Cherry Blossom Viewing in Kanto & Tohoku

I roughly plan my 10-day trip to Kanto & Tohoku around mid April and appreciate your kind advice on my following itinerary.

Day 1:
Arrive NRT airport around 14.00 / take NEX to JR Tokyo station / take Shinkansen to Sendai using 10-day JR East pass / stay at Hotel Green near JR Sendai

Day 2:
Morning - take Shinkansen to Fukushima (Hanamiyama) for cherry blossom viewing
Afternoon - take Shinkansen to Matsushima
Evening - back to Sendai

Day 3:
Morning - take Shinkansen to Yamagata (Dewa Sanzan)
Afternoon - go to Yamagata castle/Kajo park for cherry blossom viewing
Evening - back to Sendai

Day 4:
All day - sightseeing in Sendai
Evening - take Shinkansen to Tokyo (stay at WMT Higashi Ueno near JR Ueno)

Day 5:
All day - take Shinkansen to Nikko ( Toshogu Shrine, Futarasan Shrine, Shinkyo Bridge)
Evening - back to Ueno

Day 6:
All day - sightseeing in Tokyo

Day 7: * confusing how to reach Nagano and go back to Tokyo using JR East *
Morning - go to Matsumoto (Matsumoto Castle)
Afternoon - go to Kiso Valley (Narai, Tsumago, Magome)
Evening - back to Ueno

Day 8:
Morning - take Shinkansen to Kamakura ( Great Buddha, Hasedera Temple, Hachimangu Shrine, Kenchoji Temple)
Afternoon - take Shinkansen to Yokohama (Minato Mirai, Chinatown, Ramen Museum)
Evening - back to Ueno

Day 9:
All day - sightseeing in Tokyo

Day 10:
Morning - sightseeing in Tokyo (Tokyo Imperial Palace)
Afternoon - depart JR Tokyo around 15.00 / take NEX to NRT / flight departs NRT around 18.30

P.S.
- I really can't find the slot for Hagone. Should I add it to my itinerary?

Thank you very much for all replies.

There is a Top 100 Cherry Blossom Spot list issued by a cherry blossom organization in Japan. You can try one of them.

Here is the list:
http://wikitravel.org/en/Japan's_Top_100_Cherry_Blossoms_Spots

Tohoku and Kanto are complete (not sure what happened to Chubu...)

As the title says, day 7 is too packed and too difficult to do easily by train transportation. The JR east pass will let you use the Nagano shinkansen to Nagano from Tokyo. I'd check out Zenkoji temple while you're there.

From Nagano, you can take a limited express train (Shinano train) or local to Matsumoto (Shinonoi line), which is about an hour away. This is still covered by the JR east pass.

From Matsumoto you can return to Shinjuku in Tokyo on the limited express Azusa--this will take ~3 hrs, and is also covered by the JR east pass.

However, getting to Kiso valley, you'll need to use JR Central trains, which are NOT covered by the pass--JR east pass works until Shiojiri, which is just south of Matsumoto. For Kiso valley, you will need to pay out of pocket from Matsumoto.

The quickest train would be the Limited express Shinano from Matsumoto to Nakatsugawa. From Nakatsugawa, you'll need to take a bus to Magome and then to Tsumago. More information here:

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6076.html

For trains, you can find schedules here:

http://www.hyperdia.com/en/

Magome and Tsumago will take you one full day, including transport back to Tokyo--either free up another day to see these towns, or skip Kiso valley completely. Hakone is also a full day trip to and from Tokyo--it would also make a nice stop. It's up to you.

-mike

Thank you so much Rabbityama and Mike. I would revise my itinerary as suggested.
I'm thinking about starting from Kanto and then Tohoku to be able to catch up the cherry blossom from the south to the north.
I want to to include Kawaguchiko in my plan as well, if possible.