Kimkim Trip Reviews for Japan

Dear Shona
Thank you so much for eliciting our feedback of our trip to Japan.
There were many amazing parts of the trip that will make it memorable for a lifetime, including the hustle and bustle of Tokyo, the history of Kyoto and visiting the Snow Monkeys in Nagano. Despite this, there were several significant areas of concern.
- All reservation information was delivered late. This resulted in our family needing to review travel plans shortly before to ensure that we would be able to arrive at the correct time.
- The transfer between Tokyo and Nagano was too brief and created intense stress of navigating the station to find the train. Additional information to preview that this would be a difficult transfer would have supported our ability to plan a head.
- The trip summary plan indicated that we would leave from Kyoto, take a train to Nagano and a bus to Hakuba allowing for the 1/2 day afternoon to ski or participate in outdoor activities. The last minute change communicated to us resulted in a train from Kyoto to Tokyo, from Tokyo to Nagano, and then a bus to Hakuba. We arrived after 5pm and were not able to participate in any activities that day, which was not the original plan and resulted in a loss of a day.
Thank you,
Joanna.

This was our first KimKim experience. We were initially hesitant but in hindsight our concerns will unwarranted. We had a terrific nearly flawless 14-day trip to Japan, and Sandy was absolutely fantastic! The iterative process of developing an itinerary was effective and efficient. The organization and accessibility of the information, itinerary, travel, details, and logistical material was terrific. Sandy was respectful of our preferences and budget. We balanced a few private tours with other days that were self guided on a couple of occasions where there was need for intervention with a hotel to straighten out something unexpected, Sandy was swift and effective. We typically plan trips ourselves, but hesitated to do so for this trip. Yes, there is a premium paid to get this type of assistance, but there was value in the additional cost and we would absolutely consider KimKim again for any travel that was beyond our comfort zone in self planning.

Activity Reviews

Ikebana, Flower Arrangement Workshop in YANAKA, Tokyo

Tokyo

Terrific experience. Educational and fun! Great neighborhood for exploring as well.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Samurai Sword Experience for Adults in Kyoto

Kyoto

Kitschy and not at the same level as other activities. Samurai instructor was great but museum and tour were subpar.

Quality of Experience

Shirakawago Day Trip from Kanazawa (With Hida Takayama)

Kanazawa

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The tour guides and drivers were fantastic. Loved the hotels and all the excursions.

Hotel Reviews

Cross Hotel Kyoto

Kyoto

Great location and staff. Highly recommend.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Asakusa View Hotel Annex Rokku

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Candeo Hotels Osaka The Tower

Osaka

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Kimono Tea Ceremony at Kyoto Maikoya

Kyoto

Best part of the trip by far. Very authentic and memorable experience

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day City Tour: Tokyo Skytree, TeamLab, Shibuya Crossing

Tokyo

Quality of Experience

Hi

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hi - overall our experience with Kimkim and Angel was good. Im writing this more as feedback from kimkim as a service and less as a review of our trip, but there are definitely some learnings others could take from our experience.

We are experienced travelers, but when we looked into Japan it was overwhelming without some local knowledge to narrow down where to stay and how to book tours. Trains were overwhelming and without your support we would not have made this trip.

Hindsight being 20/20 I would have done more research on accommodations up front, but was trusting the service too much. Trusting things for Tokyo and Kyoto (to some extent), but Hakuba was a total miss and i'd advise you against booking that property.

I feel like communication during the trip was OK - there was one time when we were trying to figure out a transit and a more immediate response was needed. I received phone calls from China (which i would never answer) and whatsapp messages (which I dont use). You should align on preferred communication during the trip (text messaging for me) ahead of time to avoid this confusion.

As we went through our trip it became clear that the knowledge and experience around Hakuba valley was very limited as there were some major gaps in the plan that we had to address in real time without guidance. Our accommodations in Tokyo were great, Kyoto was nice as well, but Hakuba was no where near what the other two were like. It was more like a youth hostile than a family hotel. Logistics in Hakuba were also very challenging and if we didnt figure out we needed to pre-book a bus to get out of Hakuba we could have had to spend $1000 USD on a car service (Kimkim's recommendation was to order one from Tokyo which was 5 hours away). Taxi's were not an option from Hakuba and it was impossible to travel around without a car. We received zero guidance about this and would have changed both where we stayed and how we moved around with some more local experience. I believe this all comes down to a lack of local experience and knowledge about the Hakuba valley and i would have much rather there have been transparency about this which would have caused us to plan more closely there then to rely upon the service or pull in support who had local knowledge.

Our tours in Tokyo and Kyoto were all great, we really enjoyed the guides we had on all tours and felt they did a great job. The food tour was a highlight for us.

I do feel like you could do a better job of advising on the differences between a ryokan style hotel and a regular hotel. Our Ryokan included japanese breakfast every day which we only went to once due to it being so foreign for our kids. I appreciated doing it once, but it is unfortunate we paid for it 3x. I also think I didnt fully appreciate the style difference in this type of hotel and you could likely do a little more expectation setting when people are evaluating these options.

I know there are a lot of reviews about price transparency concerns with Kimkim and I do agree this is a challenge with your platform that would likely prevent me from using it again (not an absolute statement but a feeling as of now). Seeing what the cost difference is locally vs expectations in the US I cant help but feel like we were overcharged and with no detailed breakdown how do you overcome this feeling? It could be unjustified but I have no way of knowing.

So overall this was a good experience, especially when you are traveling somewhere you have never been. If Hakuba went more smoothly our review would likely be even better.

Hotel Reviews

Asakusa View Hotel Annex Rokku

We loved this hotel and location. The breakfast was great as well as the hospitality suite at night.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Asakusa was a really cool area.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hakuba Sun Valley Hotel Annex

Hakuba

This hotel is more like a youth hostel vs a family hotel. It was OK overall and the location was great if you wanted ski out, but with the Hakuba valley this comes with some major consequences about not being able to easily get to restaurants or town. I would stay here again with a car and if expectations were more clearly set.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

the owner of the hotel was very nice and helped us get to places on 2 separate instances.

Cleanliness & Comfort

the rooms were clean and while extremely basic, they were functional

Gion Ryokan Karaku

kyoto

This was a traditional japanese style hotel - as an american it was a fun experience but definitely know what you are getting into with this style hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Comfort is more about the style of this hotel vs the actual hotel.

Activity Reviews

Kyoto Night Foodie Tour

Kyoto

we loved this tour, a highlight of our trip and we wished we did one in Tokyo as well.

Quality of Experience

Food

great experience at all stops.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

was a walking tour

Tokyo Highlights Day Tour - East & West

Tokyo

Great guide and tour, made getting around Tokyo easy and gave us a good layout of the city.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Mt. Fuji with Lake Kawaguchi & Oishi Park

Tokyo

We had a good experience, but we didnt realize Mt Fuji was as far away as it was and that we were taking a bus there for 2.5 hours each way. We got really lucky that the weather was good but it would have been a bust if it was cloudy. We loved the temple we saw and Mt fuji was amazing but it is a lot of car time for what you do.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Bamboo Grove and Monkey Park Tour with a Boat Ride

Kyoto

This was a really fun day, lots of walking but we had a great time across the board and really appreciated how much we learned from our guide.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Adeline was the absolute best. She really listened and found the best excursions and activities to accommodate our multi-generation trip. My kids had a blast with their grandparents. From the beautiful bike ride in Kyoto to the capybara cafe to amazing restaurant recommendations, we were so lucky to have her in our corner. She even proactively helped us with a couple of last minute changes once we were on the ground in Japan (while she was on her own vacation!)

Thanks to Angel, my family had the most wonderful trip to Japan. It was a 10 day whirlwind tour from the US to Tokyo to Okinawa to Osaka to Kyoto to Hiroshima and back to Tokyo and a final return to the US. Angel arranged every step (hotels, tours, trains & drivers), listening to my concerns and fixing every detail. She offered tours for our consideration. When we were on the trip, she was very responsive & helpful which we truly appreciated as we had not been to Japan before. I highly recommend her for your travel plans!

The overall trip was great. We really enjoyed allan our guide in tokyo. He was very instructive, and gave us great information as well as being so fun and helpful.
Our guide slash in kyoto and osaka was very helpful with coordinating our trip and helping us get around and making dinner reservations for us.
Alisa did fine. It would have helped if she had put the correct people together in hotel rooms to save us about an hour on the first check-in when they had completely random rooms assigned. She obviously doesn't know anything about hokkaido. We didn't need to spend one night in sapporo. We easily could have gotten up early and gone straight to the airport. It was a waste of a whole day since we didn't actually have time to see sapporo. The hilton niseko is not very good and I think another part of the mountain like hirafu would have been better to stay. It would be better to ask for help from other guides who are familiar with the ski culture.

We had the most memorable family trip to Tokyo, Kyoto, and Nara. Leny listened to everything we wanted and seamless curated the best guides, travel accommodation and suggestions for shooing, restaurants, cultural experiences and excursions. Would definitely use Kim Kim again.

We have used Kim Kim several times for trips in various parts of the world. Never ever have we had such a terrible experience as we did with the Travel Agent in Japan. As a family, we look forward to our annual vacation and at every turn the Travel Agent and her choices made things harder for us. Not only did she not give us good advice But she was culturally insensitive to our religious dietary needs and other areas.

Because of this experience, I don’t know if I would use this agency again. It was that bad and it ended up costing us more money to make changes due to the inefficiency and incompetence of the agent. I never write bad reviews, but I do want to protect other people who might book

My husband and I traveled from the US to Japan over the course of ten days in December 2024. We are fairly well traveled but felt like navigating Japan on our own was over our heads. There were no fully guided tours for the dates we were traveling and we'd heard about Kimkim and decided to give it a try. We are SO glad we did!

Leny was very responsive the entire planning process but even more so when we go to Japan. When we landed we were greeted by our private driver -just as Leny had arranged! This was so comforting as we were jet-lagged, unsure of cultural customs and hoping that all would go smoothly once arriving in Japan.

Without question, having Leny and the Kimkim team readily available for us made our amazing trip even more enjoyable. Leny took the time to really learn what we wanted from our trip-both in terms of sights and financially. The hotels were what we were expecting if not nicer and it was fantastic not having to worry about payments/reservations/check-outs as kimkim had taken care of it.

Activities were also well suited to our interests, although we may have chosen to go at a slower pace, we did feel like we got good value for the money we spent. Probably the most valuable for us was support navigating the bullet train and mass transit across the country and especaially the subway system within Tokyo. The support Leny gave us with transporation was worth it!

Looking online at the hotels, activities and transportation, we would have paid less coordinating the trip on our own. The additional amount spent to have kimkim work out the itinerary -which seemed to be an additional 20% - was well worth it in our minds.

We LOVED Japan and can't wait to go back again. Had we not had the support of Leny and the Kimkim team we surely would have found the trip less enjoyable and much more anxiety filled. Thank you!!

Hotel Reviews

THE KANZASHI TOKYO ASAKUSA

We loved this hotel. The room was small as we expected, but well appointed and everything we needed was in the room, including a hair dryer :) The bathroom was spotless and the shower was wonderful. We also felt the location was great for first time sight seeing and ideal for the first few nights in Tokyo as it was not noisy or overly crowded in the surrounding areas. Breakfast was also very good. We would stay here agian.

Authenticity & Character

Location

So close to Senso-ji temple and shrine and good food!

Staff

checkin, check out and breakfast were all fast and efficient. Staff were friendly

Cleanliness & Comfort

cleanliness was fantastic. The only complaint was that the pillows were quite hard.

Hotel Resol Trinity Kyoto

Kyoto

This is such a classy hotel! The restaurant and breakfast were outstanding! Could not have had a nicer spot to dine nor better food for breakfast. Very well done! The room clean, the beds very comfortable and the shower hot and easy to use. Loved the windows in the room. Gave light without compromising privacy. The front desk folks were exceptional, including the woman who helped forward our bags on to Osaka and the young gentleman who suggested Yonefuku for dinner the night of Dec 21, 24, when we were very tired and very hungry (and the restaurant was hosting a performer). THANK YOU! Excellent staff, comfort and good location. We would stay again!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Referral to Yonefuku on 12/21/24, help with shipping luggage to Osaka

Cleanliness & Comfort

beds were very comfortable, heating was accurate, shower was nice

Koyasan Syukubo Ekoin

Wakayama-ken

This hotel was nice, but not ideal for us. It was the most expensive of our trip and although it was quite large, all the modern amenities and lack of clear information on how to use them was dissappointing. The private bath looked so lovely in the pictures, but was too difficult and frustrating to use in real life. We also did not realize we could have eaten breakfast and dinner in our room- whcih did have a lovely table and full dining area. So instead we ate in the main lodge - May not have been a problem in summer or spring, but in December it was quite cold in the lodge and uncomfortalble. Finally, the room has in floor heating as well as furnace heating. It was around 28 Celsius in our room all night as we could not find clear instructions to cool down the room. This is likely one of the nicer accomodations in Koyasan, but we would not choose to go back as the price was quite high and we were not able to use the ammenities offered as instructions in English wer unavaible or were unclear.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Room amenities need clearer instructions in English. Thermostat very difficult to use.

Vessel Inn Shinsaibashi

If you like to be in the middle of the action, this is an excellent hotel for you! We were happy with the location, but it was a bit noisy and smaller than many small rooms we stayed at in Japan. We had a corner room which seemed larger than other rooms, but the bed by the window was cool and drafty in the winter and the curtain blew on you when sleeping. The bathroom and amenities were very nice. No breakfast was included which was okay, but would have been nice. Location was very good for us as there were a ton of dining and shopping options nearby, as well as a quick walk to Namba station (which also has fantastic shopping) - including Don Quijote, but otherwise we might plan to stay somewhere else next time we are in Osaka.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Namba station, Don Quijote

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

drafty near the window

the b ginza

the b ginza was a nice hotel for our last night in Japan as the subway option to get to Haneda Airport the next day was very straight-forward. We appreciated the location, the quietness and the welcome beverage upon check in. The shower in the room was amazing and we were able to figure out all the shower instructions quickly. Beds were comfortable and pillows were soft and so comfortable. The layout of the room meant that one person did not have acess to a bedside table and we were surprised that there was no phone to call reception in the room. We did not have breakfast as we don't love pancakes which seemed to be the only complimentary breakfast item. Overall, location is nice, but we may choose to stay somewhere else if we return to Ginza, Tokyo again.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Subway station was very close

Staff

staff seemed a little overwhelmed and weren't quick to greet us when we came to the desk

Cleanliness & Comfort

Great shower and beds

Activity Reviews

Half-Day Tokyo Tour with English-Speaking Guide

Tokyo

Shino greeted us promptly in the morning and was very kind and friendly. We appreciated her welcome gift the night before as well. This tour was our first of the trip and her English skills were put to the test with our many questions about culture, education, politics and religion. We so appreciated her helping us navigae the subway system and showing us the highlights of Tokyo. A four hour guided tour was plenty for our first day in Tokyo and gave us the confidence to try to navigate on our own a little more. Thank you, Shino for your patience, knowledge and guidance AND for the great pictures you took! The one thing we may suggest is adding a small stop for a snack or drink as we were famished by the time the tour was done at 1300.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

So helpful to use the subway with someone on the first day of our trip

Hidden Gem Food & Whiskey Night Tour near Roppongi

Tokyo

This tour was fun and Ellen was a great tour guide, but it was a little long for us- especially on the first day of our tour after another 4 hour guided tour. We apprecitated trying Wagyu beef (and did not need to eat it again as it was not our favorite). We loved talking to the chef and appreciated Ellen's interpreting for us. The whiskey spot was super fun and nice to try the japaneese whisky. The most fun was meeting Ellen's older lady restaurant owner and watching her cook for us and explain how she makes her food.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We like to walk, but may have been okay to use taxi for some of the walking after a long day of tours.

Sushi making class in Tsukiji fish market with Pro sushi chef

Tokyo

Fuka Fuji was fantastic and her English and understanding of both Japaneese and USA culture was so helpful. We really enjoyed going grocery shopping with her and learning how to get the best items for our meal. The meal was also excellent and LOTS of food. Sake tasting was fun, but wasn't necessary for this class. We very much enjoyed our time with Fuka- We do think the class could be done in three hours. Four was maybe too long for what we did, but we were lucky that it was just the three of us

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We walked which we like, so no tranport needed

Full Day Kyoto and Nara Tour with English-Speaking Guide

Japan

Mana was a lovely guide for our full day tour. Knowing that we were quick walkers and liked to see as much as we could, she paced the day very well for us. We feel like we got to see a lot this day! We also appreciated Mana's help navigating the travel to and from Nara as well as the other sights in Kyoto. The temples and shrines we saw that day were incredible. We particularly apprecitated Nara, not only because of the cute deer, but the temple and the HUGE buddha and gate were stunning. One of the things we most appreciated was Mana teaching us basic phrases and numbers in Japaneese. We used these things a ton on our trip and her presentation of them was fantastic. You can tell she's been a teacher before and we learned so much from her! Finally, we apprectiated Mana walking us back to our hotel.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Taxiing help us see the most. The train ride was nice

Welcome to Koyasan!

Koyasan

Sadly, this was our least favorite activity. We wish we would have had more time in Tokyo, Kyoto or Osaka instaed of the journey to and from Koyasan. We also felt that the trip between kyoto and koyosan back to osaka was a lot and made the time at Koyasan feel rushed. The staff and amenities at Syukubo Ekoin were okay, but we felt staff were a little young and unclear about where different activities were located, how dinner and breakfast were typically done and how to use amenites. Overall, we felt that the length of the journey to and from Koyosan wasn't worth what we missed in other parts of Japan that we liked better. We recognize that we had asked for a temple stay and probably should have done more research before committing to this particular activity/trip. We appreciated seeing traditional buddhist practices, but would have skipped it knowing how much of the trip it would use up.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Staff at Temple seemed unorganized. There was no specific person to ask so we interrupted the office staff often to get infomation

Transport

Interesting to take the Furnicular to Koyasan and all mass transport staff were helpful. Overall, too much travel for this activity

Sayonara Japan!

Tokyo

We loved being back in Tokyo and Ginza was a nice last stop, although we liked other areas of Tokyo better - including Asakusa, Shibuya, Rippongi. Being fairly independent travelers, we liked not having something specific planned for us and were happy to walk to a well reputed sushi restaurant for our last night in Tokyo. Our favorite spots were Asakusa, Cappiness Cafe in Tokyo, All things Kyoto including Hotel Resol Trinity, Arashiyama and the amazing sushi lunch we had there. Highlights for us were the lovely Japaneese people and culture of walking, cleanliness, efficiency, quiet, and a sense of gratitude and respect for others. THIS is what makes us want to return, not to mention the food! Amazing quality and diversity of food was so fun for us!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The pre-planning of the trip and the tours that were set up were all excellent. Our guide in Tokyo and to Mt. Fuji - Allen - was wonderful. The only complaint I have is that our hotel check-ins took more than half and hour each time because the names for who would be occupying the rooms were completely screwed up. This caused quite a bit of confusion at check in. Kim Kim had all of our families names and knew who should be sharing rooms but somehow the room assignments were somewhat random.

This was a trip of a lifetime, allowing us to see the most we could in the time we had. Angel did a great job of getting everything in that we wanted to see and setting up the travel between all of the locations. Yumi was a great guide in Tokyo and adjusted our itinerary on the fly to make sure we saw all of the relevant attractions. Chizuko (Chi) was great for the 3 days we spent with her. She was very informative and had specific things she showed us as we went along. All of the hotels where excellent, and Angel piked well for us. We had an issue with a missed train connection, due to a blockage on the track, and Ms. Heidi was quick to help and even offered to pay the difference if we got charged for a change to the next train, which we did not. This is the 3rd time we have used KimKim and will absolutely use them again!

Activity Reviews

Katana Sword Making in Kyoto

Kyoto

You get to learn about the history of swords as well as how they made. You end up with your own take home knife, that you helped craft, which really brings this home.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

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

Kyoto

The Samurai Museum will seem very touristy, BUT we found ourselves referencing the information we learned the rest of the trip. You really do learn about the Samurai and the history of them in Japan. The Tea Ceremony really got you the experience of seeing it in person and the opportunity to dress for it. Strongly suggest this tour, if this is your first trip to Japan.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tokyo Highlights Day Tour - East & West

Tokyo

Our guide did a great job of showing us all of the important things to see in Tokyo. Yumi was quick to adjust our itinerary to ensure we saw some of the historical aspects of Tokyo, which where close to our hotel.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half Day Fushimi Inari Taisha and Kinkakuji Temple

Kyoto

This was quit the experience, and would strongly recommend this and getting to see the culture aspects of Kyoto.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We thoroughly enjoyed the trip to Japan and would recommend it to everyone. Some of the timing could have been changed: for instance we spent a night in Sapporo that would have been better spent in Niseko. I think Alissa would benefit from taking a trip to Hokkaido herself.
Allan Tan, our guide in Tokyo was the highlight of our trip. He was not only very knowledgeable and helpful, but incredibly charming and enthusiastic.
Slash, our guide in Osaka and Kyoto, was also very knowledgeable and helpful. He helped us find and reserve some excellent restaurants.
The transportation everywhere was excellent. All our drivers were prompt and efficient.
We thought Kim-Kim did a fine job with reservations and we felt we got our money’s worth. Great trip.

My wife Liz and I just returned from 18 fantastic days in Japan. We couldn’t be happier with our experience. We visited Tokyo, Hikone, Takayama, Shirakawa-go, Kanazawa and Kyoto. Every city had its own character, charm, and allure. We saw the hustle and bustle of Tokyo, but also the hidden gems like the Lion Cafe, and the wonderful TeamLab Borderless exhibit. We had Onsen in Hikone and stayed in a traditional inn with glorious traditional meals. In Takayama and Kanazawa we experienced the old historic districts with wooden buildings, quaint Restuarant’s and lots of charm. Shurakawa-go was a treat with the old thatched room houses, snow on the ground and views of the Japan Alps. Kyoto was a cultural treat— we enjoyed the tea ceremony, the Maiko performance, and of course the sake tour and tasting. Overall we had a trip to remember and we couldn’t be happier. This review only hints at the great sights and experiences we had but we are overjoyed with the trip.
In planning our trip we got so much assistance and advice from Kimkim and especially our specialist Sandy. We would not have had anywhere near the experience we did without the wonderful Sandy,. We went through several versions of itineraries and sights-to-see with Sandy. She listened to what we wanted and made all the arrangements. We enjoy a mix of days with guides and days on our own to explore. Sandy made this happen and the guides she arranged were all lovely people, so full of energy and charm, and completely aware of all the history and the lesser known places to see. Sandy made train arrangements and car transportation set up when we needed it. The car transfer from Tokyo to Hakone was great because we stopped by the lake near Mt Fuji and took the boat across the lake for wonderful Fuji views,
Overall it’s five star review for Kimkim and Sandy. (I’d give more stars if I could). Liz and I had a super trip and couldn’t be happier. Happy travels to all who read this review. Best regards from Art in USA.

Hotel Review

Hakone Hotel Kajikaso

Hakone

The Hakone Hotel Kajikaso was wonderful. It is a traditional Japanese inn and a modern hotel combined, The onsen baths were wonderful and the traditional meals were so fun and delicious. The room was a futon bed experience and the beds were very comfortable. The town is love,y and the whole experience was quite memorable.

Authenticity & Character

Don’t miss the Mont Blanc dessert shop

Location

Near the old section of town, lots to see and good shopping

Staff

So friend,y and supportive

Cleanliness & Comfort

The onsen baths were extremely clean and enjoyable

Activity Review

Hakone exploration : Mishima Skywalk , The shores of Lake Ashi and Onshi-Hakone Park

Hakone

Loved the views and close feel to the natural landscape. The pirate ship ferry boat tour on the lake was amazing!

Quality of Experience

Beautiful natural surroundings

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Mr Tony was super, lovely personality.

Transport

Nice vehicle, vert comfortable

I went into kimkim and my local specialist Shona blind. I researched the site, hedged my bets, and took a plunge I'm forever grateful for. Shona helped me customize my trip to meet my interests and fit my travel style (experienced solo traveller, massive nerd). She answered all my questions and was wonderful to work with. The guides I met throughout my trip were really special people: Yumi, Takehiko, Tomoko, thank you so much! I loved getting to see Japan as a guest with locals giving me invaluable insight. I am so honored to have had this experience, and the next time I venture across the Pacific, I will absolutely use kimkim and Shona again.

Hotel Review

Shiba Park Hotel

Tokyo

Very cool book-loving boutique hotel in a quiet neighborhood that's still in easy walking distance of convenience stores and public transportation. Great breakfast.

Authenticity & Character

Their theme is books: every floor features mini libraries and guests are encouraged to peruse all the different selections to find something to take back to their room.

Location

Minato, Tokyo

Staff

Very polite and helpful!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

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

Kyoto

It's obviously a thing for tourists, but at no point did I feel like I was infringing on Japanese cultural practices. Rather I felt welcomed to share, learn, and participate in a respectful environment. Also, wearing a kimono is just cool.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Excellent! We shopped around for our recent vacation to Japan and got multiple quotes from various companies. They weren’t the cheapest or the most expensive and I was actually a bit reluctant since the price was very reasonable. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by the service and the accommodations they selected as well as the excursions selected. Angel was excellent, she listened and expertly tailored our trip to our needs. Her knowledge gave us ample time to transfer to our next destination and with very little effort. She was reasonably available when needed or had any questions. There was also an emergency contact to the company is anything should come up. We are definitely using them again for our next vacation. Kim Kim made our vacation amazing and stressless, as a vacation should be. Thank you KimKim and Angel for a wonderful trip.

The only cons are that the prices are not transparent nor is a breakdown given. The price was very reasonable so it didn’t matter so much. At times if you have an urgent question it may take a while to get back. They got back to us on every occasion though and answered any question we had. As first time travelers to Japan we were a bit confused with the surroundings but with a little time and effort we were able to figure it out on our own so most of the questions were just panic being in a foreign environment.

It was truly the trip of a lifetime! Our guide in Tokyo, Alan, was spectacular—knowledgeable and engaging, making every moment unforgettable. Simon, our trip planner, was amazing, maintaining excellent communication throughout the entire experience. The hotels, activities, and recommendations were outstanding, enhancing our adventure. I highly recommend this travel service for anyone looking to explore Japan in a unique and memorable way

We overall had a great 10 day trip in Japan. The locations and experiences were exactly what we were looking for, you can't go wrong with all the wonderful things to see in the country. We did have issues with our particular tour specialist. We felt that she provided a 'copy and paste' itinerary from other trip plans and was not individualized based on our questions and feedback. While planning other Kimkim trips, it was more of a back and forth looking for feedback, but any questions or comments we had would automatically result in a new trip plan - there wasn't the specialized communication that I had experienced with other trip guides. I was particularly disappointed with the restaurant reservations. I asked 6 weeks in advance of our trip for recommendations and help making reservations and our guide said she would get back to us and never did. Only after prompting, she provided a list of top 10 restaurants in Tokyo - something we easily could have found ourselves. Given how packed Japan is and personal food sensitivities, finding restaurants for dinner was very frustrating and a problem that could have been avoided. I do love Kimkim and have recommended them many times, but I do say it is dependent on the knowledge and the willingness to help by your assigned guide.

Activity Reviews

Tokyo City Tour with Tokyo Tower

Tokyo

Our guide, Keiko, had difficulties navigating the subway - she got confused multiple times resulting in delays. She was very personable and friendly, but we didn't feel that she knew the city too well other than the major tourist areas we were visiting.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The guide didn't seem to know how to navigate Tokyo subways well. She was informative when we asked questions, but we were expecting for her to provide more information on overall history and culture of Tokyo/Japan.

Full Day Kyoto City Tour with Fushimi Inari-Taisha

Kyoto

Zumi is a fabulous tour guide and super responsive to whatever we were interested in or any particular requests we had. We loved everything we saw this day and Zumi went out of his way to provide us an excellent experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Full Day Nara City Tour, Overnight in Osaka

Kyoto

Leon was an incredible driver and guide. We were expecting him to just drive us around, but he walked around with us providing information and taking pictures for us. When it started to rain, he volunteered to run back to the car and come pick us up so we didn't get wet. He even brought us to an additional park that wasn't on the itinerary - he was great!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Mt. Fuji and Lake Ashi Tour

Hakone

Sam was a great guide - I wish we could have started our trip with him in Tokyo. He was super informative about history, religion, and customary practices at temples. We learned so much from him at the very end of our trip that we wish we had known from the start. I do think a guide isn't really necessary for what we did on this particular day, we only really needed a driver but we were happy to spend the day with Leon nonetheless.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We were very impressed with the professionalism and enthusiasm displayed by all members of the KimKim team. The trip was truly an amazing experience from our first contact with Kate through Mr. Jeon’s drop off at the Seoul airport. I will not hesitate to recommend KimKim, and we will not hesitate to use your services in the future ( no need to send weekly emails). Sorry to be a broad brush stroke but everybody was good, proactive, attentive, polite, and would be rated highly. The hotels were all above average - the Mercure in Takayama was our favorite - the Excel in Shibuya probably our least favorite but still very acceptable. The itineraries which Kate developed were wonderfully executed by the team members. I have one suggestion - we had a driver in Takayama - probably not necessary / we took buses in Kyoto, which was interesting , but very time consuming. A driver in Kyoto may have been a better use of resources. Thanks for asking for my feedback. Keep up the good work!!!!!! Best regards, Adrian

My husband and I used Kimkim for the first time to help us plan a trip to Japan. Eleanor was responsive to all our requests and communications during the planning phases of our trip. Her thoroughness and attention to details made us feel Kimkim would be able to help us if problems arose. The locations of hotels she recommended were ideal in accessing the public transportation and sites we wanted to visit. The logistics of transporting us from airports and train stations to hotels were excellent. The drivers made contact with us the day before, sent photos of the cars and license plates and were always waiting for us when we arrived. We had arranged several private guides in Kyoto and Tokyo. The guides also texted us the day before our tour and confirmed details. The guides and drivers collaborated smoothly and allowed us to be flexible if we wanted to modify our tour. In Tokyo, For the 'night life' tour in Tokyo, our guide Ryoji maneuvered us through crowds and narrow alleys to experience up close the vitality of the entertainment district. We had requested a special tour of Ginza district architecture and during the planning stage, the agency contacted us directly to learn more about what we were interested in. We were delighted by Haruka's tour - it was exactly what we had hoped for. She brought illustrations of earthquake-resilience construction that enhanced our understanding of what we were seeing. In Kyoto, it was awkward because the guide had been told our tour would last all day, but we had clarified that we did not want a tour longer than 3 -4 hours. We learned that it was best to sit down together before starting a tour and talk about what was planned, then explain to the guide what our preferences were and our target time to end.