Arriving is the easy part, but planning your trip can be sticky business. Timing and budget often go hand in hand, and for some of us, the seasons take the lead on travel decisions.

Japan, on the other hand, is a nation that exists outside of this restraint. Regardless of the season whenever you visit, she remains beautiful. And regardless of when you’ll be leaving in 2019, Japan offers options aplenty without compromise.

For the agent and traveller, you’re spoiled for choice. Providers and opportunities are everywhere, so who do you choose?

Picking the right provider can help take some of the stress out of planning. You’ll need someone that you and your clients can trust, and you’ll need someone that’s respected and popular in this part of the world with their clients.

Wendy Wu Tours might just be the right fit.

As an industry leader, Wendy Wu Tours send more Australian travellers to Japan than any other tour operator.

On Japan’s southern islands of Okinawa, cherry blossoms open as early as January, while on the northern island of Hokkaido, the flowering can be as late as May. In most cities in between – Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka – the cherry blossom season typically takes place in early April.

Providing everything you need for a truly unforgettable holiday, Wendy Wu Tours include return flights from Australia, transfers and all or most meals (depending on your chosen tour), with award-winning national escorts and unrivalled local guides in-country ensuring a holiday which runs as smooth as silk.

Futhermore, the company offers incentives for agents including its ongoing ‘Five Senses of Asia Famil’, open until 31 March 2019. Celebrating ’25 years of Wu trips’, the offer gives 10 top-selling agents, along with 15 sellers drawn at random, a flight to either Cambodia, China, India, Sri Lanka or Vietnam.

By choosing a trusted provider, you can focus less on logistics and more on creating a tailored experience – one that your clients will remember for the rest of their lives.

Wendy Wu Tours’ current promotion also gives your clients the added incentive of flying to Japan free-of-charge after booking their holiday. The Fly Free To Asia offer ends on 30 March, so get in soon.

With a focus on creating extraordinary experiences, what better place to send your clients than Japan?

Consistently ranked as one of the most desirable countries to visit, Japan is a richly historic destination that remains a quintessential symbol of relaxation for holidaymakers.

Japan is the home of Shinto, the cherry blossom, pre-eminent snowfields, Mount Fuji (TripAdvisor’s second most visited experience in 2018), and some of the most important poetry in existence.

Recently ranked as a top 10 destination to visit in 2019 by Flight Centre, Japan remains one of the most popular countries in the world for Australian tourists.

Here are three of our favourite places to visit:

Fushimi Inari Taisha, Kyoto

‘In Kyoto, hearing the cuckoo, I long for Kyoto.’ – Bashō, “In Kyoto.”

Kyoto, home of Japan’s national religion Shinto, is a spiritual place. A visit to Kyoto wouldn’t be complete without visiting Fushimi Inari, the Shinto shrine famous for its manifold vermilion gates which lead into the forest of the sacred Mount Inari.

Fushimi Inari is the most important of several thousand shrines dedicated to Inari, the Shinto god of rice. Visitors can be absorbed by the spirit and symmetry of one of Japan’s most spiritual destinations.

Arashiyama, Kyoto

‘The winter storm Hid in the bamboo grove And quieted away.’ – Bashō, “The Winter Storm.”

Okay, we admit it. We like Kyoto. And there’s every chance that all other travellers will, too.

If you know Kyoto, it’s likely you’ll have heard of the Arashiyama Bamboo Grove – one of the most photographed sights in the city. Visitors will live and breathe the mantra ‘the journey is the destination’ by walking the pillared-Bamboo path to Tenryu-ji Temple. Those who travel there should bring their best sneakers, as this is one walk they will never forget.

Mount Fuji

Unbeknownst to some, beneath its snow-capped peak lies the facade of an active volcano.

We’ve said it once, and we’ll say it again: what would a trip to Japan be without a visit to Mount Fuji?

Known by the locals as Fuji-san, Mount Fuji sits 100 kilometres west of the Tokyo-Yokohama metropolitan area, within Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. Established in 1936, the park was recently commemorated as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2013. Visibly symmetrical, overwhelmingly peaceful, Mount Fuji has become an international symbol for Japan as a nation of tradition, integrity and natural beauty. A visit to Mount Fuji will be an instant highlight for any Japanese trip.

For the complete experience, we recommend visitors check out the northern slopes of Mount Fuji and the Fuji Five Lakes (Fuji Goko). From east to west, they’ll see Lake Yamanaka, Lake Kawaguchi, Lake Sai, Lake Shōji, and Lake Motosu, which were all formed by the damming effects of lava flows.