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.
An amazing trip to japan to see its wonder and it didn't disappoint. we were blessed with incredible weather which led to the blessing of seeing Mount Fuji fully during the day and at sunset which is mesmerising. the snow monkeys also came out to entertain us in such a beautiful location. we also had sakura viewings almost every day in abundance in the warm sunshine. spotting geisha wandering along and talking to each other as they were on the way to bookings was a lifelong tick of my list!! seeing a dance show complete with a comedy section which was totally relatable even if we couldn't understand Japanese eating the most amazing food lots I have never had before and seeing how the real people of japan eat out and drink sake.
An excellent way to see the variety of sights that Japan has to offer, and as with other Exodus trips the trade-off is some long days on trains, subways, trams and walks (and variable standards of accommodation). However, all the public transport ran like clockwork, and even complicated travel days with 15 of us to look after were easily dealt with by our guide ...and I loved the Shinkansen (bullet train). Kyoto was more westernised than I was expecting, but there was still plenty to see. Hiroshima was surprisingly emotional for me, and I loved the local okonomiyaki we had for dinner. The areas around Takayama and Yudanaka were definitely more traditional Japanese, and the ryokans were a big change from the city hotels but they still had wifi (bathing was interesting though!!). Finishing off in Tokyo worked well, getting back into western ways.