Osaka 9-Day Tours and Trips

Very informative and fast paced. I believe following the tour we had a much better understanding of the Japanese including some of their customs and their way of life. Having an excellent tour guide like we had made the entire tour worthwhile.

The trip was on the whole very good. The highlight was our Trip Manager, who was very knowledgeable about things to do and places to see in Japan. The itinerary was compressed, but sensible for a weeklong trip in Japan. The one issue was lack of clarity in the initial trip documents about the time of the kick-off meeting on the first day. By the time I was informed, it was too late to change my flight, and I missed the kickoff meeting.

Great experience! We saw wonderful parts of Japan, including Tokyo, Mt. Fuji, and Hiroshima. The hotels were wonderful! Our travel director was extremely knowledgeable and friendly. My advice to Trafalgar is to reduce the number of visits to temples and shrines. Maybe allow more free time. Also, there were too many set Japanese meals with no options.

The itinerary as a whole was excellent (in part due to our knowledgeable and articulate tour guide, who was absolutely superb!) Perhaps could have spent more time in Tokyo but wouldn’t want to miss any of the other sights on the itinerary.

I thought the tour guide was wonderful and I was very impressed with the quality of the hotels. I appreciate how much was done on our behalf, so that we could focus on enjoying ourselves and not wait in line to buy tickets or arrange every meal. My criticisms are that there were too many set meals. It would have been better to offer a stipend so that we could order what we want, either at a communal meal or on our own. I appreciate the opportunity to experience elevated local cuisine, but I wanted to try more street level food sometimes. I also think there was not enough free time. There were WAY too many shrines and temples on the agenda. By the end of the tour, most people were zoned out and just wanted to do their own thing. There also could have been more optional experiences. There were two on this trip, but people who had taken other tours with Trafalgar said there were up to six. This is a great thing because it offers group-oriented and guide-led experiences, but if it doesn't appeal to everyone, they have the time to explore on their own. Overall, it was a very nice trip and worth the cost. I would recommend Trafalgar to others.

Japan is an unforgettable place, everyone should have the privilege of traveling there to experience it for themselves! Can’t recommend the jam-packed but full of fun and adventure “Japan in a Week” Contiki enough!