Tailor-made Holidays in Japan Traveller Reviews

We traveled to Japan in November, and traveled from Tokyo, to Matsumoto, Takayama, Nakasendo Highway, Kyoto, Hakone national Park and back to Tokyo over a period of 15 days in all. The organisation and attention to detail to put together the itinerary was first rate. The booklet with the details in, maps etc was our 'bible' for the trip. The accompanying short brochures on the different areas we visited were very helpful. The accommodation in the hotels and ryokans were superb...better than we expected. Train travel went smoothly. We did have to top up the Manaca cards to get around on the Tokyo and Kyoto subways, but that was to be expected. Unforgettable holiday!

Anna of Inside Japan Tours listened to what we wanted to do in Japan, and put together a super itinerary within our budget, and as happy to change flights at our request, as I wasn't to sure about changing flights in Paris and preferred direct flights.

Went to Tokyo and on our first full day InsideJapan has organised a half day tour where we were shown the ropes on how to use the metro system and visited lots of places including Ginza, Harajuku, the Meiji Shrine and Shibuya and we were given directions and suggestions of other places to visit so the next day on our guides suggestion went to Tokyo Bay and wandered the area and then saw an exhibition there then on the way back to our hotel went to Sensoji Temple to see it lit up a night. After Tokyo went to Hakone to explore the mountains and while it got to misty to see Mount Fuji saw some shrines and we did see it on the train later after exploring the area and had an experience staying in an traditional inn with hot springs and futon and traditional food. Took the bullet train to Kyoto and had another half day tour where we visited temples and saw the Geisha districts and some gardens as well and managed to see all the autumn colours. While in the area we also visited Arashima for the bamboo forest and saw lots of gardens there full of red maple leaves that looked incredible and went to see the Golden Pavilion which looked amazing when we went on a clear day with the blue sky and reflected in the lake. Went to Himeji Castle and gardens as well on another day which was incredible and then back to Tokyo for a final day where our tour operator had organised tickets for us to go up the Skytree to get a full view of Tokyo before we went home and we got some incredible views.

Amazing service offered and the info packs, maps and the printed itinerary outlining suggested train times an routes were all really helpful as well as suggestions of places to visit with information about each place and also recommendations of places eat in were all really useful to have to hand. On the whole InsideJapan Tours kept in contact at all stages of the holiday while I was discussing the trip, when it was being booked and even when we were out there every one I spoke to was really helpful and we ended up with a stress free holiday as all the travel, hotels and any connections we needed to make was all planned for us and we received everything we needed before we went or it was waiting in the first hotel to be picked up which made everything so easy. My travel consultant, Sophie was superbly helpful and when I first spoke to her with only vague ideas of what kind of thing I wanted to see on my first trip to Japan she made some suggestions and offered some ideas of what was in the same area as the places I wanted to visit. While I was planning my trip I had a sudden change of circumstances that meant I had to put in on hold for a while before I could book anything and I never felt any pressure about when to get back to her. Sophie always kept me in the loop and emailed while we were in Japan notifying us of a change in tour guide and made sure everything went well when we got back.

A fantastic self guided holiday with all the essentials covered. All the recommended locations were exactly what I was looking for, lots of shopping, history and nature all combined into one package. I was able to explore the geek capital of the world plus dive into the hidden gems located in Tokyo.

It was so easy to book everything with my tour operator. My travel agent had so much knowledge about the country and knew all of the amazing spots throughout the cities. All the accommodations were great. All the extra locations I wanted to see were so easily booked and fit perfectly into my itinerary. The information provided in my travel documents was so easy to understand and helped me throughout the journey.

Inside Japan organised our Japan 18 day independent travel experience. We started by learning about crowds and trains in Tokyo and ventured on a day trip to Nikko. The 3 day Hakone experience was a highlight staying in a traditional inn, enjoying the onsen and cooking our catered breakfast and dinner . There was a clear blue sky with Mt Fuji clearly seen in the distance. Then off to explore Kyoto, with side trip to Fushimi Inari and walking the entire path as well as visiting Nara and stopping off at Uji. Then on to Nagasaki with a cruise trip to Gunkanjima and touring the Peace Park and Museum. Next the Shinkansen through to Kagoshima for the day and see the smoking volcano and return to Kumamoto for accommodation and exploring the city and Castle being restored, followed by a day trip to Mt Aso with a 1 km exclusion zone because of its activity. We went to Fukuoka and worked our way back to Tokyo via Hiroshima, Takayama, Kanazawa and Noto Peninsula. Wow, what a trip and what a lot of exercise for our feet. We found walking and trains are the best way to travel. Our holiday was amazing and we found Japan clean, the people polite and helpful and a wonderful transport system. We thought this trip would be our one and only but now we are ready to explore the Northern area of Japan again with the assistance of Inside Japan.

Inside Japan office in Australia assisted with putting together an independent tour for us because our travel time did not align with any organised tour. The suggestions and detail provided enable us to enjoy an amazing experience under our own guidance without have to be up and fit in with other people. It was a benefit to be able to squeeze 2 extra people onto an already crowded train. We received detailed instructions for daily itinerary with options and train times and accommodation details and how to find it. Excellent attention to detail and can thoroughly recommend Inside Japan to anyone want to plan a trip to Japan.

We had an amazing month in Japan on a self guided tour organised by Dan Campbell., Brisbane The itinerary covered all our interests-food, modern art, gardens, low key cycling, rural life and meeting the locals The time at each place was perfect. The accommodation ranged from ryokans to hotels. The detail in the itinerary was extraordinary as was the organisation of rail passes so there was no time wasting. We will definitely return to Japan with this company.

Outstanding and able to tailor a trip to your exact wishes. In a month there was not one problem. Should there have been an issue there was 24hour assistance. We were also able to go to places off the beaten track which added to the experience Fabulous consultant.

I spent three weeks exploring Japan, and visited Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, Hiraizumi, Morioka and Sendai. I had an incredible time, saw many beautiful sites, ate some great food and met some lovely people. I definitely want to go again.

Inside Japan were incredibly helpful, both with planning the trip and our tour guide when I was on the tour portion of the holiday. Everyone was a pleasure to deal with.

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Tokyo, Kyoto & Japanese Alps

The self-guided tour was perfect and the documents from InsideJapan were invaluable for helping us get around and make the most of our time. InsideJapan is by far the best tour operator I've travelled with.

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We had three weeks in Japan and in spite of Typhoon Hagibis disrupting it we had a wonderful time. The hotels and experiences chosen by our tour operator were all well worth doing. The trip was tailored well to what we wanted to do. I felt that we got very good value for money.

Inside Japan were very good with phone calls and written information before the trip and their documentation was extremely useful while we were in Japan. Their website is extremely informative about what to expect. We felt well supported when the typhoon occurred. All travel arrangements worked well with only one minor hiccup.

Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto - A 9 day wonderful exposure (tradition, style, poise, gentleness, history, beauty and much more)

InsideJapanTours - provided us with a top class package (in a very short lead time) that enabled us to gain a fantastic introduction to Japan. The package included accommodation, travel (metro/local/bullet/local passes) , personal tour guides (3 occasions), and extensive reference material. The company supplied assistance/guidance before and during the typhoon event.

We spent four nights on a self guided Pilgrimage through the Kumano Kodo in Japan. We experienced wonderful scenery, beautiful Temples and lovely people

Inside Japan provided us with an amazing amount of pre tour support and arranged our transport and pre/post accommodation for our pilgrimage and then arranges our trek, accommodation and some fantastic meals during our time.