Another feature that distinguishes Kawazu cherry blossoms from others is the richness of their pink petals. The luxurious pink petals are also larger than the cherry blossoms that bloom during the middle phase of cherry blossom viewing, or hanami, in Japan. The cherry blossoms and backdrops throughout Japan are practically begging to be part of a Japan photo tour and your camera. In the most densely forested area, there are 8,000 sakura trees for visiting photographers to enjoy, and as your professional photography instructor based in Japan, I will take you to the most beautiful and breathtaking regions to enjoy the most photogenic of all the blossoms. Cherry Blossom Photo Tours take an amazing amount of planning because of the nature of the sakura themselves. So many factors contribute to when cherry blossoms reach 満開 (mankai) or full bloom such as regional temperatures, weather systems, plus UV radiation from the sun, all play into when the sakura will reach full bloom. Recently, weather systems have become unstable such as cold snaps or unprecedented warm weather for March and April, so selecting a specific date to view cherry blossoms during these months is tantamount to flipping a coin. It’s all chance, even if you go for best out of three. By the way, I’ve heard dozens of horror stories from friends, clients, and tour operators who were part of a dedicated cherry blossom bus viewing party, but there were no cherry blossoms. They were either too late, or the sakura hadn’t fully opened. I’ve even driven by a cherry blossom tree with two or three branches in full bloom being circled by about 100 people with cameras all fighting to take the perfect cherry blossom photo. The last time I came across this sight was in Matsumoto leading my annual Cherry Blossom photo tour, and my participants asked me, “Blain, what’s going on over there?” We stopped the convoy, and participants in the other SUVs asked me why we stopped, and I replied, “We’re taking pictures of the tourists photographing two branches of perfect cherry blossoms. It’s quite the sight.” After we drove off, an hour later, we reached my planned destination, and we were viewing dozens of full bloom cherry blossoms in the mountainside with no one around us and a Zen Buddhist temple in the backdrop. And if you’re on a cherry blossom bus tour, or you use the maps and charts supplied by local tourist organizations, and you manage to come across the perfect cherry blossom on the day you chose, make sure to go buy a lottery ticket because you’ll never be luckier. These are only some of the factors that I consider when I lead my annual April Cherry Blossom Photo Workshop and another reason why my workshop is cross-country. If the blossoms are not the best at my first location, I have a catalog of numerous other regions to visit. My years of experience mean having a backup for my backup for my Sakura Photo Tour participants so they will get that once-in-a-lifetime photo opportunity of cherry blossoms while they visit Japan. And when they return home, they can hang the perfect cherry blossom print on their wall.