Most Inspirational Moment
I can't pick one so maybe three, the Inari shrine in the early hours of the morning, it was so quiet and tranquil. The peace park in Hiroshima, it was quite harrowing but inspirational at the same time. The cherry blossoms, I've seen cherry blossoms before but there is something about the Japanese attitude towards the blossoming of the trees that was truly amazing.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Absolutely excellent. I couldn't imagine someone doing a better job. Yuri was friendly, efficient and helpful. She had an incredible amount of knowledge about the areas we visited and Japan in general meaning that she was able to answer pretty much all the questions we posed. She made excellent recommendations for places to visit during our free time and usually purchased train tickets for us to get where we wanted to go so that we wouldn't have to figure the system out. She also arranged meals every night which was a huge help since my boyfriend is vegetarian and as such ensuring there was something he could eat was a bit difficult at times. The food she picked out was always amazing, I'm very glad that we had her advice as otherwise I wouldn't have tried half of the food that I did.
All in all I really can't sing Yuri's praises enough.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Just go for it, it's worth having someone to guide you around, there is so much we would have missed without someone who had experienced it all before and knew how to get everywhere easily.
Also take comfortable shoes (better yet ones that you can get on and off easily) and something warm and waterproof, it could get a bit cold at times, particularly in the mountains and although it only rained once on our trip we got soaked.
When it comes to the public baths just have a go, there were a few members of our group who weren't sure but honestly it's something that you absolutely shouldn't miss.