Japan Escorted Tours and Guided Trips

My husband and I joined a group of 14 for the Simply Japan tour in November and enjoyed a really fabulous memorable trip. We were very lucky with mostly sunny dry weather for the entire trip allowing us to enjoy the autumn colours. Our group got on well. We were guided by an outstanding multilingual guide, Raya, who was passionate and knowledgeable about Japan, particularly Japanese history and customs. The itinerary was a great introduction to the country, a full on whistlestop tour, so expect lots of daily walking through stations, markets and shrines and temples. Nice contrast between modern and traditional Japan. All accommodation was of a good standard. Recommend to top or tail the trip with a longer city stay to see more of Tokyo/Kyoto or Osaka (we had 3 extra nights in Tokyo at the beginning) as the real highlights of the tour are the bits in between - the magnificent Matsumoto Castle, stunning Zenkoji Temple in Nagano and the beautiful Miyaijma Island were my favourites, and the Shinkansen trains of course. The Hiroshima memorial museum was unpleasantly crammed full of people and school kids, too busy to appreciate the significance, although the peace park surrounding it was worth visiting and right next to our hotel. The Explore guide Raya helped to make the trip for us - so motivating and caring, and keen to navigate to help everyone enjoy this varied tour even on the free days.

The standard of accommodation was great throughout the trip. The standout hotel was in Hiroshima. It was spacious, modern, and extremely comfortable. It’s a shame we didn’t have our larger luggage with us, as we couldn’t fully make use of the space. The final hotel in Tokyo, however, was quite far out, and the room was uncomfortably hot. Although the hotel provided a fan, it only helped slightly and made the stay less comfortable than expected. The robot experience at Dawn Café was fascinating and memorable, but it was scheduled too close to breakfast. I was still very full and couldn’t fully appreciate what was otherwise an amazing and thoughtfully prepared meal. Christmas Day felt like a missed opportunity. Experiencing KFC for Christmas dinner, as it’s traditionally celebrated in Japan, would have been a fun and culturally immersive option. It also would have been nice for this day to focus more on spending time together as a group, as many travellers are Western and value shared experiences on occasions like Christmas. The optional karaoke add-on was quite expensive on this day, which made it feel less accessible. My absolute favourite experience was dressing up in a kimono in Kyoto. A truly unforgettable and beautifully immersive cultural experience. Our TM, was incredible: approachable, hilarious, and a real highlight of the trip. Her knowledge of each city was exceptional, and she brought every destination to life with stories, cultural context, and local insight. She struck a perfect balance between being informative and fun, ensured everyone felt included and supported, and handled logistics seamlessly. Her passion for Japan was infectious and truly elevated the overall experience. Overall, this was a well-organised and enriching trip with many memorable moments!

Arrive a few days earlier to account for jet lag and to tour on your own a bit since you don't spend nearly enough time in any location to satisfy. Also give yourself a few days after the tour to go back and revisit places you loved and didn't get enough of (there will be many)

Tour director and drivers - excellent Hotels - excellent Food - excellent The only thing that needs to be changed in the itinerary - we should stop at the local family Gassho-zukuri wooden house first, instead of the washi paper store. We ended up spending too much time at the washi paper store and it got dark when we went to the local family wooden house. We weren't able to see the inside because it was too dark.

Itinerary The trip was really great--I loved the diversity of going to smaller, traditional places as well as the modern cities. There were times when I thought we would have more free time than we did--Kyoto (tour activities ended at approx. 3:30), Kobe (arrived 1 hr before the gardens closed so didn't go), and Hiroshima (tour activities ended at approx 4 pm). I loved all of the places that we went too--in retrospect I would have added additional days in Kyoto (I arrived a day in advance) and benefitted greatly from my flight home being delayed giving me a full extra day in Toyko that I hadn't planned for. The tour is very fast pace and you do walk alot--so just bring a really good pair of running shoes with you! Hotels All were good--my favourite was Hotel Toyko in Takayama. I rented a private onsen for an hour which was very nice and enjoyed the unique art they had on each floor. I really appreciated the washer/dryer in the hotel room--while I had enough clothes it was nice to wash them and be able to go out for dinner at the same time and not feel in a rush to get back to the room (it was free and they did provide soap if you don't have any). The hotels in Kyoto and Tokyo were nice as well--the first modern and the last traditional. All of the hotels were really clean, provided great breakfasts, and had toiletries if you forget any (and if you wanted pjs to wear). Transportation The bullet trains were very cool as were all of the trains. They are very prompt! The subway system is easy to manoever--I used Google Maps to tell me what stop to get off and where to walk and never got lost (even in Toyko). The trains are very quiet and clean--getting onto and off public transit is done in lines so there never is a rush and in most cases the train/subway cars were empty. The bus system in Kyoto makes getting between places slow so factor that in. Also, the connection from Osaka to Kyoto was pretty easy to do but made harder with getting off a transatlantic flight. Doing this again, I would fly direct into Tokyo and then get to Kyoto the next day. Felt very safe and comfortable walking around by myself--even in the evening. The locals are very helpful if you want to confirm directions. Food I am normally a very fussy eater and I didn't have a problem finding things to eat. In fact, I wish I had more time in Kyoto in the traditional area to have some of the different food options the shops offered. I also didn't have time to get a hot drink from a dispensing machine! I found breakfast made me full and then we would go somewhere at dinner that would fill me up (I often had noodle dishes). I would have been ok finding my own dinner in Takayama instead of group meals--the different styles of eating were good to experience. While I liked going out to eat with the group, it was tough having to have the bill together--it would have been easier to be able to pay for my own food.

Very well thought itinerary - it took us from the ancient Japan to the modern one. But, I guess, in Japan is hard to go wrong with any itinerary... We felt like Alice in Wonderland :) Thank you Trafalgar and THANK YOU JAPAN!