Tokyo to cherry blossoms near Mount Fuji: Private day trip

Main attractions

• A hillside park above the town of Fujiyoshida in Yamanashi Prefecture, famous for delivering what is arguably the most reproduced view of Mount Fuji in existence — the five-story Chureito Pagoda rising from a forested slope with Fuji's snow-capped cone filling the sky behind it
• The pagoda is reached by a staircase of 398 steps ascending through the torii gates and cedar forest of the Fujisan Hongu Sengen Shrine — the climb itself is part of the experience, the mountain appearing incrementally through the trees before the full view opens at the top

Take note

• Cherry blossom season (late March to early April) produces the classic postcard composition — pagoda, blossom and Fuji combined; arrive before dawn to beat the crowds entirely

Main attractions

• One of Japan's oldest privately managed parks, established in 1889 in Noda City, Chiba Prefecture — a landscape garden of mature woodland, cherry groves and traditional Japanese garden elements spread across a gently rolling hillside above the Edo River plain
• The park is among the most celebrated cherry blossom destinations in the Kantō region — approximately 1,000 trees covering the hillside in a dense canopy of pale pink bloom that peaks in late March to early April; the illuminated evening sessions during blossom season are particularly atmospheric

What to eat

• Traditional Japanese festival food stalls (yatai) operate throughout the park during blossom season — yakitori, takoyaki and mitarashi dango are the staples