is April a bad time (crowded) to visit Japan

I was looking to book a cheeky visit to Japan late March / early April this year. I have been to Japan 3 times before but never in Cherry Blossom season. Managed to find a flight but hotels...all full. Never had this problem before. I knew this season was a popular but nothing on this scale. It seems like Japan will be heaving with people.

Yes, late March/early April coincides with the cherry blossom season and the school holidays so it's a peak travel time. If the hotels are full perhaps you could try a ryokan or rent a room on airbnb.com

What city?

As yllwsmrf indicated in the previous comment, which city/cities are you planning to stay in? Some places like Kyōto and nearby cities do get terribly packed during that time of year, with rooms selling quickly even months in advance.

You might also want to have a look at this:

http://www.japan-guide.com/news/0029.html

Cheers.

hi, was thinking Osaka,Kyoto,Nara. that said ive been to them all before so im open to ideas pf visiting elsewhere to see the cherry blossom

Since this is the beginning of the season for cherry blossoms, this website offers plenty of up-to-date information about it. Here is the link to the most popular viewing sites within some popular cities/towns.

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2011_where.html

I can confirm that using japanican I have found rooms on a couple of occasions that were not available on other web sites, even the hotel's own site.

Japan will not be heaving with people - adding a million visitors would be less than 1%.

For that time of year, head north - you might still get some cherry blossom, and as it is less popular with tourists, accommodation might be easier. There are a few other tricks,to find places, but depends what you're after and where.

Well it took a while and a lot of patience but I've finally got hotels booked for my trip. Only there 7 days - bit of a mission as travelling from UK but I've a week off work that coincided with the Cherry Blossom season so it had to be done. :-)

Now to plan my trip.