Japan in a Week

Got to meet lots of new people from all over, and enjoy japan for the nostalgic moments, while also getting to experiences parts of modern day japan, while learning a lot about various parts of life in japan

The trip was well organized with a knowledgeable tour guide who was helpful and fun.

I had an outstanding time in Japan! I definitely recommend doing all the extra excursions that isn’t part of the shown itinerary even if they seem out of your comfort zone as well as have something planned for when you have free time. SN: Take advantage of the 7-11 snacks there. They are bomb!!! And don’t sleep on the sandwiches!

The people I met on Contiki were incredible and make the trip one I will remember forever. However, I’d only recommend this trip if your intention is to meet people. If you’re comfortable solo travelling, or have others to go with, I’d say do that. Contiki didn’t organise much for this trip, and our guide offered hardly any information. We did walking tours with our guide, in which she would offer visual observations, omitting the pairing of this with a cultural or historical fact. Local guides were very helpful though. The FTA’s were very fun, we did the Monkey Karting, (which Renee did not accompany us to) Nara and the Tea Ceremony - however just drops you off there, so it’s not like you couldn’t organise it on your own. We got a heavy impression that Renee was seeking commission on the places she took us too - bars and clubs that were unpleasant, and upcharging us for Kimonos which she told us were “her special thing, not organised through Contiki.” In Tokyo our accomodation was in the Sumo district - this meant we were an hour away from the main districts of Tokyo, which we felt had stripped us of a full experience. Not only because of the time lost travelling, (with trains stopping at midnight,) but because we didn’t get to observe the accomodation in the cities and see everyday life for locals. There was also a sumo competition taking place on the particular week we stayed there, but didn’t mention it to us, we found the information ourselves. This would’ve been great to hear from our guide! We would often ask Renee what the timeline and plans were for the next day, which she would say, “check the day sheet.” The day sheet would essentially say the date and have graphics accompanied by the title of the activity we would do - eg, ‘train to Kyoto.’ So on the day before we travelled to Kyoto, we asked her what the plan was, specifically with times, and she said we’d be travelling all day long. After a long night out, we arrive ready to train to Kyoto in long, baggy, comfy clothes, and we arrive in Kyoto by about it midday … then takes us to a coach (the only time we were on one) for a tour of two different temples. This would’ve been a great activity (one of the benefits of this contiki for sure,) except we were all boiling and feeling sick and uncomfortable- so we worked out transport back to the hotel to shower and change and head back to the temple that evening in our own time - we informed , and she simply said we couldn’t do that and we’d need to wait it out. Fair enough, the guidance you’re paying for, but I’m still unclear why we weren’t able to do that, and why she didn’t let us know we’d be spending hours walking through temples in our warm clothes in the middle of July! Between Kyoto and Osaka, Contiki/ Renee actually lost one of our group members luggage, putting it on a seperate bus so it wouldn’t arrive in time for their plane home. This was also alarm bells for us, since it seems all you really pay for is accomodation and transport of yourself and your things - since so often our self transport was the group catching (often seperate) trains between cities, the luggage transportation was the only thing we really relied on, and then that trust was broken on the last day lol.

Very well organised, good amount of organised activities and free time

The trip was absolutely incredible—I loved every moment! Our Trip Manager was fantastic and truly went above and beyond to make the experience unforgettable. I met so many amazing people from all over the world, and exploring Japan together made it even more special. From the day trip to Nara to visiting the stunning shrines and temples in Tokyo and Kyoto, every activity was thoughtfully planned and so much fun. The evening events were a blast too—especially karaoke and our unforgettable final night out at the club. I also really appreciated the group meeting points at the end of each day—it was a great way to unwind and connect with everyone.

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.

It was an amazing trip. Got to see places that you wouldn’t have without the guide . Would highly recommend this tours.

I highly recommend it for adventure and highlighting the many sights Japan has to offer

Best trip ever!!

The accommodations were Nice, clean, and quiet, definitely smaller then what were used to in the united states. The staff were always kind and welcoming. The activities were interesting, educational and engaging. I do wish there was more nature based activities outside of the city. I did not expect to be walking as much as we did, but there is a lot to see in Japan. The things I enjoyed the most was the tea ceremony and the walk through old town Kyoto. I do wish my trip manager would have given better travel directions, seeing Japan is a busy and crowded place to navigate. And most places to eat had very small portion sizes, which i was not expecting.

It was a really good balance of sightseeing, experiences and social stuff. In addition to the planned sightseeing/FTAs, we had a good amount of free time to do our own exploring etc. It was a really great introduction to Japan which made my solo travels afterwards a breeze.

Good way to learn how to navigate Japan before planning a solo trip. Contiki makes sure you're safe when traveling in a foreign country despite the language barrier.

So here are some positives. The trip was alright and some of the places that we went to were good in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka. Even though it was a week (3 days Tokyo, 3 days Kyoto, and 1 day Osaka), it was alright for beginners. Both the included and other excursions were good too. Even the local tour guide she did a great job in Kyoto. Overall, the places, food, cultural places, entertainment districts, and more were great and was a great opportunity to come to Japan! Although, it was Golden Week, would not recommend to come on that week. That's just for Japan and the trip in some way. However, here were some issues. The second and third hotels at Kyoto and Osaka respectively were not that good as they were very small and was hard to fit in the luggage. The one in Tokyo was alright. The tour manager was not good and always had a negative aura with me for no reason. I barely interacted with him and seems like he's negatively comparing with someone else. Now yes, I understand tour managers work is not easy and it makes sense. I've been with several tour managers in the past and I both understood their roles and never had any issues or even sense that negative aura from them. This one, however, he did. Few of the people in the tour group were alright, but the rest of them were not good. Plus, the flight they, Contiki, scheduled for me when coming back home was not good as it had 2 stops. I even saw around the time I scheduled that there were many cheaper flights with 1 stop only, which would've been fine, but for some reason, they picked that one. I never wanted to write this, but I will. Again, Japan was great and I had a great experience. Though the tour group and the tour manager were not that good. So I would not recommend this and might be better to either do a different Japan trip on Contiki (lucky if you find the right group and tour manager) or plan things out on your own ahead of time before coming there.

Our trip manager was very knowledgeable but I feel like there was too much free time. We had so much free time in Tokyo which is odd as there’s loads to do in the city. I think an included group dinner on the first night would have been ideal to get everyone to know each other and to break the ice. We also had the same room mate for the whole trip. I think if this was changed it would have given everyone more chance to mingle with other travellers.

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!

Beautiful, everything is perfect and lovely 🤍

I would highly recommend Japan in a Week to any first-time visitors. was an amazing tour guide who gave the best advice and recommendations. The tour is a short time, but a great time. I would recommend travellers to book extra time in Tokyo; simply because of how vast the city is. Aside from that, this tour was an experience that I’ll never forget! Thank you ! :)

Really fun trip. Good itinerary and good optional activities. The hotels were not the best and in inconvenient locations. The breakfasts were awful. Our guide was not a local, which was disappointing. It’s a good intro trip to Japan. Very fast paced in order to see the highlights in each city. I definitely would recommend adding time at the beginning or end of the trip.

To start, this was my 3rd Contiki. I had the most amazing experience with the first 2. Japan in a week was the most disappointing experience I’ve had with Contiki. 1. Accommodations - Let’s just say they were terrible. I understand that Contiki isn’t about fancy accommodations however for the price charged, there were better accommodations available in every city. Also the cost of the hotels we stayed in was much lower than what was charged for the trip 2. Add ons - The add ons were terrible!! Don’t waste your money. We were charged US $80 for a gimmicky “samurai experience” where a group of people jumped around in a room. When we signed up we thought it would be about Samurai history or something worth our money. The main experience we were excited for was tea tasting, which they messed up the schedule for and it ended up getting canceled. Because these are booked way in advance, we couldn’t find any options while in Japan. 3. Tour Guide - Poorly planned trip, little to no information on local experiences. Pressured us into signing up for add ons only to be extremely disappointed and having lost $$$ later. 4. Tipping - The number of times the tour guide brought up tipping was embarrassing. The Contiki document states “Remember that tipping (& how much you tip) is optional - it's entirely up to you.” but our guide constantly asked and even messaged in the group chat. I’ve never had that experience on Contiki before but I have absolutely tipped the last 2 guides because they were phenomenal. 5. Meals - Every Contiki I’ve been on has had a covered dinner but we didn’t get any. The breakfasts which was only 2-3 were terrible. 6. Dietary Restrictions - When signing up for final dinner I asked about vegetarian options, I was assured there were. However the day before I learned how limited they were and asked for my $40 back. When asked I was told “you didn’t ask the extent of veg options”. The only thing I could eat was a mini pizza and fries at an all you can eat restaurant. Would you pay $40 for that? In my first 2 contiki’s my trip leaders went above and beyond to ensure I had options. 7. Group Bonding - In both of my previous contiki’s I made amazing bonds that continue even today. The tour guides did a great job of getting people together within first 1-2 days to build the rapport. No such effort was made on this trip. Day 4-5 of the trip was the first time people actually got together. Whole point of Contiki is meeting people, well not on this trip!