Flowers Besides Cherry Blossoms
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Beyond the Cherry Blossoms
It's no secret when travelers come to Japan in Spring, it's all about the cherry blossom flowers. Home to over one hundred varieties of cherry blossom trees, Japan's sakura are a famous sight to behold. Thankfully, Japan Deluxe Tours is able to show tourists the best destinations and attractions during the gorgeous Spring season with our fully-guided Cherry Blossom Japan Tours. However, while we love the cherry blossoms and all that they represent, there's a whole lot more to enjoy than just the cherry blossoms when on a spring vacation with Japan Deluxe Tours.
Plum Blossoms
Often mistaken as cherry blossoms, plum trees are a popular fragrant tree which bloom a bit earlier than the cherry blossoms of April. Typically blooming in mid February, the plum blossoms symbolize Hope, Vitality, & Renewal in Japanese culture as they indicate the ending of winter and the coming of the spring season. The Ume trees often have red or purple leaves, which is an easy way to tell them apart from the cherry blossoms. If you want to beat the crowds associated with Spring's cherry blossom season without sacrificing the beauty of seeing Japanese flowers, a mid-February tour may be the way to go.
Bonus, if you plan a vacation through Southern Japan, you can add the Makino Botanical Garden to catch the plum blossoms in Tokyo before seeing early blooming cherry blossoms in Kochi.
Fuji Shibazakura
If mid-February is too early for your flower-themed vacation to see the ume trees, why not consider joining a Tokyo tour in May with a trip to the Shibazakura Festival near Mount Fuji? The Shibazakura, or pink moss, blooms brightly along the grounds of the Fuji Five Lakes area in Yamanashi. There are around 800,000 blooming shibazakura flowers along the grounds, in a colorful array of pink, purple and white. The result is a stunning field of colors near the scenic lakes. What's better, on a clear day travelers headed to Yamanashi to see the gorgeous flowers can also see Mt. Fuji standing in the background. For extra lucky travelers, if you time your vacation around the end of April early May, you just might catch the cherry blossoms in Tokyo and Hakone before seeing the fields of shibazakura in Yamanashi.
Wisteria Flowers
Sometimes mistake as hydrangea flowers, the wisteria of Japan have captivated millions thanks to the popular Kawachi Fuji-en Wisteria Garden in Kyushu. Made famous thanks to numerous travel bloggers sharing photos of the gorgeous wisteria tunnels on Instagram, wisteria gardens (especially the one at Fuji-en) has become a popular destination for travelers in Japan. The wisteria tunnels and flower ceilings at Fuji-en Garden showcase the pinnacle of Japanese wisteria cultivation. The two 100 meter long wisteria tunnels are a cascading rainbow of pinks, white, and purple petals, while the flower ceiling is a dazzling array of wisteria flowers hanging above your head. It's beginning to make sense for some to skip the cherry blossoms entirely and opt for a Wisteria Flower tour instead.
Still looking to see just the cherry blossoms, or has our list made Kita-Kyushu seem like your next travel destination? Enjoy the best of Japanese flowers with Japan Deluxe Tours fully guided Spring Cherry Blossom Tours & Wisteria Flower Tours available during the stunning Cherry Blossom season!
