Japan Active and outdoor Trips

A tremendous trip that combined urban and rural Japan so that one had an overall feel of the Japanese way! Toyko, Kyoto and Osaka were as buzzy as I expected. The time on the trails in the countryside was a very meditative experience. Overall a great experience.

The tour was fabulous and our tour leader, Zilola, was fantastic. The pace is full on and definitely delivers the highlights of Japan. Zilola added optional activities to get the most out of our short stays at each destination. In addition, she was always available to address any questions or concerns the group may have had. As we were visiting sites, she provided extensive background information which enhanced the experience. As others commented, be prepared for lots of walking! This is my third trip with Explore my favorite to date. I added on days in Kyoto and Tokyo and recommend this there is limited time at in both places. Highly recommend!

This trip revealed several layers of Japan’s historical and current urban and natural landscapes, all under the expert guidance of our enthusiastic tour leader, David Lam. David was exceptionally well organized, always had a Plan B option (rarely needed), took us to neat restaurants (e.g., savory Japanese pancakes at Okonomiyaki Ranban in Wakayama), and clearly enjoys being a guide and showing off Japan to newcomers. He set up a WhatsApp page for our group at our first meeting, and it was a great resource for logistical info, weather updates, and for us to post photos and notes of the trip. Our group of 10 participants (from four countries) spanned a nearly 50-year age range, and everyone got along remarkably well. The last four full days of the trip were my favorite. I loved being out in nature on our hikes of the Kumano Kodo trail, which were led by Jennifer Fujino and her assistant guides (including Asai Tomoko) on separate days (David stayed with us, too). Jennifer told us several stories of this pilgrimage route and the religious beliefs that people continue to practice in this area. On the trail, we listened to a variety of songbirds and saw snakes, frogs, little orange crabs, and lush vegetation in this beautiful area; we even tried forest bathing! I also liked going on a small boat ride of the Kumano River to Hatayama Shrine on Day 10 of the trip. We had our most spectacular weather on Day 11, which included visiting the Kumano Nachi Taisha Shrine, adjacent Seiganto-ji Temple, and Nachi-no-Otaki waterfall (Japan’s tallest). After a scenic (but stuffy) train ride to Osaka, we continued the fun on Day 11 with an interactive dinner at a small Korean BBQ (where we cooked our meat/seafood on a little grill in front of us). Afterwards, we happened upon a Buddhist fire ceremony, and we ended the evening in the Namba entertainment district, which was full of bright lights, oversize sea creatures scaling buildings, and an abundant supply of multi-flavor KitKats that I bought to bring home to friends. As much as I liked this trip, there were a few things I was not as keen on: 1) I personally could have skipped Tokyo or spent less time there as I am not a big city person; my single room at the Sunroute Asakusa Hotel was a dismal cracker box with a running toilet that the hotel staff did not care to fix (jiggling the handle worked for a while), and the breakfast was not very good (I picked up grocery items at a nearby supermarket for my 2nd breakfast); 2) we went to a lot of shrines and temples, and I would have appreciated scaling that back some to go on more nature hikes; and 3) as a retired scientist, I have some strong opinions about the unsustainably large population of protected sika deer, considered sacred, in Nara. These deer are being treated like petting zoo animals, instead of wild animals, and I observed several deer aggressively chasing or biting the clothing of tourists who were not giving them enough of the special crackers one can purchase to feed them. These deer can transmit several diseases to humans, including Lyme disease from ticks that may travel from the deer to someone petting or hugging it. Explore guides should inform participants of these risks and insure that they wash their hands after touching the deer. On a positive note, it was a heartwarming moment to see a baby fawn being born and later taking its first steps at the Kasuga Taisha Shrine in Nara.

Excellent trip, full on but really well organised and perfect if you want to get a good sense of what Japan has to offer in a week. We absolutely loved it, Andrew our tour leader was knowledgeable, friendly, calm, and very organised. The group was a good mix of ages from 24-82. We all felt like we were in safe hands. Would highly recommend this trip.

Good mix of touristic sightseeing and trail hiking. Public transport was extremely efficient and well-organised. Tour leader David Lam was absolutely excellent, knowledgeable about the temples, shrines, Japanese culture and history, very efficient at logistics, and just an all round nice guy. Pace of trip was not too frantic, so lots of free time to explore or relax.

Japan's culture, people, and exquisitely prepared food make Japan a must-visit destination. Our guide, David Lam made our trip extra memorable. David's local expert knowledge, excellent communication and organization skills greatly enhanced our experience.