Sandy Ren

KimKim planned an incredible trip to Japan for my family. We (me, my spouse, my son (11) and daughter (8)) spent 12 days total in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Hakone. KimKim took care of all the details for us, from planning the itinerary to arranging transportation to finding lots of fun activities for my kids. The real highlight of the trip was a last-minute food tour we threw on the itinerary in Osaka. The guide was incredible and so great with the kids. We went to phenomenal little holes in the wall to try local foods, and visited interesting sites along the way. My kids, both of whom are fairly picky eaters, said the food tour was their favorite part of the trip.

Overall, just a fantastic experience. Everything worked perfectly, the KimKim team was responsive and helpful. I just can't recommend KimKim enough. I'm looking forward to the next trip I can book with them!

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

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

It was a very well planned trip. Sandy and her team were always available to assist us during the trip. The only thing we will possibly do different will be to not carry all our luggage to Mount Koya or Koyasan.

We wanted to do the Kumano Kodo trail and visit Kyoto and Tokyo and a couple of other spots and Sandy was really helpful. Her assistance was pivotal with planning the Kumano Kodo lodgings because we assumed that a couple months in advance were enough and had difficulty finding hotels, but Sandy made it all happen and came up with great options. Her assistance was crucial, that is perhaps the best part of Kim Kim the fact that they set you up with someone local who can really come through and provide insider suggestions and options that no foreigner would come up with

First off, Sandy is amazing. From the first day of planning to the end of the trip, she's always there with us. She answered all our (4 of us) questions. And is always one step ahead of our trip. She had always informed us 1 day ahead as who is our driver or who is our local guide, and what to do next. When we contacted her for a little hiccup, she and her team immediately jumped on it to resolve the situation. (BTW, the hiccup was from the other place booking, not Kimkim).

Jennifer, Fiona, Mike, Jade, and Micky are flexible and knowing their locals well. Drivers are on time. We like Hotel at Kyoto and Osaka best. La Valse at Busan has a very nice view, but the room is not too functional due to a not useful countertop. So it's just ok. All hotels are very clean btw.

All in all, I'm glad I found Kimkim and more so when having Sandy as our specialist. We'll look for Kimkim for our next trip, and hopefully we got Sandy again. And for sure, I'll share our experience about kimkim with our friends.

Thanks for wonderful memory.

Hotel Reviews

Lavalse Hotel

The view is amazing. But the room has the countertop (like kitchen countertop) which take up a lot of room. I would trade the view for the more functional room.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Great view.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

clean but not comfy due to the countertop takes up a big chunk of real estate.

Cross Hotel Osaka

Osaka

Best hotel chain for my trip. Both lobby and room are nice and roomy. I would love to stay here next time.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Cross Hotel Kyoto

Kyoto

Best hotel chain for my trip. Both lobby and room are nice and roomy. I would love to stay here next time.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Daiwa Roynet Hotel Ginza PREMIER

Tokyo

Location is good but the lobby is so tiny. Room is clean but ok. I'm ok to stay here next time.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

NINE TREE PREMIER HOTEL MYEONGDONG II

Seoul

Good lobby, room is ok but one annoying thing is about the motion detection light. I would like to have an option to use it or now. At night if you have to go to the bath room, this light will be wake you up or your partner up.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

I had to leave at 7:00am at the same time, the buffet would just got open. The staff ordered our breakfast packed for us the night before. And actually they were ready before 7:00am. This is great.

Cleanliness & Comfort

annoying night motion detection light

Activity Review

Osaka Local Foodie Tour in Dotonbori and Shinsekai

Osaka

I was really looking forward to experiencing the local food in Osaka, but honestly, it didn’t live up to my expectations. Maybe it’s because I’ve had amazing street food in places like Thailand and Vietnam, which are hard to beat.

We had a 10 days most amazing tour of Japan thanks to our wonderful tour organizer Sandy who had put together a package covering just about every important site seeing spots and more , the tour guides were all anxious to teach us many important points, the accommodations were all very well chosen in best locations with reasonable prices, and considering we were stuck with a worst typhoon, she was able to change around on the spot

Sandy was super diligent and thorough in planning our trip. She was very communicative and fully understood our requirements. All the events in the itinerary were top notch and appropriate for what we wanted. Both leading up to finalizing the program, and during the trip, she was on top of the itinerary and we never felt the need to reach out to her first - she would always proactively do so! KimKim and Sandy were the best - we'd highly recommend!

Hotel Reviews

Cerulean Tower Tokyu Hotel

Tokyo

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

THE HOTEL HIGASHIYAMA by Kyoto Tokyu Hotel

Kyoto

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Westin Osaka

Osaka

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Full Day Tokyo City Tour

Tokyo

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Yumi was the best!

Transport

Full Day Osaka City Tour

Osaka

Quality of Experience

Highlight of our trip!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Yuki was the best!

Transport

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

Tokyo

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Geisha (Maiko) Tea Ceremony & Show in Kyoto Gion Kiyomizu

Kyoto

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

An Insight into Local Religion: Fushimi Inari-Taisha, Nijo Castle and Kinkaku-ji

Japan

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Yuki was the best!

Transport

Full Day Tour of Arashiyama Bamboo Grove & Sagano Scenic Railway

Kyoto

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Yuki was the best!

Transport

Sumo Morning Practice

Tokyo

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Osaka Foodie Walking Tour at dark

Osaka

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Yoshi was great!

Transport

From start to finish, our trip to Japan was nothing short of spectacular, thanks in large part to Sandy, our local specialist. This trip, which we planned for my sister and our kids, was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Sandy’s exceptional service played a pivotal role in making it unforgettable.
Sandy’s expertise and dedication were evident from the very beginning. She skillfully helped us navigate through the planning process, balancing our budget with our dream itinerary. Her knowledge of Japan was impressive, and her patience and understanding made the planning phase smooth and stress-free. Despite the 12-hour time difference, Sandy was always available. During the trip she would check in daily to confirm all logistics and ensure everything was on track. She even threw in a much appreciated upgrade with our last minute experience add-on!
Our 14-day journey took us to Tokyo, Kyoto, Hakone, and Osaka. Each stop was seamlessly organized, thanks to Sandy’s meticulous planning. The friendly and professional drivers and guides at each location were punctual and attentive, enhancing our experience at every turn. Our bullet train tickets to Kyoto from Hakone magically appeared at our hotel at check-in.
A standout moment of our trip was our day trip to Yokohoma with our guide, Alan Tan. Alan went above and beyond by securing reservations at a fantastic restaurant for the best table with panoramic views of Shibuya Crossing. His thoughtful touch included providing us with detailed train maps for days he wasn’t with us, ensuring we could navigate the city with ease. His dedication and personalized assistance were deeply appreciated.
Sandy’s efforts in securing hard-to-get advance tickets (Ramen Museum, CupNoodle Factory, TeamLabPlanets, Ghibli Museum, Osaka Aquarium) were a huge relief and allowed us to focus on enjoying our trip. Each day unfolded without a hitch, and we are incredibly grateful for the seamless experience she provided. The memories we created will be cherished forever, and we owe a great deal of our unforgettable experience to Sandy’s exceptional service.