Majestic Japan

The itinerary covered the main parts of Honshu island. We had some unique experiences such as the talk from the Hiroshima Survivor and the lunch with the Maiko (apprentice Geisha). Our Guide was incredible. He looked after us so well and made everyone feel safe and cared for. The way the luggage was sent to the next Hotel was fantastic. We did not have to drag bags onto trains or buses, it was all done for us. The meals were amazing and the Hotel accommodation was top class. One other thing I loved was the flexibility. We stayed in places mostly for 2 nights and if you were too tired or unwell you could opt out of the days excursions and relax in the Hotel or do your own thing as long as you let the Guide know so he did not worry about you. I would highly recommend this tour.

Excellent and thoroughly enjoyable trip. Travel guide was outstanding.

This is a very good introduction to Japan. We visited many diverse locations from southern to northern areas. We were able to see rural Japan to see the lovely countryside as well as beautiful ancient temples, and skyscrapers in Tokyo. Hiroshima is saddening, but very educational and inspiring to see the recovery of the land and people. Listening to a survivor tell his story was a privilege.

The itinerary was very good. I partcularly liked the special experience of meeting the Hiroshima survivor after visiting the very moving museum. She was absolutely amazing. I just wish world leaders could also hear her presentation. In Kyoto I thoroughly enjoyed the Maiko's performance while we ate an excellent lunch. Another of my highlights was visiting the Kubota Icchiku Museum. The kimonos on dispaly were breathtaking and magnificent. The entire itinerary was very well planned.

The itinerary certainly covered a wide range of sights and experiences in Japan. From bustling cities to the quiet beauty of the mountains, this tour had it all. Our fantastic guide ensured that we had an amazing experience and I cannot recommend this tour highly enough. If you want an unparalleled experience of the many facets of Japan coupled with top notch food and accommodation, do yourself a favour and book this tour - you won’t regret it.

Very good tour, unique experiences, excellent food and hotels. Tour guide went out of his way to make our time in Japan special, he was informative and super organised.

Fantastic trip

good tour length

Wonderful trip in a small group and fantastic guide. Saw a variety of sites and had many local foods.

It was great. I was able to see and do most everything I wanted while I was in Japan. Excellent hotels and good service at the hotels.

We were able to see many sites throughout Japan, and we did not feel rushed on most days. A couple of last minute changes were made in regard to our activity choices which were a bit disappointing, but we still had a wonderful time and would definitely recommend this trip.

Very much worth it! By far the best of many insight tours I've take. Small suggestion -- please consider including a Kabuki and/or sumo wrestling experience.

It’s a good itinerary but made great by the special experiences and fabulous tour director.

Well planned tour and our tour director was fabulous.

Tour guide was great, the rest was underwhelming. Too many rooms with 2 small beds instead of one large bed, too many dinners on our own, and too much travel (should have cut out the visit to the north and spent more time in Kyoto).

We got to see and experience Japan in a very calm and organised manner, saw everything we expected and more. We had ample free time which was very good to. Our tour guide was just wonderful and worked very hard to ensure that everyone on the tour was happy. She was professional and very knowledgeable, she made the tour very enjoyable.

It was not up to your other luxury gold travel. The Director was not as strong, you did have the local guides which would give deep local history. This tour only gave modern history - which we know. There were some power elements, but the guide was not strong and I got tired of only hearing her voice for almost 2 weeks. She was very kind and organized. Makes me think I might need to consider other travel companies.

Two main points. Firstly, we think the itinerary tour should be reversed - start from the north Hirosaki and move south to Hiroshima. It is cold in the north of Honshu and hot in the south but also this would take members from the country side of traditional Japan down to the cities and dense urban areas of Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka and Hiroshima. The second point is that too much time was allowed for free time/shopping instead of spending more time at historic and religious sites and museums.

Full on, very interesting.

Your guide was incredible and made the trip so special for everyone!

The itinerary was amazing but for one exception. Many of us would have rather done the overnight bag for Aomori (especially considering we were in the pajamas provider) and come back that night to Tokyo for extra time in Tokyo. So much to do there and only 1.5d on this itinerary. Also, my hotel room in Tokyo was not up to par as compared to the others on this trip. The room was dirty, the ventilation in my second stay had an issue with a noise so I had to turn it off to sleep. Need an update for Toyko hotel. The Conrad is similar price and closer to some of the sites we visited. My guide, was THE BEST!. So kind and helpful. The nights alone for me, she gave me great options for places to eat and suggestions of what to do. She was so kind, helpful and informative. She made the trip the success it was!!! Don't lose her. The one day we split in Tokyo, we had a new person for our sushi making and he didn't even sit w us or translate what the chef was telling us to do. He was missing in action. On the bus, he was yelling information to us as a pop quiz. Not fun for vacation. I missed Misa!!!! Such charm!!! Love the services provided by this tour, all the transportation, even to and from my home, the curated experiences were one of a kind. The ease of traveling with 6 bullet trains and 7 cites in 10d!!! took care of it all!! What a great vacation!

Most places we visited either lunch or Hiroshima there were far to many people for us & I got panicked attacks & had to get outside

The itinerary did not include a visit to the Shibuya Lookout which I think should have been included as it is an iconic tower in Tokoyo.

Basically, a good itinerary. Would have preferred more time in Kyoto, Sendai and the Oriase Gorge.

The trip was overall really good, the hotels were beautiful. I think a little too much was packed in to each day. I would have liked more free time. Most of the included meals were excellent with a couple of exceptions. The food at the welcome dinner at the hotel was just ok. The buffet lunch at Fujiyama Terrace at Highland Resort Hotel was unpleasantly crowded and just not a great experience. Prior to the trip, the instructions indicated that we could only take the tiniest of bags ( something like 11” by 12”) on the bulletin trains but this was far from true - small carryon bags and even small roller bags and backpacks fit. These are all minor complaints, though. Our guide was great and went out of her way to help an elderly tour participant on our trip who was alone. One more thing, not about the itinerary. I live 55 miles from the airport, 5 miles outside your limit for transportation to and from home airport. According to my travel agent, I couldn’t meet the driver somewhere else within the 50 mile limit! It had to be my own house. If true this is ridiculous.

The itinerary was very average - there were too many temples visited, when a place was interesting our time was always limited

Comprehensive and very enjoyable tour Excellent guide Superb accommodation

An excellent sampling of many areas and cultural experiences.

We covered a lot of ground, with some experiences that were unique to this tour. Loved taking the bullet trains. Friendly, informative guide. Nice group of people. Would have liked to have a couple more dinners on our own. Overall, we had a great time.

A good itinerary that could be tweaked Kyoto should have at least an evening walk with guide rather than a day walk where we could not appreciate the night life of Kyoto— too little time to do it on our own The hotel at Oirase Gorge was mediocre with medioce buffet meals ( this was a last minute substitute as the original hotel at the Gorge could not accommodate the group ) Meals were generally adequate except the lunch at Kyoto and the last night’s dinner in Tokyo which was spectacular! Our tour guide was efficient and great — just wish he made of an effort to engage with us and provided more planned information on Japan while we were in the bus for those hours ( especially the drive from Mt. Fuji to Tokyo ) For the price i expected a somewhat smaller group and far better quality meals ( like the farewell night’s dinner )

There were two incidences on this trip, the first one was arriving at the Hotel in Osaka after a 14hr flight plus 8 hour time difference and getting a letter from Luxury Gold to state that there were two nights on the tour where an overnight bag was required. I never bring an extra bag and was upset about this, as it meant I had to buy one, plus listening to our travelling Concierge it appears that this is part of the trip but is not mentioned in the Itinerary. An email should have been sent to everyone before we travelled to notify us. The second one is our last Hotel in the Oriase Gorge was not available for some reason (not explained), and we were sent to another one which was an hour and half drive from the *Personal details removed by Feefo* This Hotel was jam packed with Japanese people on their holidays, it wasn't the standard of the Hotel that we were meant to be in and the pillow on the bed was as hard as a rock!