Kimkim Trip Reviews for Japan

This was a beyond wonderful trip to Japan… Memories will last the remainder of my life.
The guides were professionally excellent, always punctual, pleasant, flexible, and very informative.
I would not hesitate for a second to recommend kimkim. We will definitely use your services for our next international trip.

Hotel Reviews

the b asakusa

Tokyo

Great location and excellent service.

Authenticity & Character

Darken floors

Location

Asakusa convenient neighborhood

Staff

Everyone

Cleanliness & Comfort

Everything

Hakone Yumoto Fujiya Hotel

Hakone

Authenticity & Character

Best hotel onsen

Location

Surrounded by natural beauty

Cleanliness & Comfort

Everything

Hotel Vischio Kyoto by GRANVIA

Kyoto

Great hotel. Public bath and breakfast buffet in particular.

Authenticity & Character

Loved the toilet and shower

Location

Located a few hundred feet from Kyoto Station

Staff

Everything

Cleanliness & Comfort

Wonderful amenities… Even a pull down privacy screen.

Osaka Excel Hotel Tokyu

Osaka

Great hotel, and even better breakfast

Location

Centrally located

Activity Reviews

Full Day Mt. Fuji with Lake Kawaguchi with Oshino Hakkai

Japan

Great day in Mount Fuji vicinity with boat ride on lake.

Quality of Experience

All good

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Wonderfully professional guide

Transport

Vehicle luxury

Full Day Kyoto City Tour with Kinkaku-ji Temple, Nijo Castle, and Fushimi-Inari Taisha

Kyoto

Amazing castles, and shrines. Kinkaku-ji shrine amazing

Quality of Experience

Amazing history

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Knowledgeable and pleasant

Transport

Great subway system

Sightseeing in Arashiyama - Boat Ride , Bamboo Grove & Monkey Park

Kyoto

Park is beautiful. Loved the monkeys.

Tokyo Highlights Day Tour with Tsukiji Outer Fish Market

Tokyo

Fish market is amazing. Could have spent more time there.

One Day Miyajima Island and Hiroshima Tour (Kyoto Return Trip)

Japan

Miyajima island is wonderful with Shinto shrines and a great shopping area. Hiroshima is a sobering experience

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Great guide as usual

Kimono Tea Ceremony at Kyoto Maikoya

Kyoto

Very enjoyable, getting dressed in authentic Japanese kimonos for the ceremony. Fun learning how to make authentic Matcha tea.

Full Day City Tour with Osaka Castle

Japan

Amazing castle and surrounding grounds.

World Heritage Himeji Castle & Kōko-en, Kobe tour

Japan

Castle is amazing. Not enough time allotted to Nunobiki Ropeway.

Cory was a delight to plan our trip with! We had a diverse group and she helped us to find something for everyone. Cory also helped us to feel prepared with how to use the transit systems and feel confident we could get where we needed to go, on time. We really enjoyed Kyoto, with our guide Pam. We got to see so much and appreciated having a local point of view. We also enjoyed the fast pace of Tokyo with Karin who adjusted our itinerary to maximize lower traffic times at high traffic sites. We so enjoyed our adventures in Japan.

Hotel Reviews

Hakone Kowakudani Onsen Ryokan Mizunoto

Hakone

The hotel is unique and the hot springs were enjoyable. The included meals were not great, we had much better traditional meals.

Authenticity & Character

Location

There is a garden just across the road and the hotel is in a quite area. It was not ideal to have to walk bags up the hill after a long bus ride

Staff

Staff was kind. We had logistics trouble with the bus not running on time. Staff was kind but unable to help us resolve the issue.

Cleanliness & Comfort

KAYA Kyoto Nijo Castle

Kyoto

Location was nice, it was a walk from the train station but staff were very friendly and helpful. We had a great stay and the beds were comfortable.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Helped us get a taxi for 6 on short notice for dinner!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel the Celestine Tokyo Shiba

Tokyo

We had a very nice stay!

Authenticity & Character

Location

There was a walk to all mass transit, a doable 10min walk but of note if you have luggage.

Staff

Very kind. We had to check in early and leave bags, they were in our rooms when we returned, stress free!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Akihabara Anime & Gaming Adventure Tour

Tokyo

This was a unique tour. Our guide was kind and knowledgeable about the area. We had expected more of a focus on anime than the general area and hipsters but it was a unique experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide was great. Made things feel comfortable and accessible. Took us to places we likely would not have walked into without the guide.

Tokyo Night Food Tour in Shinjuku

Tokyo

We loved this experience! A highlight of the trip! The guide was outstanding and the food was delicious!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Japanese Calligraphy Experience (Nara)

Japan

This was an exceptional experience! We had a great time learning and creating together. The setting was just beautiful, a lovley garden out back and such kind host.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Outstanding! We were not rushed and they were kind about our artistic attempt!

Private Kyoto Temples & Gion Tour

Japan

Pam was wonderful! We saw so much and really enjoyed our adventure!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony with Kimono Wearing (Higashiyama)

Japan

A beautiful experience! Would recommend for anyone looking for a unique and authentic experience.

Quality of Experience

Getting dressed in a kimono was fun and unique!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Full day exploring Meiji Jingu, Harajuku & Shibuya

Tokyo

A great introduction to Tokyo! Covers a lot of ground and is an orientation to the metro system if you haven’t used it before

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

If I could give Bella 10 stars I would! When my husband was alive we travelled all over the world and NEVER have I experienced the quality of care, professionalism, attention to details and kindness that Bella extended to my girls and myself. My desire, booking this trip was to have a "once in a lifetime experience" celebrating two big birthdays - my daughter's 60th and my 90th and I couldn't have made a wiser choice. The two local guides Peter and Hiroshi were delightful and what a treat and surprise it was at the end of our trip to be presented with a video of the many photos they took along the way. . This was my first time traveling to Japan and I was impressed with how welcoming and polite the Japanese people are, and how immaculate the country is - their toilets are remarkable compared to every country I have visited, including the United States. Thank you Bella

My son and I just returned from a fantastic trip to Japan. Sandy was wonderful to work with. She patiently answered all of my questions and offered insightful suggestions for the itinerary and daily activities. The hotels were exceptional and perfectly located for our needs. We especially loved The Ace Hotel in Kyoto. The drivers and guides were reliable and checked in via WhatsApp with meeting locations. Our time with Yoshie in Tokyo was particularly special. Sandy coordinated all of the trains and transfers and checked in several times during the trip to make sure that things were going according to plan. Highly recommend Sandy and the KimKim team.

Active Japan trip. Cannon was extremely helpful throughout the planning of our Japan trip as well as during the trip when he was very accessible by email and the kimkim app. The transportation arrangements showed off Japan’s great transportation infrastructure and provided us with a nice variety of ways to experience it. Also a nice variety of places to stay and things to do.

Hotel Reviews

the b asakusa

Tokyo

Small rooms but otherwise very nice

Location

Fuji Kawaguchiko Resort Hotel

Fujikawaguchiko

Great view from hotel room. Popular with those who liked onsens but we didn’t do that. Food was good

Location

Near the lake

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean

Miyako Hotel Kyoto Hachijo

Kyoto

Great location

Location

Near train station

Hotel Vista Osaka Namba

Well located. Good breakfast.

Location

Near busy part of Osaka which was interesting

Staff

JR Clement Inn Imabari

Ehime

Good location. Helpful staff

Location

Near train station

Staff

Helpful. Spoke English well

Benton Guesthouse, Nostalgic Showa-era Private Full House Rental

Lots of room. Choice of beds. No breakfast but near to store. Near cycling route and they catered to cyclists.

Authenticity & Character

Tatami mats or western bed options.

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Green Hill Hotel Onomichi

Onomichi

Great location at the end of the cycling route and near the train station.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Nice that they had coin laundry as we were due for that.

Shinagawa Prince Hotel

Tokyo

The buffet breakfast was disorganized and crowded, even at 6am. Staff in bar/restaurant on 39th floor were rude, snooty and overbearing. The view was nice but didn’t make up for the cover charge, service charge or overpriced drinks. Lots of additional amenities but they all came at significant extra cost.

Location

Near train station but not some of the more interesting neighbourhoods.

Staff

Give people a table to sit at in buffet and make it larger.

Cleanliness & Comfort

At least it was clean

Activity Reviews

Full Day Mt. Fuji with Lake Kawaguchi, Arakurayama Sengen Park & Oshino Hakkai

Japan

Oshino Hakkai was crowded and we could have skipped that. The Sengen Park hike was good but unfortunately the mountain was not visible due to cloud. The lake was nice

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Polite. Nice vehicle. Traffic was terrible and it took 3.5 hours from the Tokyo hotel. Would have been better to leave earlier probably. Driver seemed to be looking at his phone a lot while driving (not just the phone for maps)

Kayaking on Lake Kawaguchiko with Mt. Fuji views

Fujikawaguchiko

Guide was great. Scenery wonderful. Sturdy kayaks. Rest of our kayaking group was experienced too, so we got to travel well down the lake. Nice view of Fuji from the lake

Full Day Nara City Tour, Overnight in Osaka

Japan

Certainly worth seeing this area for the temple and the ridiculous number of deer.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Osaka Local Food Walking Tour (Join-in)

Osaka

Enthusiastic and knowledgeable guide. We were the only two in the group so we were able to try the foods and places that we hadn’t already experienced.

Cannon was the glue that made our trip seamless. Planning a trip to Japan can be overwhelming because there is so much to see and do. Our family had figured out the broad strokes of our itinerary, but we didn't know how to put everything together in a logical and navigable way. Cannon filled in the blanks, helping us with transportation details, the order of our events/tours, suggestions for open times, and other critical elements that made our trip smooth and easy. He got back to us immediately when we had questions, both before and during the trip. He took the time to organize a call before we left to walk us through every day's plan so we felt comfortable or could edit things together. We couldn't recommend him more highly for your trip to Japan. It's so worth it to have someone like Cannon to help you, especially if this is your first trip to this amazing country.

Our guides were very good, knowledgeable and engaging.
The person who booked our accommodations
Did not deliver what was promised, did not offer us private transfers. Very disappointing
I will never use your company again. I will definitely give you a poor review on trip advisor

Our initial planning of out trip to Japan was very easy & exciting. Eleanor quickly responded to our questions and understood the type of experience we were looking for. Once we booked the trip and reviewed the itinerary, we found several errors and contradictory information. When this was pointed out, Eleanor quickly acknowledged the mistakes and fixed them. The planning of having to get ourselves to the Kimono experience/tea ceremony first thing on the first morning after arriving was stressful, as we had to navigate the subway system during rush hour while we were jet lagged and in a hurry. After that our guides made everything easy and interesting. We enjoyed 5 days of hiking on the Kumano Kodo Trail, also arranged by Kimkim. The luggage transfer was flawless. Our first night accommodation on the hike was by far the best. The host family was warm & inviting. The guest house was excellent. The 2nd night in Chitkatsuru was well below acceptable. After that 3 night of futon on the floor. Would have been nice to have had the option of western style bedding the last night at the resort in Katsura. All-in-all a very good tour.

I would like very much to thank sandy for a wonderful time in Japan. Her suggestions met up with what I wanted to see and suggested even some unknown to us. She was accessible and gave good restaurant suggestions. She is knowledgable is a great advisor on Japan thank you sandy for all your help.

As for the guides, they were all very good and knowledgable. We enjoyed immensely the architecture tour in Tokyo and our guide was over enthusiastic it was great. The other tours in Kyoto were equally enjoyable.

Judy and her team did an amazing job! Our hotels were ideally located near train stations and the fish markets. During the Hakone portion of our trip we got a full view of Mt. Fuji and ate the famous Owakudani black eggs! The onsen experience at the Tokinoyu Setsugetsuka Hotel was relaxing! We were also able to eat traditional Japanese dinner and breakfast!
In Kyoto, my brother and I enjoyed the Fushimi Inari walk in the morning, we decided to walk up to the peak that evening! It was worth seeing the site during the morning and the evening. I also appreciate the recommendation to visit the Kyoto Nintendo Store.

Overall, it was a memorable experience!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Keihan Tsukiji Ginza Grande

Tokyo

Good hotel. Close to metro train station and the local fish market. The breakfast buffet had a good variety of food and drinks.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Tokinoyu Setsugetsuka

Hakone-machi

My brother and I ate authentic Japanese dinner and breakfast. We appreciate the option to dress in a traditional yukata. The onsens were relaxing. I also enjoyed the private open air bath located in our hotel balcony. The hotel also offered free snack bar, complimentary ramen, popsicle and yogurt drink. I bought some Hakone souvenirs from the hotel gift shop.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Royal Park Hotel Kyoto Sanjo

Kyoto

Great breakfast buffet! Hotel is walking distance from Gion District and Pontoco Alley.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Half Day Bamboo Grove and Monkey Park Tour

Kyoto

The monkey trail offered pit stops for us to pause and learn more about them before feeding them. To avoid overfeeding the monkeys, each group is limited to feeding the monkeys a pack of apples or peanuts. The Bamboo forest is beautiful and well maintained.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide was informative and patient. She ensured I didn't feel worn out during the hike up the monkey mountain trail. I also enjoyed a nice lunch and bought souvenirs at Main Street.

Transport

Smooth ride. Complimentary water bottles.

Full Day Mt. Fuji and Lake Ashi Tour

Hakone

The weather was clear enough for us to see Mt Fuji! We learned the floating Tori Gate at Lake Ashi is meant to provide good luck for couples. Our guide also said Hakone used to be a crucial checkpoint between Tokyo and Kyoto.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide made a pit stop at owakudani and let us eat the famous black eggs!

Transport

Fushimi Inari Taisha and Kinkakuji Temple

Kyoto

Our guide gave good background info about both sites. After our hike up Fushimi Inari we ate delicious green tea ice cream infused with gold specs. I learned the original golden pavilion was burned down and had to be rebuilt! At Kinkaju Temple, we stopped by a station where you pick up a rock. The effort it takes to pick up the rock provides estimated time for your wish to come true. We also saw a rock island shaped as a turtle that symbolizes longevity and a waterfall where if a koifish jumps above a waterfall it becomes a dragon; similar to how Magikarp eventually evolves into a Gyarados!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide was informative and patient. She showed us highlights of each station.

Transport

Smooth ride.

This was our first trip to Japan, in preparation for a major visit all around the country next year. We selected KimKim after reviewing several companies for the "golden route" that we wanted to see first....Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto and Osaka, with day trips to Nara, Fuji, Kobe, etc. Winnie was very responsive and that along with the reasonable cost for the 11 day trip caused us to go with KimKim. Overall the trip was great, we were 4 star hotels and most met our preferences quite well. Day trips were solid and enjoyable...guides who picked us at the hotel made the day trips easy....though I would suggest on the meeting locations for day trips where we had to go somewhere to meet our guide that they send photos of the locations we need to start from, ie Train station or things like the JR line info office. KimKim did provide great photos of the meeting locations which were very helpful, but where to go to get there were a bit of a challenge, We verified the day before we had to meet a tour how to get their from our hotel location and it worked for us...a few other people made mistakes that could have been avoided if beginning train location photos were provided like the ending locations were. But our taking some time the day before to see what trains etc we needed to go to solved the issue for us. A high spot for us was our guide YUKI...she did our tour in Koyto Bamboo Forest and was simply amazing....she even followed up the next day to be sure we knew how to go to our day trip with another guide! All the guides sent photos of our day with them, both for KimKim and us as clients which made the picture taking of us as a couple at each site easy. Overall a great experience with KimKim.

Hotel Reviews

Hakone Yumoto Onsen Tsuki no Yado Sara

Hakone

Great dinner in our room at the hotel! It was amazing and since we don't drink alcohol they gave us a great juice alternative. The location was good and room comfortable...

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Mitsui Garden Hotel Kyoto Station

Kyoto

Great Kyoto location very close to the main train and subway station...very nice staff. Helpful and efficient. Room was a good size and well stocked. And their English skills made communicating easy, whiteout our translation app!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Osaka Excel Hotel Tokyu

Osaka

Room was poorly laid out and the smallest of all our cities we went to, including Tokyo and Kyoto, and Osaka is not that expensive. They had a very sharp light fixture right over my head on one side of the bed, almost seriously hurt myself, and I spoke to the manager....which by the way was about the only staff member who spoke English....since no hotel has good instructions for running the HVAC, they are all in Japanese, I had to use my translation app to try and get the right room temp...and when I asked the front desk to help...two people even with the translator took 10 minutes to understand that I needed them to fix the temp. The location is ok...very high-end part of town....and not really very many restaurants for dinner. The hotel restaurant was very expensive and only had about 5 main courses to choose from. So we had to walk a bit to find some decent places to eat.

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Kyoto Arashiyama Bamboo forest & Hidden Garden Half-Day Walking Tour with Michelin Lunch

Kyoto

YUKI as a guide was amazing....explained everything....and the highlight for us was some "Quite time" in a small temple garden, beautiful and wonderful. The special temple lunch was fine....not as "private" as I expected, since they had several rooms for about 20 people each, but the food was fun and the overall meal and removal from the major crowds were nice. The tour and YUKI made what could have been a crowded tourist day very enjoyable.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

YUKI did great tour and follow up

Transport

Tokyo City Tour: Imperial Palace East Gardens, Senso-ji Tour & Meiji Shrine

Tokyo

Enjoyed the day and the guide was knowledgeable...about what I expected from an overview of Tokyo highlights. He had prepaid subway cards for us which we gave back at the end of the day....so we never had to stop and wait for him to purchase tickets we all just went right trough the gates. And we enjoyed having a private tour!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

1-Day Mt. Fuji & Hakone Tour [Return by Bus] With Lunch (From Tokyo Sta. Area, Tour Ends at Odawara Sta.)

Tokyo

Guide was great...group was good size with 10 people...weather was marginal, since we were having a typhoon, but that is NOT the guides fault and the weather opened up for about 2 minutes so we could see Mt. Fuji....then we saw it from the train the next day in Blue sky!

Quality of Experience

You can't control the weather

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Make Your Own Bonsai with a Professional Bonsai Artist in Tokyo

Tokyo

This was fun for us becasue we have a particular interest in Bonsai...and we got to meet Master Kunio Kobayashi himself! He signed a book for us and we got to see his famous prize winning tree and watch him do some pruning on a new tree he was working on....

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Did it on our own from the National Museum in a taxi...so it was easy to get to, but a bit expensive to use a taxi...

World Heritage Himeji Castle & Kobe Tour

Osaka

The castle is amazing!!! And we were their for the fist "fire" in its history! A child accidently hit the fire alarm when we were in the very top of the wood castle! So it cleared out fast and gave us a fright for a few minutes until they figured out what happened...then we got a few fun photos of the fire brigade! And it was very quiet for a while....since everyone else was evacuated...but the castle in amazing.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Kyoto City Tour with Nijo Castle, Kiyomizu-dera Temple and Fushimi Inari-Taisha

Kyoto

Really enjoyed the Torii Gates at the Shinto shrine and the hike up through thousands of gates....even though we only went up half way....and our guide was careful to be sure we were safe on a slightly rainy day....private tour met our expectations in a crowd.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Nara Half Day Trip Walking Tour

Japan

You have to like deer...they have 3000 that wander the city....but seeing the area was interesting...though the oldest pagoda in Japan is not to be seen since it is under renovation until 2032....but the area was interesting....for a first visit to Japan.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

All the guides were great. Leny was fantastic putting the trip together. She had to make changes on the fly because of a typhoon which changed our itinerary overnight. I would strongly recommend her.

Hotel Review

Marufukuro

We never stayed there because of a typhoon

Authenticity & Character

N

Location

Never made it there

Staff

N

Cleanliness & Comfort

N

Activity Reviews

Tokyo Artisan Traditions & Old-Town Discovery with Edo Kiriko Experience with English-speaking guide and Vehicle

Tokyo

The etching of glass was interesting and not as difficult as I thought it would be The instructor was great. I would recommend it

Quality of Experience

Great

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Kintsugi Experience in Tokyo: The Art of Golden Joinery

Tokyo

Very tedious and difficult It’s not something that you could do on your own It was a very interesting experience which is unique to japan

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We went by taxi. Difficult to get in because the elevator does go down to the basement until the time of the experience

Forge Your Own Piece of Japanese Craftsmanship: Traditional Knife-Making Workshop in Kyoto

Kyoto

Great guys who were helpful. Hard work. 3 hours it took to make the knifes There were two different places to make the knives. One is for a private lesson and the other is for a group. I would strongly recommend the private lesson. It’s not easy because you pound the steel until the metal is thin

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

He was great because we went to the wrong place initially but everything worked out fine

Welcome (Yokoso) to Tokyo!

Japan

He was fantastic. Fun. Friendly and easy to talk to. Lots of walking Helpful when we were looking for a map. Went to dinner with him to a local restaurant which was great

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Transfer from Port of Osaka to Kyoto City Center

Japan

The driver spoke no English and told us to the front of the department store and the guide was at the back of the store which took 1 hr to meet the guide

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Best Of Shibuya Food Private Tour - Evening

Tokyo

She was great. Lots of food and interesting food. Enjoyed your company and was knowledgeable Would strongly recommend her and the tour. Lots of walking Need to be in reasonable shape

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

She was great. Interesting culture

Transport

Tokyo After Dark: Golden Gai Night Walk (2 Hours)

Tokyo

He was great Went to bars and had a drink. Bars are very small. Area was weird with lots of young women outside trying to talk to men. Very safe

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Kyoto Evening Gion Food Tour

Kyoto

We did not do the evening tour because of a typhoon which affected our time in Kyoto She was great interesting with different food

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We was poorly informed about our initial meeting place

Our local specialist Ada did an amazing job right from the trip planning stage and into the execution phase. Her efficiency and attention to detail were commendable. At the conclusion of each part of our itinerary she would summarize the next activity and actions needed which we found very handy. Most memorable was day 4-- Mt. Fuji & Ryokan experience in Hakone. The pristine landscape and relaxing ambience was a welcome change after Tokyo. The guide/driver Datong san was excellent. The Ryokan provided us with a vegetarian dinner and breakfast that exceeded expectations.
Not to denigrate Tokyo, which had it's own attractions. We appreciated the efforts of guide Tomoe Koyano on day 2. The afternoon of day 3 could have been better utilized. It was aggravating to navigate ourselves from our hotel to the meeting point at Nezu station in pouring rain. I wonder why the guide couldn't meet at our hotel ? The walk through the old town was uninteresting. The guide didn't have much to contribute as we meandered through the streets!
Day 5-- Kyoto. The tea ceremony was disappointingly contrived and lacking authenticity.We were not impressed by the attitude of the host of the show.
Day 6-- We appreciated our guide Sanae Uchida on this excellent excursion.
Day 7-- A good day's trip with driver Tan san to Himeji castle. The Mt Nunobiki visit was curtailed due to rain and we just rode the cable car up and down.
Day 8--An interesting visit to Nara with the competent guide Yuki.
Day 9--Very interesting visit to Tsumago and Magome with Vincent. Disappointed having to drop hiking plan due to heavy rain.
Day 10-- Was wasteful. Not enough time for the self guided morning tour and to catch a 11.48am train. We should have been booked on a later train. Reaching Kanazawa around 3pm was a wasted afternoon there as well.
Day 11--Appreciated the Shirakawa go tour with the well informed K san.
Day 12-- Drive to the Kurobe gorge. It was disappointing not to have visited the Shomyo Falls. The guide Mike said there wasn't enough time. However, this would have been possible by spending less time at the final trolley station and the Unazuki Onsen city (where there was nothing much to do). This was the first day that the trolley resumed going to the final station. Due to ongoing construction we couldn't go anywhere outside that station. It looked like the tour guide didn't have the authority or flexibility to make these small changes that would have enhanced the experience. Your itinerary promised a "stroll through nature"--- but it was sadly lacking! It was mostly a trolley and bus ride.
A suggestion for future trips: It would be useful to know the price break up of total trip cost to each segment of the tour. This helps to put a value on the experience at each venue.

Hotel Reviews

Ryokan Aura Tachibana

Hakone

Excellent service. They specially prepared vegetarian food for us and the presentation was superb! Amazing private onsen. Great views from room.

Authenticity & Character

Blends in with it's natural surroundings

Location

Set in a picturesque location

Staff

Personal attention to detail

Cleanliness & Comfort

Couldn't ask for more.

the b asakusa

Tokyo

We stayed here on the way in to Japan and on the way out.Very conveniently located providing easy access to public transport. Room very functional despite the small size. Very friendly staff. Adequate breakfast options.

Authenticity & Character

Great location, customer friendly.

Location

.Very conveniently located providing easy access to public transport,shopping and cultural sight seeing.

Staff

Great service

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Day Tour to Kurobe Gorge, Unazuki Onsen, and Shomyo Falls

Kanazawa

It was basically a long bus ride followed by a trolley ride (admittedly a beautiful scenic ride) We were not taken to the Shomyo Falls apparently due to time constraints ( not very credible). It happened to be the first day that the trolley resumed the full ride till the final station but there was nothing to do there as construction was ongoing. This time could have been better spent at Shomyo Falls or at any other scenic spot, for a stroll through nature. The halt at Unazuki Onsen wasn't worth the time. Anyway the onsen was lukewarm and unimpressive.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Friendly.

The booking was easy but the followup payment software seems not sufficient. Of course, we had a lot changes among the different groups which was not planned but a good software should be able to accommodate it. Another issue is our Kimkim representative who, I believe, had tried hard, seemed not be able to communicate internally to make the change smooth. We had to contact the back office service people on our own to get it corrected. Personally my payment invoice was corrected right after I contacted the [email protected] (I think this is the correct address) and I was happy, but I still see Kimkim chat requesting one of the members in our group to pay the balance while we are already on our hiking trip.

Other than the above issues the trip itself is good. The instruction and map are clear and easy to follow which I don't see in some of my European hiking trips. The food is good. We can understand some of the accommodations are not easy due to the location, but overall we can see that you tried your best to accommodate us. Thumbs up on those points.

Chuen-wei Hsu

We had just gotten married and wanted to have our honeymoon in Japan. We said it would be a trip of a lifetime-and it sure was! With the help of Rob, two tour guides, several drivers, and just the exceptional hospitality and kindness of the service staff at each hotel we stayed at, we had an unforgettable honeymoon. Shout out especially to Rob! His prompt communication and guidance made us feel totally prioritized and at ease. We didn’t have to worry about all the logistics of a long international trip and just got to enjoy our time in Japan.

Thank you for all who put in the work for us to have that trip of a lifetime! Only question now is when do we get to go back?

Hotel Reviews

Hakone Kowakien Mikawaya Ryokan

Hakone

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Asakusa View Hotel Annex Rokku

Tokyo

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Royal Park Hotel Kurashiki

Kurashiki

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Selfguided Tokyo City Highlights, Sumo Lunch & TeamLab Planets（Selfguided Tour）

Tokyo

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tsukiji Outer Market, Meiji Shrine, Sushi Making Class and Harajuku（Guided Tour；Public Transportation）

Tokyo

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Canals, Art, and Timeless Streets of Kurashiki（Guided Tour；Public Transport）

Kurashiki

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Naoshima day tour：Art Islands, Seaside Ferries, and Contemporary Creativity（Self guided Tour）

Kurashiki

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private transfer from Tokyo to Hakone via Mt. Fuji（Arakurayama Sengen Park）

Japan

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hakone’s serene lake, mountain panoramas, and a leisurely evening(Private Guide&Private Vehicle)

Japan

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

All the tours planned by Winnie were very good. Our guides were on time, knowledgeable and helpful. We especially enjoyed Taku and our Kyoto city tour.

Activity Reviews

Full Day Kyoto City Tour with Nijo Castle, Kiyomizu-dera Temple and Fushimi Inari-Taisha

Kyoto

Taku was an amazing guide and gave us a lot of history that helped put our tour into perspective.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We rode the metro and all went smoothly.

Arashiyama Bamboo Forest E-Biking Tour

Kyoto

We had a nice ride through neighborhoods to Arashiyama and a little bit of country side. Once at the forest, you really have to walk your bikes because of the crowds. The bamboo forest was cool but not sure the bike riding part was anything special.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Transport to/from the bike shop was not included in the package. I think it should be.

Hiking Kurama-Kibune through Sacred Peaks and Ancient Paths

Kyoto

This was a great hike and the area was very cool. Beautiful forest and Tribune seemed like a neat little village. It was lightly raining so we didn't get to eat at one of the restaurants over the river but that looked like it would be a great experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

All transport was through public transportation including a bus which took a little longer due to all the stops. Transportation was fine.

Discover Daruma Magic and the Beauty of Minoh Falls

Osaka

This area was very beautiful and we loved the falls. The description of the tour made it seem like we would hike from the Temple to Minoh Falls but we took a taxi. The guide said if we hiked it would be along the road however, the tour write up made us think the hike would be in the woods. Despite wishing we had more hiking time, we loved the experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Osaka Local Foodie Tour in Dotonbori and Shinsekai

Japan

What a fun tour with delicious food. We had a great time making our own okonomiyaki. The only thing we didn't get that was mentioned in the tour description was the box of Takoyaki.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

worried how many of canon's responses were generated by AI.
It did take care of everything. restaurant suggestions appeared to be popular tourist spots, rather than local gems.
KimKim was most responsive, which was great. it would be nice to know how much was a human and how much was AI
. Trip was good.

Hotel Reviews

tsumugi tei - 1 min from Nagiso Station, Nakasendo Base

wonderful experience. it would have been nice if there had been 4 beds. The meal from across the street was a real gem and would recommend for anyone.

Authenticity & Character

great meal from across the street

Location

near train station

Cleanliness & Comfort

Suiun

very very nice. central location in Gora, Hakone.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Arashiyama Bamboo Grove and Monkey Park Tour

Japan

good. guide was flexible because of poor weather

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Kimono Tea Ceremony at Kyoto Maikoya

Kyoto

pretty touristy.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Mt. Fuji with Lake Kawaguchi, Oshino Hakkai and Oishi Park

Tokyo

too regimented and cookie cutter.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Tokyo City Tour

Tokyo

maybe too long of a day

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

public transportation is awesome

Kyoto's Cultural Treasures: Fushimi Inari-Taisha, Nijo Castle and Kinkaku-ji

Japan

maybe too long of a day

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

local buses and trains were great

Mr. Ju, Mr. Eric, Mr. Ye, and any other tour guides were all great. Shibuya was a great spa, was totally taken care of and relaxed, it is an experience. Rob was great from the very first communication to guiding us as we were in Japan. Great trip and using KimKim was such a positive experience, will use it again. Thank you!

Our trip to Japan was fantastic. Shona did a wonderful job catering to our requests for a balance of historical places and modern experiences. We especially liked Nijo Castle and Shinjuku.

Our individual guides, Miwa Aoki and Katsumi Ishikawa, were amazing. I would highly recommend both for Tokyo and Kyoto, respectively.

Looking back on our recent trip to Japan, one of the things we’re most grateful for is having Ben help us plan it. He took the time to understand what we wanted from the trip, and from the start, we felt like we were in very good hands.

Ben was incredibly responsive throughout the planning process and paid attention to all the little details that made such a difference. Our itinerary gave us a great balance of memorable experiences and time to explore on our own. During our trip, Ben checked in every day to see how we were doing and provide assistance as needed

One of our favorite memories was the Yamazaki Distillery tour. It was such a unique experience and a real highlight of the trip, exactly the kind of personal touch that made our time in Japan so memorable.

The guides Ben arranged were another highlight. They were knowledgeable, personable, and added so much to our experience at each destination.

We came home with so many wonderful memories and truly appreciate all the care Ben put into making our Japan trip so special. We would absolutely recommend him to anyone planning a trip to Japan.