Reviews

Most Inspirational Moment

We enjoyed the great variety of sights , food and culture. Probably the most memorable feature was the general high level of cleanliness and efficiency of the transport systems.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Ayaka is an exceptionally able guide. She is knowledgeable, kind, efficient and she has an admirable command of the English language. The whole trip ran 'like clockwork' because Ayaka had clearly worked very hard behind the scenes purchasing tickets, organising itineraries, arranging additional trips at the request of members of the group, and ensuring that each individual's needs were accommodated. At all times Ayaka was polite and humerous and her infectious laugh and enthusiasm is a great attribute. She managed to impart a lot of information to us at all of the historic sites and she explained so many features about culture and food. We feel that Ayaka has a very bright future in the tourism industry and that she is one of the nicest and best guides that we have ever met. Please convey our thanks and appreciation to Ayaka.

Advice for Potential Travellers

1. Bring fewer clothes as it is easy to get laundry done 2. Do not bring an umbrella as all the hotels lend them to visitors. 3. Enjoy all of the food because it is all lovely. 4. Relax and explore the cities which feel very safe and clean. 5. Although the railway maps appear daunting, it is very easy to use the metros to explore the cities.

Suggestions

An excellent trip that at first glance of the Trip Notes appears expensive. However, there is a lot of expensive rail travel and high quality hotels included in the itinerary. And, once in Japan, variety of food is excellent and eating does not have to be expensive. We didn't think that this would be a good trip for Vegans!

Most Inspirational Moment

We enjoyed the great variety of sights , food and culture. Probably the most memorable feature was the general high level of cleanliness and efficiency of the transport systems.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Ayaka is an exceptionally able guide. She is knowledgeable, kind, efficient and she has an admirable command of the English language. The whole trip ran 'like clockwork' because Ayaka had clearly worked very hard behind the scenes purchasing tickets, organising itineraries, arranging additional trips at the request of members of the group, and ensuring that each individual's needs were accommodated. At all times Ayaka was polite and humerous and her infectious laugh and enthusiasm is a great attribute. She managed to impart a lot of information to us at all of the historic sites and she explained so many features about culture and food. We feel that Ayaka has a very bright future in the tourism industry and that she is one of the nicest and best guides that we have ever met. Please convey our thanks and appreciation to Ayaka.

Advice for Potential Travellers

1. Bring fewer clothes as it is easy to get laundry done 2. Do not bring an umbrella as all the hotels lend them to visitors. 3. Enjoy all of the food because it is all lovely. 4. Relax and explore the cities which feel very safe and clean. 5. Although the railway maps appear daunting, it is very easy to use the metros to explore the cities.

Suggestions

An excellent trip that at first glance of the Trip Notes appears expensive. However, there is a lot of expensive rail travel and high quality hotels included in the itinerary. And, once in Japan, variety of food is excellent and eating does not have to be expensive. We didn't think that this would be a good trip for Vegans!

Most Inspirational Moment

Lots of highlights on the holiday:- Kyoto, golden temple, gravel gardens, textiles, snow monkeys, Bonsai, Japanese people.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Excellent, Tatz was lovely, calm, organised, thoughtful, nice & tall so you couldn’t lose him!!!

Advice for Potential Travellers

The trip is a delight to the senses, one of my favourite trips so far, need to be fairly fit, lots of walking which we enjoyed.

Most Inspirational Moment

Hiroshima Peace Museum, it opened my eyes to alot of things I had to think about.

Thoughts on Group Leader

She is the best!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Japan is amazing, I want to keep going there again and again.

Most Inspirational Moment

Different things at different times, from wandering ancient streets , going into shrines and seeing acts of devotion , the food , the perfect presentation of everything in department stores , the level of service on transport / shops , friendliness of locals.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Tatsuro was very laid back but carried out his duties , ensuring all travel ( train / subway / bus / tram ) was completed on time and without losing anyone ( from a group of 18 at busy times on transport network ) .

Advice for Potential Travellers

Number one would be to carry a small cloth i.e. face flannel size to dry your hands after washing them ( toilets) . All Japanese seem to carry them and hot air dryers or paper towels are in the minority Tokyo metro map initially looks confusing but it makes sense very quickly as the train carriages have direction of travel and time to next station displayed on screens . Combining that info with line colour and also station number and name and it starts to make sense . There are hardly any rubbish bins on the street - but practically no litter either - as apparently Japanese take their rubbish home with them . Most food purchases include a plastic bag to put the rubbish in . In addition , its unusual to walk and eat , even purchasing food from a street vendor and there is likely to be a small bench that you sit on to eat your purchase before moving onwards. In Tokyo visit the Sun City shopping plaza Observatory ( 60th floor ) for amazing views. Cost was 1200 yen ( April 2018 ) but easily worth it. You can also go to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building near Shinjuku , both towers have an observatory ( 45 floors) and there is no charge . Stays open in the evening for night time views .

Suggestions

Shinkasen trains ( high speed ) have very short stops in the station so make sure you pay heed to "upcoming stop " info and music prompt in order to be make a rapid exit . Make sure you plan ahead for your free time as there are many sites to visit , so you may need to compile your own top 10 list .

Most Inspirational Moment

There were several; The shrines and temples The onsen and Ryokan Mnt. Fuji The snow monkeys The food

Thoughts on Group Leader

Akemi could not have done more. She was always cheerful, ever available and sorted out the couple of problems in the group very quickly and efficiently. On our free days she worked out and wrote down train and bus timetables, even down to platform numbers, for our varied itineraries, which made the act of travellng solo so much easier and enjoyable . She even had time to help me improve the little bit of Japanese I had learned before the trip!

Advice for Potential Travellers

Take lots of cash, unless you eat in the bigger places, or at stations, it is difficult to find places that take credit cards. Two places I attempted to use my card, where the signs on the door said that they accepted them, could not process the transaction even though the cards had prior authorisation in the U.K. I was successful in a large chain sushi restaurant though. Don’t depend of free WiFi, especially out and about as it is very patchy and very slow. Some of the hotels we used were ok ish. I hired a mobile WiFi from Nina WiFi (with a discounted deal) in the U.K. and collected it from the airport. The only place it lost signal was travelling through tunnels. In places the connection and upload speeds were better than I get on my home broadband!, The ability to navigate with Google maps was a godsend. Try the local food you will not be disappointed, there’s more than just sushi and noodles.

Suggestions

The only disappointment were the flights, they were terrible. Exodus, you really need to do something about this. Not for the first time day two of the holiday has been spent recovering from a journey that did not need to be as long as it was. Twenty odd hours going out and door to door thirty two hours on the return trip. There are plenty of direct flights to Japan, with the cost of this trip we should be using them.

Most Inspirational Moment

The contrast between the charms of the ancient castles, gardens and shrines and the modern sky scrapers and bullet trains . The courtesy and warm welcome of Japanese people in all the hotels, restaurants and places we visited.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Ayaka was an excellent group leader going above and beyond ensuring we enjoyed and got the most from our time in Japan. She made sure we could find the most interesting things to see and do in our free time and teaching us to negotiate the wonders of the subway independently as well as suggesting good places to eat and shop for all sorts things and an idea of how to fit into the Japanese way of doing things. She also gave us good basic understanding of how the places we visited and the things we saw fitted into the bigger picture of Japanese history and culture. She rearranged our trains after the Typhoon closed some lines to close and made sure we didn't miss any of our itinerary.

Advice for Potential Travellers

If you want an overview of Japan and its varied and fascinating culture book this trip. Remember to check the weather forecast just before you go and pack with this in mind. We encountered Typhoon Lan and were really pleased to have waterproof trousers and tops, Japan is green country and it does rain.

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing parts of japan off the normal tourist trail

Thoughts on Group Leader

Ayaka was fantastic - she couldn't do enough for us all - full of energy and infectious enthusiasm, and very knowledgeable too. She clearly listened to what people said about what they wanted to get from the trip and delivered on this. Impressive.

Most Inspirational Moment

Seeing parts of japan off the normal tourist trail

Thoughts on Group Leader

Ayaka was fantastic - she couldn't do enough for us all - full of energy and infectious enthusiasm, and very knowledgeable too. She clearly listened to what people said about what they wanted to get from the trip and delivered on this. Impressive.

Most Inspirational Moment

Too many to mention but obviously the emotions of Hiroshima Peace Park, the busy food markets, the opulent shrines and temples, the extensive art treasures in Kyoto and Tokyo, the snow monkeys in snow, the hot spring bath in snow as well, Mount Fuji, the impressive time keeping of Japanese Rail, the patience, knowledge, good humour and infectious laugh of Ayaka.

Thoughts on Group Leader

Ayaka brought together a sizeable group in a calm and unflustered manner and made sure that we were able to fully experience the 'wonders' of ancient and modern Japan. Ever present and always preparing material for free days and helping us get deeper into Japanese society, made the whole tour a really memorable experience. Thank you.

Advice for Potential Travellers

Book for next year

Suggestions

12 full days made Japan a very accessible country, Shinkansens speed us to far-flung places effortlessly, everybody we came into contact with throughout the tour was pleased to see us and help us unravelled so many aspects of the vibrant Japanese culture.