Backroads of Japan

the trip was great.

Great adventure, guides were both excellent, trekking was well organised and the back roads were really interesting. Just about the right amount of free time to do more walking or cycling, would recommend

Just what we expected thanx

My sister and i had the best time- the tour guides, the other members of the tour group and the tour itself were all marvellous. It exceeded our expectations. We loved the small villages and guest houses we stayed in.

Great guide. Japan was amazing.

The perfect Japanese adventure for those of us who are more interested in stunning vistas and quiet rural villages, than shopping.

This trip was everything and more than I expected. Our guide Akemi went out of her way to make us all happy. I would recommend this trip & time to anyone wanting to get a taste of Japan

A nice way to travel through a small part of Japan - hiking and using public transportation. Great guides, beautiful landscapes and some cultural immersion.

This was a fantastic adventure with a well designed itinerary. Japan is a fascinating country and highly recommended.

Would totally recommend the Backroads of Japan trip...a well balanced itinerary and excellent guide!

Very well organised. Guide was excellent. Had had a wonderful time

Guides were excellent and group size was great. Saw a lot of places I otherwise wouldn't have.

A good itinerary for an off the main roads trip of Japan.

A wonderful combination of big cities and backroads, seamlessly organised. Plenty of free time to explore what i wanted and and endlessly patient, thoughtful and hardworking guide.

In our first trip to Japan we learned so much and experienced so much. Our local guide was excellent and ensured everything went smoothly. We loved Japan.

World Expeditions took care of everything. The thought and detail in this tour was beyond my expectations. The travel arrangements, the accommodation and the daily activities were all meticulously planned, a great balance and a tremendous standard. Guides made themselves available at all times. I highly recommend both the company and the tour Backroads of Japan.

Great trip, the guides were excellent. Well organised and food and accommodation were excellent.

Wonderful, active and diverse holiday . Loved seeing the :places out of the mainstream of Japan .

Akemi our guide worked extremely hard to ensure our tour ran smoothly and that we were kept informed. The guides were knowledgable, the itinerary covered a good range of Japanese sights and trails. The accommodation was comfortable and we enjoyed the food.We very much enjoyed our time in Japan which we put down to the excellent itinerary planning and the excellent organisational skill and relaxed interaction of the guides with our tour group. congratulation, well done!

Great trip discovering the backroads of Japan. The guide Akemi was fantastic. The hotels were a good mix of traditional and modern and absolutely loved the onsets!

The administrative folks for World Expeditions prior to the onset of the trip, in particular Laura McCoy, were unresponsive to emails. Simple questions were asked that were not answered. This was very annoying and disappointing. Your company also claims to be earth friendly; we completed the Travel Portal, yet was asked to re-enter information on a form when arriving. Do the guides not have access to that information? Our main guide was very lovely, her English was good and her hiking abilities were strong. I have no positive comments for the two trainees on the trip. I do think that given a serious illness was spreading through the group was not taken seriously by our guide. We continued to be put in very small rooms in private restaurants towards the end with little AC and an opportunity to easily spread germs. On the last night, our guide thought it was ok to force us all into a tight elevator to save time even through our hotel was just around the corner. Needless to say, I tested positive for Covid on arriving home. I also had some issues with our guide using a bell hanging from her backpack during our hikes. If World Expeditions was clearly concerned about our welfare, why didn't they just give her bear spray? With a group of 13 people talking and hiking, I don't believe a bell was necessary as protection and I found it annoying and ruined the chance of having any type of forest bathing in the woods of Japan.

Excellent guide which made a great difference. Akemi was magnificent. Always helpful and gave clear explanations & always cheerful. She managed 10 strangers with no trouble despite unseasonable hot & humid weather , solving their problems with humour and solid advice! I was sad when the tour ended!

Thoroughly enjoyed my few days walking through part of the 'Back Roads of Japan' trip. Pepijn the tour leader was excellent and shared so much knowledge with us on our journey, it was amazing! Walking was all doable, even for those who had not trained for the trip, so that was good that everyone got to enjoy what they felt they could keep up with.

The Back Roads of Japan is a great tour which gives you a taste of the big cities of Tokyo and Kyoto while also getting you out into the very pretty countryside . You do need a fairly good standard of fitness as the hikes have a degree of difficulty. This is a great excuse for you to get fit before travelling overseas.

The itinerary was well planned and organized. Pipejn,our tour guide was knowlegeable and well versed with Japan culture.This tour is highly recommended !!! The scenery was amazing.Love it!!!

A wonderful journey & well organised with a superb guide who showed us the many facets of Japan.

What a wonderful adventure made so much enjoyable by guide[s] that were knowlegeable with culture, language and requirements of all team members. Accomodation was excellent especially the ryokan guest houses and the food was unbelievable everywhere we went. I especially want to thank Bec in your Sydney office who having previously done the trip was able to make everything so easy with advice and our booking and will recommend friends contact her for this and other trips.

A very well designed itinerary and a fantastic guide. I especially liked having pubic transport included.

We thoroughly enjoyed our walking tour with tour guide Akemi, who was patient, informative, energetic and highly organised. The group was fourteen in number, which was about as big as you would want for such a tour, given that we were utilising public transport, and doing a number of group activies such as dining and visiting interesting historical sights. We felt fully immersed in the environment, whether in busy city settings or trekking through forests. The accomodations were all very good (some excellent), the dining was excellent, and the overall pace of the tour was good. It was nice to have a couple of stops where we spent two or three days, exploring the local scene and catching up on laundry etc. Everyone got along very well and we credit Akemi with taking us on a wonderful and engaging experience.

Fabulous trip - experienced so much in two weeks. The guides were brilliant - knowledgable and catered to the different needs in the group.

Fantastic & memorable trip. Loved spending time in both the cities & the countryside & travelling by public transport & on foot. Just the right amount of hiking to keep it active & not feel guilty about eating all the Japanese delights! Our guide Akemi was 10/10 for her knowledge, passion, energy & humour. Highly recommend this adventure!

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.

Overall this was a great trip. We enjoyed the route, the scenery, the food, our fantastic guide (Akemi) and our fellow travelers. A couple of the accommodations might have been better, but the majority were very good.

Great itinerary but did not meet the trip notes expectations due to inexperienced guides.

Rob was a great guide, very knowledgeable and willing to answer questions about Japanese culture