cherry blossom in nagano

Hi everyone,

I will be making a trip down to Nagano from Tokyo on the April 24th (hope the cherry blossoms are still there..), and I was wondering where would be the good spots and places for viewing?

Is Matsumoto one of them? cos I would prefer to remain near nagano and not travel too far out, and Matsumoto happens to be a short trip from Nagano.

And one more question. If I were to go to Matsumoto, would it be advisable to take a limited-express from Shinjuku straight to Matsumoto, or shinkansen from Ueno to Nagano, then transfer a limited-express to Matsumoto? I have JR-Pass btw.

Thanks!

. . . April 22nd one year and sakura was around 3/4th through. Then I went to Matsumoto and it was rather late there. This year sakura is blooming early so doesn't look too good for you.

Since Matsumoto is warmer you want to hit there first, if you hope to catch some blossoms.

Reason I went to Nagano on 3rd week of April was to do a triple: see sakura, apricot blossoms, and tulips at the same time. There is an area outside Nagano that has apricot orchards and a big tulip field within (questionable) walking distance of each other. Apricots were a bit late and tulips a bit early though, but couldn't complain . . .