The guide was not experienced. An example was he did not give details of where the group should meet up and at what time when visiting a temple on day 2. One member of the group got lost. We wasted time looking for her and then time when she managed to contact the guide for him to go and get her. The guide had little knowledge and essentially managed to get us from one place to another. He read short extracts from a book (2-3 minutes) at each site, in very broken english, which was not detailed and provided no further information than reading the placards at the shrine / museum we were at. Save for the ryokan in Yudanaka, the accommodation was of a much worse standard than the cost of the holiday warrants. Ryokan at Takayama (which is 2 star) was unacceptable level given the price paid. It is simply unacceptable for seventeen people to share 2 toilets for 2 days (there were 4 toilets, 2 male and 2 female unless you went to a different floor where there was another 2). It was rundown and the food was below par. The sushi was frozen, which you would not expect in Japan. The description in the itinerary was misleading. The visit on day 2 to historic Gion did not take place in the early evening as suggested but instead at around 3 pm and the guide simply pointed down a street and said there were no Geishas. Because this was done earlier, we then went to Nijo castle, which we should have gone to first, and it was closed as the guide took us there after 4 p.m. That was a wasted afternoon of travelling rather than an interesting day of culture. Day 8, there was no stroll at night to the castle. Day 10 there was no evening orientation tour of Tokyo as suggested.
14 Days
from
6 594 €
5 995 €
Guided Group (Excl. Flights)
Explore Zen gardens, temples and the most iconic sights of Japan
View Details
4.6
(
91 reviews )