Review

This tour covered the highlights of the areas really well without trying to squeeze everything in or not have enough time to enjoy the places we were seeing.

The hotels were beautiful, comfortable and clean. We appreciated staying places that were westernised but not hotels that could be anywhere in the world.

Exceptional at all times

Charlie was phenomenal. So very organised and prepared and such a fantastic sense of humour. I loved his way of giving information, the pre-prepared signs and examples. Appreciated the way he explained how the train system worked so that we were able to use it on our own in free time or after the tour, that he was vigilant about making sure dietary requirements were catered to. He was funny and engaging and just generally an absolute delight.Keiko was also exceptional - she adjusted the plan according to our interests and what we wanted to do (if we wanted to go shopping, we could just take an extra half an hour to look around) - the itinerary in the part of the tour felt a little less packed so we could fit these things in. Gave great restaurant recommendations and helped us with our post-tour plans. She was lovely to have with our group for the last few days of the tour.

The handbooks with information were great - particularly the cultural differences that we needed to be aware of. Some of the information felt a little outdated (i.e. most places take debit card or contactless payments now) but we were able to easily adjust once we were there. Our planning was complicated due to standby travel plans and our itinerary had to be updated a few times but the communication with Martin was always prompt and helpful.

Loved that there were no tour busses at any point! Really enjoyed using the trains (definitely easier with a smaller group) to get around Tokyo and walking means you see so much more of a place. The bullet trains were great and so helpful to just have everything booked in advance and tickets handed to us at the beginning of the tour.