Strolling Through Japan’s Cherry Blossom Rain – Book with Agoda.com for Special Offers

Text by MOOK Scenic Spots Travel Life Network, reported by Chen Guanxin

 

Agoda.com, a global online hotel booking platform, joins everyone in celebrating Japan’s annual romantic cherry blossom season. Now, Agoda.com is offering great accommodation deals, including up to 15% off for 3-night stays or more at Tokyo’s New Otani Hotel and 10% off for 2-night stays or more at Kyoto’s Hotel Hokke Club, inviting travelers to visit Japan and personally experience the charm of cherry blossoms.

 

Cherry trees in Japan are not only abundant but also densely planted throughout the country. For most of the year, they quietly serve as green foliage, only blooming when spring arrives. Typically starting in Okinawa in southern Japan, where the climate is warmer, the blooms gradually move northward — through parks, streets, mountains, riverbanks… all the way to Hokkaido. For a time, the entire nation of Japan becomes immersed in a sea of blooming cherry blossoms, with snow-white, pink, and red petals creating a romantic and spectacular scene that envelops everyone. Yet beyond their beauty, blooming cherry blossoms also symbolize life, death, unity, and the pursuit of perfection, reflecting some of the most important values and elements in Japanese culture.

 

Predicting when cherry blossoms will bloom has also become a nationwide event in Japan. This year, the Japan Meteorological Agency stated that the best cherry blossom viewing period in 2014 will begin in Fukuoka during the last week of March, then gradually move north. By early April, the blooms are expected to reach Iwaki City, about 200 kilometers north of Tokyo. Further north, there’s still a chance to see cherry blossoms, with Hokkaido and the Tohoku region expected to have bloom times similar to last year.

 

When cherry blossoms are in full bloom, people gather in popular cherry blossom spots to take photos. In addition to strolling through the gently falling blossoms, it is traditional to go “hanami” — a centuries-old Japanese custom of enjoying the flower season. Japanese people have picnics under the blooming cherry trees while admiring the flowers. It’s no surprise that such romantic scenes are also popular backdrops for wedding photos, so you’ll often see an interplay of time periods under the cherry trees: couples dressed in traditional kimonos and office workers in sharp suits unwinding after work, all enjoying this annual cherry blossom season together.

 

For those planning to visit Japan for cherry blossom viewing this year, Agoda.com has selected several popular cherry blossom spots in Japan with special room offers. These include up to 15% off for 3-night or longer stays in standard double/twin rooms or triple rooms at Tokyo’s New Otani Hotel during the cherry blossom season, stays starting from NT$6,449 per night at Tokyo’s Shinjuku Prince Hotel Sakura Tower with advance booking, up to 10% off for 2-night or longer stays at Osaka’s Miyako Hotel Moriguchi, up to 15% off for 3-night or longer stays booked 40 days in advance at Osaka’s Imperial Hotel, up to 10% off for 2-night or longer stays between April 6 and July 31 at Kyoto’s Hotel Hokke Club, up to 40% off for stays booked 5 days in advance during the cherry blossom season at Kyoto’s Comfort Hotel, and up to 10% off for stays between March 30 and April 27 booked 14 days in advance at Nagoya’s Marunouchi The Milestone Hotel. For detailed offer information, please visit Agoda.com.

 

 

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