Reviews

This was an enjoyable, informative, interesting and, sometimes, extremely beautiful experience. However, I was denied the spoken commentary, and sometimes important information, unless in transit on the coach; because the 'Whisper' system is not compatible with hearing aids, and I am hearing impaired. Although, I find the total dependence on such systems (given poor signals and inferior sound quality) is a very mixed 'blessing'. Our guide, who, in all other regards was exemplary; intended, I believe, to offer me brief summaries or other assistance, but mostly either forgot or was too busy, which is understandable in the circumstances. Constructively, I would urge a greater awareness of hearing impaired travellers' needs. The only other improvements I might suggest would be a more traditional setting for the tea ceremony experience, and serious consideration regarding the purpose of driving to the 5th Station on Mount Fuji which seemed to be a waste of, always precious, time.

Busy tour of many historic and picturesque sights of Honshu. Travelling mainly by bus - but plenty of spare seats so not crowded - which has the advantage of being able to go through and stop in the mountains which wouldn't be so easy with a rail tour. Excellent guide - knowledgeable and entertaining. Hotels were mainly big international tourist branded chains - mostly good with a couple more average. Breakfasts catered for just about every nationality and taste. Food was mainly Japanese - deliberately as varied as they could make it but it helps if you like fish - with the occasional western style meal. Many of the stops had large tourist shops and there were other opportunities for shopping and wandering around on one's own. I recommend adding a day before and/or after the tour and also Tokyo National Museum where we went on our last day. Altogether memorable.

We went to so many of the most iconic, and deservedly so, places in this stunning country. Everything was perfectly arranged and managed day-to-day by our in-country guide, Coco, to give us the very best experience. So many wonderful memories - no downsides anywhere in the whole 18 days.

We thoroughly enjoyed our trip. It was a full on experience that exceeded our expectations. The schedule although busy was varied and interesting ; it gave us a great insight into the tradition, history and culture of Japan. We travelled with a great group of people and mixed well. The guides were informative and shared their personal experiences and perspectives which added to the tour. Being quite a large group, we definitely benefited from there being two guides at all times. The coach transport was comfortable and reliable. The journey on the Shinkansen was a treat. We loved the food and overall we were highly satisfied and pleased with this tour. A holiday to Japan I had long dreamed about ; it didn’t disappoint.

The tour went beyond my expectations. Our tour guide Mariko was very knowledgeable.
Would definitely return to Japan .

Fantastic tour. The best guide ever in Mariko who was so helpful and knowledgeable. We travelled through almost all of Japan and the organisation was superb. The hotels were mostly great with a couple of exceptions where the rooms were really small for two people. The sights visited were all fascinating and Mariko always knew the answers to all our questions. The meals were all provided with some dinners in restaurants and some in the hotels. The final dinner cruise was wonderful. In April, the weather was much warmer than we expected it to be which should be pointed out to avoid bringing the wrong clothes. The first week was physically very full on and maybe an afternoon or morning of free time would be a good idea. I thought the tour was excellent value for what was provided. Wish I could do it all again in slow motion!

I felt this holiday was an excellent intrduction to Japan. The itinerary was well thought out and varied. A number of people on the tour thought the 1 rating was too low as there was a lot of difficult stair climbing in the castles although this could be omitted. Meals were very good especially the Japanese ones though one buffet dinner in Nagano was very poor. Our guide, Okumura Michiyo, was very friendly and helpful especially with 3 of our party who developed health issues during the tour. Her English was not great and her reliance on a microphone and listening devices was frustrating as the sound was not at all clear. I stopped using mine as I could not understand what she was saying. Nevertheless I thoroughly enjoyed this holiday and for me the pace was fine,

A very well organised holiday. It was very full on with early starts most days but we did visit at least 2 interesting places every day. First class coaches were very comfortable and very clean as were the hotels but some rooms were on the small side

We really enjoyed this holiday as an introduction to Japan. We were met at the airport and was escorted throughout our stay. We were even seen off at 4am by our rep. Would definitely go back. The only downside if you can call it that, was sometimes it felt a bit rushed.

This was an extremely expensive holiday for what we got. We paid over £16,000 for 2 people for 15 days. Accommodation in Japan is not expensive and although the hotels were 3-4 stars and very nice, they did not have a bar or social lounge to relax in for us and chat to the others on our trip that we had met. None of the hotels were located in the centre of the towns that you could walk to a bar or explore either. Therefore we were off to our rooms at 8pm because the hotel restaurant would close at 8 or 9pm. In particular, the Hotel in Tokyo was badly located, very disappointing when we had 3 nights here and a free day! We chose Wendy Wu as we travelled with them in 2010 to China and had a fantastic trip and they were the only tour company that covered ALL meals. Not knowing the language we didn't want to try finding restaurants to eat and try to work out what the local food was. Having been to all the main towns many places are written in an English version or you can use a translater app. Having 3 meals a day was too much. The food was very similar, raw fish, 1 tempura prawn 2 veg tempura, rice, not many noodle dishes Ramen style. miso soup, some beef in a hot pot you cooked yourself. We wanted to experience Japanese meals, but 30 meals was just too much! If they cut out the lunch meal it would have been perfect as most of us left a lot of it, this would then allow more time at the temples, shrines, shops etc. Most of us just fancied a coffee and cake for lunch or even a burger!
Our guide was trully lovely, Chiyami, she was fun, knowledgeable and looked after our every need. If you have a food allergy you will struggle, not many restaurants cater. So a tour with less meals would be your option. We all thought the cherry blossom was a disappointment after all the hype in advertising. We were there in the height of blossom but the tours do not take you to the famous sights and most of it is white blossom. The UK have far more blossom!
Japan is a wonderful, safe country and the people have to be the nicest nation in the world. So care free, relaxed and all so friendly and helpful, despite the issues above we enjoyed the sights and the people we met.

The guide that was with us was excellent. Some of the temples, shrines and castles were similar just in a different location which became a little repetitious at times. Perhaps a visit to a Saki brewery and Sumo bout or training would improve the experience. Some of the hotels were excellent some could have been better. Food was sometimes excellent other times poor as some days the meals at lunchtime and evening were the same no variety

From start to finish this holiday was fantastic. Our Guide was so organised, with a wealth of knowledge, taking time to make sure we all had a wonderful experience of Japan. Hotels and food to a very good standard. Excursions very well organised We have now booked a third trip.