Hi,

May is one of the holiday seasons in Japan, which is called Golden Week.

Vacation system is different from other counties, almost all of us would take the vacation at the same time, except people working in Hotel, amusement parks and so on.

Therefore, it is very hard to book long distance trains during the first week of May.

I recommend you to avoid this week, in the middle or the end of May will make you at east to travel with your suitcase.

You might have heard about Hanami in Japan. We go out to watch cherry blossoms from the end of April till early weeks in May, it depends on year, exactly when the best time to watch would be.

If you go up to northern part of Japan, it is still possible to see cherry blossoms in the end of May.

Apartment with a kitchen is easy to book via Internet, but there are not very many. But I must tell you that it is not as big as you imagine.

In Japan, you can buy cooked vagetables or food for small portion everywhere, it is not always necessary to cook by yourself to reduce expense.