I am very happy to say this trip exceeded my expectations. Our group of three singles from Australia & Germany, and a Canadian couple made a great mix. What made the tour exceptional was our guide Akemi. She was caring, funny & knowledgeable and nothing was too much trouble for her. She took the hassle out of travelling though Tokyo, Kyoto & Osaka and then even more importantly to me, the backroads, which is what I have wanted to see but would not have known how to. I would not have enjoyed it as much having to work out the logistics. The tour is a great complement of nature and popular city landmarks with enough free time. The hotels, ryokans & included meals were great. I chose the single supplement which was worth it. At times I felt our group were the only tourists in town, and we did get to have ryokans exclusively- the bonus of touring pre cherry blossom season! It's still so beautiful and definitely less busy. Thank you Akemi, my Backroad Buddies and World Expeditions for such a memorable trip.
Our trekking on the backroads of Japan was amazing. We were able to go to places where most tourists do not go to. There is a lot of walking and you need some stamina to walk many kilometers. The people on our tour were lovely and enjoyed the places we stayed and went.
The Japan tour by World Expeditions was exceptionally informative and adventurous and their itinerary was varied and off the tourist track in a small group.I did like having the flexibility option to miss some of the longer and more strenuous walks and take public transport and taking it easy as at times the trip was pretty go-ey with a few long days. I'm very glad I took 5 nights post trip to relax before returning home. The public transport system is very prompt and efficient and I'm glad I used a tour to navigate this for the first time as some of the train stations are overwhelmingly large and busy especially Tokyo as I arrived late at night and tired, however the station staff are very helpful!! The smaller cities like Osaka and Kyoto are easier. Google maps is very useful for this but you need international roaming or a Japan Sim card etc. I think some highlights were the smaller towns where we stayed at a Ryokan or smaller hotel and enjoyed a more interactive and cultural engagement and just strolling through the towns and shops.