Review

We learned a great deal on this tour and sincerely appreciated the effort that went into the itinerary. We do have a few suggestions, though: 1. We really appreciated Charlie\'s efforts to give us an education at the Asakusa Shrine area on the first day, but the place is packed with tourists and shops. For an initial tour, it might be better to take guests to the Tokyo National Museum area, which we visited on our own before the tour began. It gave us a much deeper understanding of Japanese history and culture and helped us understand many of the sites on the tour. 2. We participated in the Outer Market tour and learned a great deal from Hiro (the guide). The market itself, however, is filled with tourists and shops - most Japanese people don\'t go there. Hiro is such a wealth of information that his expertise would be more valuable in a tour of the History Museum, for example, or some other place where there is \"real\" Japanese history or culture. 3. One of our favorite places on the itinerary was the Buddhist Temple at Koya-San. We enjoyed everything from the transportation to get there and back to the food, accommodations, the temples and the memorial. 4. We could have done without the pirate ship ride on Lake Ashi. It had nothing to do with Japan and was too crowded. There must be a better way to get to the other side of the lake. 5. The day at Miyajima Island was enjoyable enough, but again, way too crowded. We were not sure whether that is typical or whether it was due to the holiday, but if it is typical, you may want to consider another scenic setting without wall-to-wall people. 6. We enjoyed all other sites that we visited, including Nara, and would keep them on your future itinerary.

1. We thought the Shinagawa Prince Hotel was the weakest of the hotels for the tour. Our room was very small and dated. While the chain is well known in Japan, based on the money we paid for the tour, the room should have been much better in terms of quality, size and service. 2. The Aki Grand Hotel had a lovely lobby where a pianist played in the afternoon. I thoroughly enjoyed sitting there listening to him while I sipped a lovely cup of coffee served in beautiful china. The group dinners there were lots of fun. The only problem we had with our room was that the shower curtain was not long enough (end to end), so the bathroom floor got really wet when we showered. 3. The hotel in Hakone had a beautiful garden that we thoroughly enjoyed. It was a nice choice. 4. Our lodging at the Buddhist temple was a unique experience! We enjoyed it, but one recommendation I would make is for them to get softer pillows and place fresh towels in the bathroom/shower area so we didn\'t have to remember to bring them from our room.

We enjoyed all the food that was included in the tour (and the food we found on our own). We especially appreciated the extra attention given to my husband\'s garlic allergy.

Every single guide was awesome! All of them were kind, organized, thoughtful, educated, helpful, patient, and went of their way to ensure that everyone was enjoying the trip and learning as much as possible. They were also quick on their feet when unexpected issues arose that were out of their control. For example, JJ handled a train stoppage brilliantly. She took control and quickly devised another plan to get us to our destination. Please extend our thanks and best wishes to all of the guides.

The tour handbook and background information was very helpful, but it did seem a bit dated.

Fabulous!

Well thought-out and efficient. The guides ensured we knew where to go and how to use the train stations and buses.