Tokyo, Japan

executive summary by darmansjah

From late March to early April, cherry trees start turning pink almost in unison all over Japan’s capital city, signaling the end of winter and the beginning of spring. Hanami, or cherry blossom viewing, is an extremely popular activity in Tokyo, with crowds gathering at different Hanami spots. Go on guided tours conducted on viewing boats at Sumida Park, where cherry blossoms line both banks of the Sumida River or take a rented row boat out to the moat around the Edo Castle at Kitanomaru Park for a more private tour. For locals, the favoured method to enjoy the bloom is simply to grab some sake and a blanket and find a nice picnic spot at Shinjuku Gyeon or Ueno Park.

From Changi Airport, Singapore Airlines, Qantas (Qantas.com.au), and Japan Airlines (jal.com) fly direct to Haneda Airport while United Airlines (united.com), Delta (delta.com), and All Nippon Airways (fly-anna.com) fly direct to Narita. From Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Japan Airlines, Malaysia Airlines, and All Nippon Airways fly direct to Narita.

Situated right next to the Akasaka train station, Akasaka Excel Hotel Tokyu is an excellent base to explore Tokyo from, international restaurants line the streets across the road from the hotel, providing plenty of dining options for all budgets (from US$295; tokyuhotelsjapan.com).