Reviews

Fabulous holiday but the group was too big (28). Good interesting itinerary, First guide charming but not knowledgeable in any way. But guide at the end of the tour very good and a lovely smiley person

We rang to make a reservation for a holiday next year. The representative was very efficient and made the booking for us. It was straightforward.

The food was as expected for a large group of 26 and a bit ordinary. Hotels were large international ones. The trip focussed on temples and castles and tourist sights, with little chance to interact with Japanese people. Overall, it could have been a lot more interesting, but it was worth going for what it was. Little pension hotels in the country are often a better experience, and small groups eat better because the chef is not cooking school dinners.

Excellent service helpful staff. Looking forward to my holiday next year!

Colleagues on telephone extremely helpful and patient in dealing with a myriad of questions

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