Fascinating culture, country, food & people What we loved about the trip: travelling by excellent, clean & efficient public transport rather than buses. Good mix of tempkes, activities and scenery. Noku hotel in Kyoto was our favourite hotel, excellent location. The people were very friendly, courteous, respectful and helpful. Loved Kyoto and the alps. Tokyo was very tiring. Our guide Ayaka Tsukamoto was very friendly, extremely helpful, great sense of humour, brilliant organisational skills and imparted the right amount of infirmation.
What we didn’t like about the trip: Only organise one meal in the first Ryokan instead of 2. The second Ryokan banquet meal was good but the accommodation was very, very old, tired and not very nice at all. The onsens were disappointing too. The description of these experiences didn’t match the reality. Loved the idea of staying in a Ryokan but you need to find better ones, maybe with a nice garden.
Anyone thinking about doing the japan trip don;t think just do it. The group was amazing and we have 2 amazing tour leaders the support you get at the end to help with onward travel was very helpful. The activities included were great fun but I can now definitely say I don;t like sushi but it was fun learning how to make. The places we stayed were really nice better than places I have stayed in the UK. I would do this tour again in a heartbeat.
Japan is a must in regards to countries you should see in your lifetime. This itinerary covers a lot and you will get a comprehensive outlook on Japanese culture through it. Every single day was an experience of it's own. There is a lot to say about Japan: transport system is excellent, streets are spotlessly clean. The best costumer service you will get and one of the kindest/most efficient people you will have a pleasure to meet. The diversity between new and old that you can see so clearly just by visiting Kyoto and Tokio is so interesting to witness. I will definitely come back to Japan after this trip!