Kimkim Trip Reviews for Japan

We had a great trip. Our three guides were friendly, knowledgeable, and overall just excellent. Each gave us insight into today’s Japan as well as the historic sites they led us to.

The Oku Travel written guides and maps were informative and clear, and we had no trouble using the train tickets and IC cards provided to us. We really liked the quality and variety of lodgings, dinners and breakfasts in Koyasan and in the Nakasendo post towns.

We are really pleased with our experience using Kim Kim for our trip to Japan. The service was quick and really helpful in making for a memorable trip.
Fei was prompt and professional, even helping us with further recommendations whilst we were out on the trip at short notice.
Would not hesitate to recommend the service to friends and family! And we would use again!

Hotel Reviews

The Knot Tokyo Shinjuku

Tokyo

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Sotetsu Fresa Inn Kyoto-Shijokarasuma

Kyoto

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hakone Miyanoshita Myojokan

Hakone

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Shin-Osaka Esaka Tokyu REI Hotel

Osaka

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Half Day My CUPNOODLES Factory

Osaka

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Full Day Tokyo City Tour

Tokyo

Tour and guide, Yakuri were really excellent.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Kyoto Arashiyama Bamboo Forest & Garden Walking Tour (Join-in)

Kyoto

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Half day Osaka city tour

Osaka

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half Day Samurai Ninja Museum and Kimono Tea Ceremony at Kyoto Maikoya

Kyoto

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Full Day Nara City Tour, Overnight in Osaka

Kyoto

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Osaka Cooking Class

Osaka

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The guides were all excellent
We have used kim kim before and would in the future recommend to people who have wishes for a personal trip .
We booked a significant portion ourselves but had the recommendations and input from Angela our kim kim appointed guide.
When we did use the guides they were fantastic helping us navigate the complexity of a foreign culture and language with knowledge and great guidance.
Would recommend to travelers to Japan much online shopping for hotels, reservations and definitely buying the JR pass. It’s even possible to do it all on your own but expect the challenges of navigating the Japanese language and culture. Google translate and maps are indispensable!

Where to begin? Angel was fantastic. We worked together for two months planning the trip of a lifetime and succeeded. I am so grateful to Angel for her keen insights into things we can do, her responsiveness throughout the whole trip when we needed help figuring out changes in plans and just the overall confidence and calm we gained by having so much taken care of beforehand. We never had to worry about transportation. We initially weren’t going to do tours but I’m so glad that we decided to take up the offer to sprinkle a few in throughout the trip; it was super informational and added a lot more context to our experiences. We will definitely be reaching out again for future trips. Thank you so much!

Planning and Booking are ok. Our expectations and what we got are very close. After the trip we understood that something could be changed, but not much, that is very personal, hard to predict, especially for first-time visitors.
Communication with Sandy was excellent. The Tokyo guide - Yumi, and Kyoto guide - Noriko, are very knowledgeable and provided lots of detailed information. Additional thanks to Noriko for helping with booking tickets back to Tokyo.
The last trip to Kobe and Himeji left mixed fillings. The visit to the Sake musicum was interesting, and Kobe meat restaurant at lunch, reserved by Yasuko, was excellent. The afternoon trip to see White castle was difficult for us due to lots of steps climbing and 2 hours took to get back to Kyoto. Thanks for having a private van.

Hotel Reviews

Grand Nikko Tokyo Daiba

Minato-ku, Tokyo

Very good hotel, convenient located near train station.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hakone Sengokuhara Prince Hotel

Ashigarashimo District, Kanagawa

The rooms are very small and have steps inside.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Too far from city center. Taxi doesn't want to service

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Cross Hotel Kyoto

Kyoto

Newly renovated hotel with excellent location in the hart of the city. 4 stars only due to size of the room.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Full Day Kobe Hakutsuru Sake Brewery Museum and Himeji Castle Tour

Osaka

The Sake museum is very informative, but may be not for every one, we think, mostly for men. The Himeji Castle is gorgeous outside. For going inside we have to climb over very steep stairs. That wasn't easy for us. Since we spend too much time for travel, it wasn't enough time to see the beautiful garden next to castle.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Nara City Tour From Kyoto with Fushimi Inari Taisha

Kyoto

Very unusual experience with the deers in the Nara park surrounding the shrine. We feed them from hands and they bow in response. The shrine is absolutely amazing, especially gates.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Tokyo City Tour

Tokyo

Very informative. Thanks to the guide for navigating via underground transportation

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Tokyo city tour (Asakusa )

Tokyo

Very good, amazing view from the radio tower.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Drive to Hakone from Tokyo

Japan

Must use the local bus due to lack of taxi service.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Mt. Fuji with Lake Kawaguchiko Cruise and Arakurayama Sengen Park Tour

Tokyo

Very nice trip and boat tour with a view on mount Fuji. Excellent ride on cable way up to the hill to view mount Fuji again

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half Day Sagano Bamboo Grove & Arashiyama Tour

Kyoto

Very nice temple surrounding by garden, pond and bamboo grove. Travel guide - Noriko is excellent. Lake water tour very nice with amazing views.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half Day Samurai Ninja Museum and Kimono Tea Ceremony at Kyoto Maikoya

Kyoto

Samurai fighting equipment in the museum is very old but in excellent condition. We got additional historical facts. The Kimono Tea ceremony was so unusual for us. Besides the tea itself, we learned Japanese tea tradition and etiquette.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Working with Sandy was amazing. She was attentive to all of the details and available throughout our time in Japan. She was incredibly diligent with her follow up. We wanted to experience a Katana making workshop and our top choice was booked. Sandy continued to follow up and there was a cancellation and she was able to get us in. We had a similar experience with a hotel we really wanted that was booked for the date we wanted. Mid trip Sandy was in touch to tell us the desired hotel had a cancellation and we were able to book it.

There were certain days we only had a driver (no tour guide). The drivers were supposed to speak English but none of them really did. It was inconvenient but we managed with Google translate. Not sure if this was a KimKim issue and the transportation companies they use or finding English speaking drivers is just difficult in Japan. Our tour guides spoke English fairly well.

Hotel Reviews

莲华定院 (Ren'gejo-in Temple (Pilgrim's Lodging))

The experience was wonderful. Their English was good enough. However the Monk who led services was difficult to understand. The food was good considering it is vegan . The meal is the same for breakfast and dinner so bring snacks. Property was well kept and the rooms very nice. The one downside was due to the timing of the prayer services at this particular temple you could not book the cemetery tour which we were told was an excellent activity.

Authenticity & Character

Location

It is a little further away from center of town then some of the other temples however that said it was only a 5 minute walk further

Staff

English was better than most

Cleanliness & Comfort

very clean and nice rooms. we found the bedding to be very comfortable

The Gate Hotel Kyoto Takasegawa by Hulic

Kyoto

This is a 4 star hotel however it is very new and beautiful. Rooms large and well appointed. Breakfast was nice although the buffet was limited. Beautiful bar. Really well located

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Kinsuikan

Hiroshima

Loved this experience. This Ryokan, traditional Japanese style hotel was wonderful. It was really well located and the accommodations were very comfortable. Food was delicious although the menu was very similar for dinner and breakfast. There was a very clean Onsen. We had a view of the torii gate which was beautiful

Authenticity & Character

Location

could walk to anywhere

Staff

Very little english spoken

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hilton Hiroshima

Hiroshima

Authenticity & Character

Although there is a definite Japanese vibe it definitely comes through as an International hotel. This could be positive or negative depending on your needs

Location

easy to get around from this location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Full Day Tokyo City Tour

Tokyo

Tokyo is huge but Yumi our tour guide was amazing. We covered all the highlights

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Yumi was an amazing tour guide

Transport

Full Day Mt. Fuji and Lake Kawaguchi Tour with Whisky Tasting

Tokyo

Loved this day. We ate an authentic lunch at a local restaurant. Had great views of Mt Fuji. Enjoyed the Whiskey museum

Half Day TeamLab Planets and Miraikan Museum Tour

Tokyo

Loved TeamLab Planets - definitely a must see. Miraikan Museum is well laid out but just not something that was of great interest to us

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our driver did not speak english and we had some difficulty with that

A Fun-Filled Cooking Class in Tokyo - Wagyu Beef and More

Tokyo

This was amazing and I highly recommend it

Mt. Koya and Temple Stay Experience

Mount Koya

This was a great experience. Unfortunately we were delayed getting there due to our train running 2 hours late so we had very little time to explore

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our driver did not speak english as promised

Half Day Samurai Ninja Museum and Kimono Tea Ceremony at Kyoto Maikoya

Kyoto

Loved learning the history of the Samurais - it is a great museum The tea ceremony is a must as this is such a big tradition in Japan. We loved putting on a kimono and learning about the tea ceremony

Guides, Drivers and Staff

This driver's english was better than the others

Full Day Kyoto City Tour with Fushimi Inari-Taisha

Kyoto

There are a lot of shrines and Temples in Japan. Not sure we needed to see all 4 sights. Nishiki market was great and our guide picked a wonderful place for lunch,

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Tour guide, Keiko was great

Half Day Katana Maker Experience in Kameoka

Kyoto

This was one of our favorite activities. I highly recommend it

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Vehicle was not as clean and nice as expected and tour guide (who was a substitute, orginal tour guide was sick) did not have wonderful english

Half Day Hakutsuru Sake Brewery Museum and Kobe Harborland Tour

Kobe

The saki museum was a lot of fun and easy to experience. We did not really get a tour of Kobe Harborland - our tour guide knew nothing about it

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide this day was not great and had no knowledge of Kobe to share with us.

Transport

Vehicle not so great this day

A Sensational Gourmet Experience: Kobe Beef

Kobe

Excellent restaurant - Royal Mouriya.

Half Day Miyajima Island Tour

Hiroshima

Our tour guide Masako was incredibly knowledgable about Miyajima. We learned so much

Transport

Train to ferry to hotel on Miyajima was seamless

Hiroshima Tour

Japan

Yoko our tour guide was great. We really enjoyed her. Hiroshima is a must see. The museum tells the story so well. And dont miss the Japenese gardens we loved the experience

After 3 other travel services turned down my request to arrange travel on the Kumano Koto trail in Japan --saying everything was full-- I tried KimKim. Fei, the specialist assigned to help us was kind, attentive, and thorough. When we ran in to a lodging glitch while on the trail, she responded very well. I would definitely recommend using Kim Kim.

We highly recommend this travel agency and the team of professionals organized by Fei.

Before leaving on our 11 day trip to Japan, Fei helped us develop an exciting itinerary for visits to Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka. She arranged all our accomadations for the hotels, events, train schedules and drivers - this was very well done and made the trip even more enjoyable.

Our 3 tour guides (Yukari, Seiya, and Sachicko) are fantastic! Very informative, personable and caring people. They were flexible and had great restaurant recommendations - delicious local food! Our drivers have also been very good and helpful. Thank you all for a wonderful adventure!
10/10 Would Recommend!🌟

All the guides I had in Japan were awesome. My favorite part of the tours we’re going to the shrines and temples. The nature adventures were awesome too.

Our trip to Japan. Kim Kim and Myaen

We had heard a lot about this unique country, Japan, for various reasons while we visited so many, many countries across the globe, we could travel to Japan only in October 2023. KimKim as travel agent was suggested as ideal by our son Ashwin, he and his wife , Priyanka Roy, frequently use the services of this agency and had always found them to deliver very well. So we went on to the website and filled in our details and requirements. We were give Myaen as coordinator for our ten day trip. From then on Myaen was super active. She suggested an itinerary and addressed every concern we had. If the budget was going beyond our expectations, she edited some of the items, every which way Myaen made every effort to tailor our trip to our needs. For Hakone she felt we would do well to have a guide with us for a day. Akira, an English speaking guide was a God send, but for her, we would never have enjoyed and seen Hakone the way we did. Every hotel that Myaen booked for us, each little activity , be it the tea ceremony or the calligraphy session was most enjoyable and gave us great insight into the culture of the country. Also the day to day itinerary Myaen had suggested, we followed it almost to the end and we were never disappointed. She was also on the phone to convey immediate messages and extremely prompt to respond to our very many queries no matter what time of the day. A most memorable trip in all, many thanks to KimKim and Myaen.
Our only disappointments, again not to do with KimKim or Myaen …..the inability to communicate with most people, including the hotel staff , as they barely spoke or understood English, and the absolute lack of vegetarian food. Hotels had been informed, but they could at best only provide a few variants in bread and sometimes, salad.

Jaya and Narayana Ramanathan

Hotel Reviews

karaksa hotel TOKYO STATION

front desk was helpful, could speak english, which is more than front desk staff in the other hotels. despite prior intimation that we were vegetarians, they made little effort to provide any veg food except bread.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hakonenomori Okada

Hakone

front desk least helpful. no drinking water in the room was shown a vending machine and asked to buy. coulnt even arrange for a taxi the previous evening. however, they did make an effort to provide us vegetarian food for dinner.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

SAKURA TERRACE THE GALLERY

Kyoto

communication was imposible with the front desk. refused to make any changes in their dishes to give us veg.food.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel GrandBach Tokyo Ginza

Tokyo

as always no communication was possible.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Activity Review

Explore Hakone

Japan

It was a wonderful trip with a well thought out plan for each of the days. We especially liked the guided tours with Yasuko in Kyoto, Nara and Arashiyama, Masako in Hiroshima and Yoko in Takayama. WE loved each of the shrines, temples, natural wonders and gardens that we saw. We loved the food at every place. Except for Hiroshima where the room was really tiny and we had to upgrade on our own, all the other hotels and rooms were lovely. We especially liked the hotels with Onsen and the Gasso house and Ryokan stays which were traditional and unique. One advice is to include some learning and workshops in the trip. We asked for it and our guide helped us find a Japanese sweet making workshop which was so much fun! We really enjoyed ourselves. Thank you Kimkim for this beautiful trip.

Activity Reviews

Transfer from the airport to your hotel with a private vehicle

Tokyo

Driver was very late.

Full Day Tea Ceremony, Senso-ji, Tsukiji Outer Market and Tokyo Tower Tour (Join-in)

Tokyo

The tea ceremony was excellent but the guide for the whole trip was not engaging and did not give us much information about the places we saw.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

engaging more information

Transport

Transfer to Mt. Fuji and overnight in Hakone

Tokyo

Wonderful driver and guide. Brilliant weather.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Takayama City Tour

Takayama

Full-day tour to Shirakawa-go with an English-speaking guide and public bus

Takayama

Here a new guide was given who took money from us for his lunch which was later returned when we told kimkim. He also took extra money for a shuttle up the hill which was also returned later. Not a good experience.

One Day Miyajima Island and Hiroshima Tour with an English-speaking guide and public transportation

Hiroshima

Excellent guide.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Kyoto City Tour with Kinkaku-ji Temple and Fushimi Inari Taisha (Join-in)

Kyoto

Th tour was excellent. The guide was knowledgable and shared a lot of information. Also guided us into every site herself.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Nara Kofuku-ji, Todai-ji, and Isuien Garden Tour

Kyoto

Excellent guide

Half Day Arashiyama Bamboo Grove and Tenryuji Tour (Private Guide+Public Transport)

Kyoto

Excellent guide

Transfer from your hotel to the airport with a private vehicle

Tokyo

Let's start with the good stuff. The accommodations arranged by KimKim for our five nights were traditional Ryokans with hot springs and were excellent quality with friendly staff, clean facilities and the usual tatami mats, sandals, low tables and great kaiseki meals. Unfortunately most of them were a considerable distance from the train stations in their communities necessitating expensive taxi fares to and from the accommodation. The two guides and the driver arranged by KimKim were pleasant people with reasonable knowledge.

The reason for the poor rating is the quality and local knowledge of the travel specialist assigned to us. Some examples (besides the fact that she booked accommodation so far from the train station).
* The original range of cost we were given by the initial contact person was immediately exceeded at the top end of the range by her first estimate and we had to assert a more reasonable cost by insisting on three star accommodation.
* We made a specific request to stay in Narai and original trip plans included this but suddenly this was no longer included and we were told that accommodation was not available despite us making the request many months ahead.
* When we requested luggage transfer for the day we were hiking we were a) told it wasn't available, b) it was not included even though this was another item we had asked for early on. Eventually, and only after insisting, KimKim told us it could be obtained at our accommodation and they would reimburse the cost for us.
* When we arrived in Takayama from Kanazawa we discovered she had arranged for us to spend the entire day in the Gassho-syle villages (although it really only needed a half day) so we missed seeing the once-a-year spectacular, UNESCO-rated autumn festival in Takayama by less than hour.
* When we asked to receive all our itinerary, maps and tickets in hard copy ahead of time we were told that it might get lost so we should go to a convenience store and print it out ourselves with the help of our first guide. Again, only after we insisted did we get a hard copy but we did not receive it until after we had checked into our first hotel which meant that the information for that location was of no use as we had already consumed the time for visiting places in that city. Furthermore the map for our hiking was small, poor quality print so almost unreadable and, in any case, only in Japanese.
* For one portion of our itinerary it stated that we would go by train from one city to another after being with a driver and guide for most of the day. On this basis we purchased our 7-day JR Pass to coincide with this portion of our trip only to be told later that this was a mistake and that the driver and guide would be taking us to our final destination city.

These are some examples of the poor service, there were others. Unfortunately for KimKim we had a different travel service organizing a separate part of our month in Japan so we had a comparator organization to judge against. On every level KimKim came out looking inferior as well as being more expensive. I would not recommend them to other travellers.

ADDENDUM:
After providing this feedback we were impressed at how seriously KimKim took it and also how seriously they acted to address our concerns. Our dissatisfaction was significantly reduced by their response.

Great service from Fei and the team, booked all the hotels and transfers that we needed in a custom arrangement, was seamless for us. Thanks Fei!

Fei was very responsive in communication and provided a great snap shot of the western side of Japan. Going to the Japanese Alps was a great experience! Many itineraries leave this area of the country out in favor of the top cities and I think you miss a lot if you don't go to these areas. We enjoyed our bike ride through the rural areas as well as seeing areas from the Samurai and Edo time.
During our travels Fei checked in to make sure we were doing ok and having a good time. Was nice to know she was still available even after everything was booked.

Hotel Reviews

Hyatt House Kanazawa

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

TOKYU STAY Hida-Takayama Musubi no Yu

Takayama

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Kamikochi Lemeiesta Hotel

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Full Day Shirakawa-go Tour From Kanazawa to Takayama

Kanazawa

I am very glad we got to see the smaller village before going to the larger more touristy Shirakawa-go. The museum part of this village was really good. There was hardly anyone over on that side and it was much more interesting than the main village. Eating at the soba noodle cafe was also good.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half Day Cycling in Takayama

Takayama

We were actually in Hida, which is much smaller and different than Takayama. We got to see a more rural area that is not very touristy and it was a great peek into areas that still do rice and family vegetable farms. In addition we went to a beautiful shrine overlooking the farm land and the mountains in the distance.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our trip to Japan was fantastic. Fei setup a wonderful trip and we went to a number of different locations which allowed us to take in various aspects of Japan. All of our guides were great, offering us insight to the history of their mystical country.

We had a couple of changes to our itinerary while on our trip and Fei was there to quickly handle them seamlessly. Thanks to Fei and wonderful guides we had a trip of a lifetime.

Everything went smoothly. We were thankful to have knowledgeable guides so that we could make the most of our time. Our hotels were great. We would have liked to be better organized for the more complicated transfer to our more remote hotel in Hakone. Wonderful experience in a beautiful country!

We were a group of family members who traveled together to Japan for the first time. We had no idea what to plan when we first started so a lot of ideas and plans were made and then changed. Angel was able to work through all that with us and was flexible and helpful all along the way. I am sure that it was frustrating for her as we made decisions and then changed them! In the end we had an amazing trip that all 10 of us enjoyed and I think we saw and did everything that Japan could offer in 3 weeks. I would defiantly use KimKim again. They were reasonable in pricing yet were able to provide us with private tours, transport and guides all along the way. Transport was excellent. Guides and drivers showed up on time and ready to give us their best. Suggested tour ideas from Angel turned out well. We had the first foodie tour that was below our expectations and Angel worked hard to provide us a better experience for the next one. I appreciate that. Not everything works out the way you envision but being able to change and improve on the fly makes this company and this agent great.
One activity that I would recommend was the meditation session that we had with Rev. Takafumi Kawakami at Shunkoin in Myoshinji Temple. Not only did we have an enlightening session along with a tea service but the Reverend was also engaging and free with his time and knowledge about his temple and his life. Such a learning experience for all of us.
We make katana's at a forge just outside of Kyoto and that was also a crowd pleaser. The small but mighty samurai and ninja museum in Kyoto was well worth the small entrance fee and short time that the tour lasts. The Gion Geshia show and walking tour was an experience that shouldn't be missed. The rickshaw ride through the bamboo forest was very cool. We did a cooking class in Tokyo that was excellent as well as enjoyed the team lab planet experience. We were fortunate enough to be in Japan during the sumo wrestling tournament and everyone enjoyed that event. Just for future - don't get the 4 person box for 4 people. Way too small! Angel did warn us but we wanted to experience it that way so that's what we did. Next time only 2 people in a 4 person box. Thanks Angel for putting our trip together for us.

Sandy was amazing. No question went unanswered and no detail was missed!! Would highly recommend to anyone that wants to plan a street free vacation. The local guide we had while in Japan were amazing as well.

Overall, we were pleased with the advice and guidance that Nancy of Japan Travel provided. We saw places that we would not have otherwise experienced.

However, the itinerary did not seem to take the actual traveler experience in mind. Some examples include:

Obtaining Transportation Cards
• Because our JR Rail vouchers were delivered to our Tokyo hotel, we were not able to pick up our Japan Rail Passes while we were at the arrival airport, so a few days later, we had to take time from exploring Tokyo to get to and navigate Tokyo Station to get our JR Passes.
• One of our surnames (Walker) was misspelled on the JR Rail voucher, which we discovered as we got to Tokyo Station. Upon messaging Nancy of Japan Travel, she informed us that we would have to go back to our hotel (on the other side of Tokyo) to meet an operations team member from Japan Travel to get a corrected JR Rail voucher, again taking time out of our day to handle administrative tasks that should have been done by Japan Travel. During our Metro ride back to our hotel, Nancy called to tell us to return to Tokyo Station, use the vouchers with the typo, and call the Japan Travel Operations team if there were any problems. So, back we go to Tokyo Station to get the actual JR Rail Passes. A significant portion of our days was devoted to getting our JR Rail Passes, which is not how we wanted to be spending our holiday.
• Had JR Travel arranged for us to pick up our JR passes at the airport and told us to get a Pasmo or Suica card at the airport, it would have alleviated much of our frustration with this matter.

Timing of Tours and Travel
• Tours and experiences seemed to have been set up without regard to travel times or overlapping timetables. Two examples include:
o The tour of Hakone was scheduled to last until 5pm, which allowed very little time to enjoy the ryokan experience since we had only a few minutes to soak in the onsen hot springs in order to get to dinner at the appointed time. The next morning, we had to leave the ryokan very early – missing the breakfast experience – in order to get to Kyoto in time for our appointment at the Kimono Tea Ceremony, which could have easily been scheduled for later in the day, if Japan Travel had thought through the actual travel schedule. We had to figure out the early-morning local bus and local train schedules since taxis did not come to the ryokan at that hour. What should have been a highlight of our trip – a relaxed afternoon, evening, and morning at a traditional ryokan – turned out to be a “rush in-rush out” experience, all due to timing of the Hakone tour (lasting until 5pm) and the need to leave early the next morning. Japan Travel should have provided adequate time for these experiences, taking travel and tour times in mind.
o The tour of Osaka was scheduled to begin at 10:00am, which would have meant we would have had to take a 6:20am Shinkansen train from Hiroshima to arrive in Osaka and get to our hotel for a 10:00am tour. Consequently, we decided to cancel the Osaka tour and take a Shinkansen train at a reasonable hour.
• Had JR Travel provided suggestions on travel from one city to another, perhaps they might have avoided these issues of tight time schedules

Tours
• Both guides were knowledgeable, friendly, and professional, but seemed to feel that we had to experience everything on a “checklist” of activities, even though we weren’t interested in everything of their list.
• Some of the tour plans were inordinately long for the limited number of sights to see.
o For the Nara tour, 2 hours were planned for Nara Park and visiting the Tōdai-ji Temple, 2 hours were planned for visiting the Isuien Garden, and 2 hours were planned for shopping. We had to be firm in stating that we didn’t enjoy visiting gardens all that much and that we did not want to shop at all.
o We cancelled going on the Osaka tour because of the aforementioned travel timing, but the proposed tour would have included 2 hours of shopping and 1 hour visiting gardens.
• While we knew that we were responsible for local transportation, we were not informed that we would have to pay for long-distance taxis in Nikko (from the Oawakudani Volcanic Valley to the British Embassy Summer Villa and then to the Hakone train station). Fortunately, we had the ¥17,000 ($117 USD) in cash, but would have preferred knowing in advance that the transportation would be that price.

Quality and Location of Hotels Varied Greatly
• The Tokyo Center Hotel is a mediocre hotel, at best. Our assigned room was so tiny that there was not space for us to put clothes, store luggage, or even sit at the small shelf that served as the desk. One of us had to move to the bathroom or get on a bed in order for the other person to get around in the room. Simply put, it was an unacceptable room. Fortunately, one of the front desk team members was able to move us to a larger room, and we paid for the “upgrade.” Breakfast was unexceptional, with below-average food quality. The hotel is located in a business-centric neighborhood, so there are few restaurants that are nearby and even those close early.
• The Kijitei Hoeiso Ryokan in Hakone was wonderful, but, as stated above, we couldn’t enjoy the experience because we were rushed, due to the tight schedule planned by Japan Travel.
• The Kyoto Takasegawa Bettei was a nice hotel, but a bit remote from sights.
• The Hiroshima Hilton was superb. Room sizes were large, with many amenities. The breakfast buffet was excellent. The location was fairly central.
• The Hanshin Osaka was run-down, with a limited-choice, low-quality breakfast buffet. While the Hansin Osaka’s location was OK, a modern hotel in the Osaka Station area would have been a much better choice.
• Many of these hotel experiences could have been avoided, if the itinerary discussions included the level of accommodations, Accommodations were, in many locations, below our expected standards.
• with a discussion of the level of accommodations being part of the itinerary discussion.

In summary, we were glad we got to see all the sights that were on the itinerary, but the experience was marred by the poor timing of tours and transportation. We would not recommend that friends use Japan Travel.

I wasn't really sure how to approach a trip for Japan so I was grateful to the suggested itinerary by Fei that helped me eliminate things I didn't want to do and focus more on the ones that I did. Having hotels, transportation and guides all sorted out made the planning a lot easier and allowed me to only have to focus on a few things. Our guide in Tokyo, Yumi was excellent. She had great energy, sense of humor, and really thought about our wellbeing during the day. I can't recommend this guide enough, she went beyond what I've seen other do. Satimo who guided us through Kyoto and Osaka spoke excellent English and really shared with us her story of life in Kyoto as we trekked all over the city to very interesting sites. She demonstrated patience and understanding on one of the hottest days of our trip. Both guides provided great history to the sites we visited and were able to answer all questions about Japan and life there. The activities booked without guides were excellent too. The tea ceremony in Kyoto and visit to the Samurai museum are must-dos for any visit there.

Hotel Reviews

Shibuya Tokyu REI Hotel

Tokyo

The standard twin room was very small. Couldn't really find a place to have my luggage opened all the way, had to pull everything out (thank god for cubes) and then leave the suitcase under the bench the rest of the time. There is NO STORAGE in this room. The bathroom has NO COUNTER SPACE. Everything had to be brought into the bathroom if you were going to use it. The biggest plus about this hotel is the location. Right by Shibuya station, Miyashita Park and the famous scramble. So much to shop and eat in the area!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Right by Shibuya station, Miyashita Park and the famous scramble. So much to shop and eat in the area!

Staff

I didnt find the front desk at all helpful or even wanting to help.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Kyoto Tokyu Hotel

kyoto

Premium Twin Room was very large and spacious. A lot of seating options. AC was controlled by the hotel but was a comfortable level. There was an in room air purifier/humidifier. I don't know if it helped as I developed a scratchy throat during my stay here. I also woke up with a puffy face, having an allergic reaction to something in the sheets/pillow. There are not enough bedside outlets. There was only the one in the middle for 2 people to split. So instead one of us had to leave our phone on the other side of the room charging and could not have it bedside. The breakfast buffet was very good and had a great variety of foods to choose from. The shuttle to and from Kyoto station saves this hotel. It is too far to walk with luggage to and from on any day, let alone a hot day in September. I with the shuttle was larger and more frequent. The location of the hotel is out of the way of most things. Thankfully there seemed to always be a taxi available. Food options in the area are difficult to come by but it did lend itself to the most authentic food place we ate at on our trip (we were the only foreigners in the restaurant).

Authenticity & Character

This hotel felt very lux catering to international visitors

Location

More shuttle options to more places. Perhaps a shuttle that took guests to Gion Area to eat, shop and visit.

Staff

I didnt have much interaction with staff but when I did they were polite and prompt.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The space feels clean.

Osaka Excel Hotel Tokyu

Osaka

Premium Twin Room, beds were pushed together which we immediately had to seperate but had limited space to do so. The majority of one side of the room was taken over by an oversized daybed. This could be half the size in the room and still be very useful and make more space for the table and chair by the window to not make the space feel overcrowded. The closet is not enclosed here. This was my favorite bathroom set up of all places I stayed. The sink area had plenty of counter space for storage of personal items. The shower was huge and easy to operate to the right temperature. The breakfast buffet had the most fruit selection of all places I stayed at because they had bananas. The tricky part of this hotel is that you go up to level 16, then take another set of elevators down to the rooms. There wasn't a constant presence of taxis in front of the building but the front desk was happy to call for one and let us know when the car was downstairs.

Authenticity & Character

This place felt very lux.

Location

It was close to a station but didn't stay long enough (only 1 night) to explore the area.

Staff

The staff was happy to assist with getting a taxi for our departure. This thoughtfulness is the reason I gave them 4 stars.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bed was very soft and sheets very comfortable. The temperature in the room was perfect.

Activity Review

Full Day Tokyo City Tour with Senso-ji Temple

Tokyo

Yumi was our favorite guide of the trip. She was so knowledgeable, thoughtful and fun to spend the day with. She gave a great history lesson of the country and related stories about what we were seeing. She brought us handheld fans to deal with the weather of the day, bottled water and even hydration tablets which then became our obsession of the trip. She had great energy and humor that matched ours.

Quality of Experience

We visited the right amount of places in the long day that were a variety, from shrine, to castle to temple.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

I can't say enough how much I loved spending the day with Yumi.

Transport

I felt comfortable being led by Yumi on the public transit.