxing and much less stressful than flying or taking a car. The one way trip from Tokyo to Miyajima takes over 5 hours and included bus, train and ferry! Especially since it was raining the entire time our group was transferring, the trip worked out fine and was well worth the time spent in transit through Japan!

Like with Tokyo, cherry blossoms blooming earlier than normal, hard rain and strong winds limited cherry blossoms still intact in Miyajima and Hiroshima, but it’s still a beautiful place…. even if we did have mostly cloudy, rainy and misty weather for our stay in Miyajima!

Part of the group did take some time during the day to visit nearby Hiroshima and Peace Park. The museum is under renovation, but about half of it was open. After that we made sure to eat some Hiroshima Okonomiyaki, which I love love love!

All the photos below are courtesy of and created by 2015 Cherry Blossom Tour of Japan participant, Gavin Everson:

Want to see more photos from the 2015 Cherry Blossom Photography Tour of Japan? The group tour also went to Tokyo, Himeji Castle, Kyoto and some of us to The Fuji Five Lakes close to Mt. Fuji. Stay tuned for more photos from the escorted tour of Japan!