Visiting Japan for a Cherry Blossom Photo Tour means experiencing a variety of sakura beauty.  The most cultivated variety of cherry blossoms is the Somei Yoshino, known in English as the Yoshino Cherry, and in many parks, gardens, shrines, and temples you can see the sakura burst into bloom, suddenly accenting the abundant greenery of the parks with a blush of pink on the white petals.  The most compelling element is budding green leaves that crown the blossoms just as the cherry blossoms are at peak bloom.  In the Tokyo Metropolitan area alone there are 10s of thousands perhaps even 100s of thousands cherry blossom trees to greet you and your camera as your Japan Dreamscapes Photo Workshop Leader introduces you to the best locations.

However, maybe your schedule does not allow you to come and witness Tokyo’s blooms while they are at their peak.  That’s not a problem!  Either before the main blooming season or after, you can still enjoy seemingly endless varieties of sakura.  Japan is latitudinally long at over 3,000 kilometers and has 6,852 islands, and our workshop leaders have explored and photographed on over 200 of these islands.  Japan’s flora and fauna are divided by two ecological lines, the Blakiston’s Line which is between Hokkaido and Honshu, and the Watase Line which is just below Kyushu.  Because of the length of Japan, blooms peak at different times, sometimes months apart!

Going off the beaten path is one of JDS’s specialties, and one of the most common sakura varieties that blooms in the wild are the yamazakura.  The Somei Yoshino is more forward with its pink petal accents, but the yamazakura, although a wild variety, has a calmer pink gracing its petals.  And because our photo workshop leaders have been chasing the light for more than 20 years, they can help formulate an itinerary with the perfect balance of wild and domesticated cherry blossoms for you to enjoy.