My first group tour in Japan was great! I had the opportunity to experience a vast amount of local culture from the futuristic cities of Tokyo and Osaka to the ancient shrines and temples of Nagano and Koyasan. My highlights of the trip included seeing the snow monkeys and experiencing Japans vibrant nightlife through its electric bars and clubs. A big thanks to Michelle, our amazing tour leader who did an exceptional job of taking us around Japan. Her organisation, dedication and friendship wont be forgotten.
A Wonderful Trip to a Fascinating Country I have been on many trips, all over the world, during the past decade or so, including many with Exodus. This Exodus trip I would rank as one of the very best. From start to finish, it was a wonderful experience, with a great group of fellow travelers. Each day was filled with new delights. The Japanese people were consistently kind, friendly, welcoming, and polite. The transport system is absolutely superb. The spotlessness of every location - even side streets in huge cities - has to be experienced to be believed. I am absolutely adamant that I will return to Japan in the near future because I was so enthralled by my experience during this trip.
My wife and I really wanted to see the snow monkeys but never expected that our reason for travelling to Japan could be so overshadowed by everything else this trip has to offer. The shrines, temples, cities and sights are excellent. The people are friendly, helpful and interested in knowing what you think about their country and whilst english is rarely spoken, the locals don't allow this small detail get in the way of the conversation. The cities are spotless, buzzing yet incredibly safe and we never felt intimidated or felt the need to worry about keeping wallets and the like hidden from view when in crowds. Travelling around Japan on this trip is extensive but never a chore, dull or a waste of valuable time as there is so much to see en-route and even more to see at each destination. Travelling independently is simple with instructions in english everywhere and a refreshingly simple set up in the train and underground stations. Food is amazing with so much choice on the days where self catering required but the food included in the trip is as good if not better than what could be found on the the self catering days. In the ryokan's we could dress in traditional dress for group dinners which was a giggle and of course there was the relaxing in the hot spring onsen to look forward to as well. The pace of the trip is fast because of the amount of things to see and do but it suits all age groups as could be seen by the group we travelled with. Our group I would guess spanned four decades, got on superbly with each other and to a person we understand everyone had an incredible time. A wise man on the trip (who hopefully will recognise himself if he reads this review) summed it all up by saying "There are not enough superlatives to describe the trip and the time had by all". Oh, and the snow monkeys were brilliant by the way.
