REVIEWS

Mike Wittenwyler, Wisconsin

It was an excellent trip, and we had a great time. 

Hiromi was an A+ guide. Her skills, attitude and pleasant personality made the trip very enjoyable. I highly recommend her to other clients.

We were very much exposed to a side of Japan most tourists do not see. With many meals at restaurants and exploration of locations when we were the only foreigners. Exactly how we like it. Hiromi took us to a local restaurant after restaurant for lunch that we never would have found. And every meal with her was a great conversation on various topics. The lunch at Sushi Iwa in Kyoto will never be forgotten as Jessica kept up with the chef’s lunch special and more pieces of sushi than she had ever eaten in one meal. Same with the shopping. Hiromi found the stores that Jessica was seeking off the beaten path. Places with high-end products, great service and very good selection. Similarly, when Hiromi learned that there was a parade in Kyoto one day, she rearranged our schedule so she and I could take it in. Great experience. Great insight on her end that this was something I would enjoy doing and then working to make it happen. You could tell she listened, researched on the go and adapted to what we liked and did not like. Makes all the difference when you do that for your guests.

Mandarin Oriental was perfect, just as it had been the last time we stayed there. The cooking lesson and dinner with Kyoko was very unique. 

Myojinkan was an excellent ryokan with an exceptional dinner and breakfast. Kanazawa was a favorite. Many great sites, and I found some great places to purchase pottery and art. Amazing community and people. Dinner at Kaido was an A+. The food was as good as it gets. One of our most memorable meals in restaurants we have eaten around the world. We, the chef, his assistant and our food/wine. A dining experience we will never forget.

Hiromi did a phenomenal job of keeping us in locations that felt intimate and less crowded. Kudos to her for always going above the expected in situations like these. The tea ceremony, calligraphy lesson and time with Sarah Brayer were also A+ experiences. Each one is unique and memorable. Whatever you can do to add these experiences to the itinerary, the better the trip. Each one provided a different and exceptional insight into the country and culture. The Ritz-Carlton, Kyoto, was as good as it gets. No complaints. Great location. Great staff. The room was perfect. Exactly the base camp you want when exploring. 

Mt. Koya and the Souji-in Temple were very good. Great escape after the crowds in Kyoto. Very much enjoyed our days there.

And you were exactly right about not wanting to miss a stay at Sasayuri-Ann. The accommodations were like nothing we had ever experienced, and Matsubayashi-san, his wife and family were perfect hosts. We enjoyed every minute of our time there and with them. The hikes, the meals, the conversations, and the attention to detail were above and beyond. Could have stayed for an entire week at this property and gotten to know them both even more. A++.

Great work as well with all of the transportation. The car service and drivers were always reliable and exactly what we needed. Made the trip much easier and enjoyable. They worked with Hiromi to make our days as smooth as possible.

Overall, we did not want the trip to end, and I wish I could have convinced Jessica to spend another week in the country. But that provides us a reason to return to Japan in a few years. It is an amazing country, and it still feels like there is much more to explore. 

Thank you for all of your work in making it a superb trip. Have already recommended JapanQuest Journeys to several others.

Steve Chapin, Virginia

The Top 3 reasons we love and would recommend JapanQuest Journeys:

We were a group of 2 grandparents; 30 something married couple with 4-month -old, and a -want-to do-everything couple in their 20s. Each with very different needs:

First was Jason: We began planning our 14-day trip to Tokyo, Kanazawa and Kyoto one year in advance. Jason was the consummate professional; the best travel planner I have ever interacted with. During that year of planning, we had an addition to the family. Jason was thorough and was able to determine the exact way to handle having such a young infant travel with us, while still ensuring a great trip. He suggested an extra sedan in addition to our van; vetted restaurants for infant friendliness and made sure the hotels were ready for us. He provided this level of detail and creativity in all aspects of the trip.

Second was our guide: who is now a member of our family. She was able to customize the trip enroute, so that the 20-somethings could continue to visit and explore while the 4-month-old was able to nap and be comfortable. She stayed with us the entire time. She is really extraordinary.

Third were our special experiences: Unmatched. Ikebana, sushi making, Zen Buddhist temple, drum playing in a temple, tea ceremony, automotive plant tour, calligraphy, special Geisha ceremony. Everything was uniquely Japanese and special.

Everyone says it, but it is true. This was truly the trip of a lifetime.

Thank you.

Andy Kaplan, Summit, New Jersey

We wanted to tell you how great our trip was. It truly could not have gone better and often exceeded our Our family of 6 (mom, dad, and four 20 something kids) recently got home from a 16 day trip in Japan created by Jason Gilman of JapanQuest Journeys. Jason helped us shape a trip that worked well for our family and really took into account our interests and preferences. We went through many iterations of our itinerary until the pacing and the sites made us all happy. 

We started in Tokyo with our guide Narumi who stayed with us for the whole trip. Our guide met us the first day and suggested we go “off itinerary” for a special local event – the Kanda Myojin Shrine Parade – and we watched hundreds of people from many neighborhoods celebrate and dance with their shrines. We also saw all the major sites and also had a few special and memorable experiences – our favorites in and near Tokyo were a cooking class at the home of a chef with an amazing history, visiting a sword maker, and a sake (actually nihon shu) tasting class. For the rest of our trip, we had fun finding and ordering sakes of different types.

We next visited Kanazawa to see several UNESCO world heritage sites that were beautiful and interesting and stayed in a fantastic onsen ryokan that gave us a taste of hot spring bathing and provided more of a Japanese feeling than traditional western hotels.

In Kyoto, we visited temples – some with amazing views, a bamboo forest, a building housing 1000 Buddha statues from the 1200’s, and some terrific shrines. We had a Taiko drum class – a real hoot for the whole family – and had a moving and relaxing Zen Buddhism experience. We saw many gorgeous meditative gardens where we could have spent hours. Our daughter also found a “Pig Café” (think “Cat Café” but with little pigs) which was…different and fun.

En route to Kyoto, one of our kids left a phone on the train and our guide did a great job of working the (impressive) Japanese systems for finding and reclaiming lost items – far, far different than it would have been in the US. And yes, we got it back three days later before leaving the area.

The deer in Nara are really cute (but carefully, one bit me in the butt- no damage done) and we spoke with a group of school children that wanted to practice their English.

We specifically requested a stop in Hiroshima which we found particularly moving and profound and such a testament to the evil of nuclear weapons and resilience of the Japanese people. A local specialty, an Okonomiyaki dinner, was a real treat – never had anything like it. 

Another favorite location was Naoshima which was completely Jason’s suggestion. We’d never heard of it. We’ve told several friends about “the art islands” since we’ve been back. We could have easily spent an extra day or two, and the art and experience was truly memorable.

Jason created a logical circuit for us to follow and included bonus stops along the way to make our longer travel days easier. He was very helpful at identifying “must see” sites and helped us fill, but not over fill, our days. Narumi our guide was knowledgeable and lovely. She was our private tour guide and kept track of the details and managed our time such that the trains, planes, automobiles, restaurants, activities, reservations, tickets, etc. were nearly invisible to us. Even with all we had scheduled, she sometimes suggested a change in a daily itinerary if there was a special local event, weather concerns, or a newly discovered activity we wanted to add. 

Thank you to Narumi, Jason, and JapanQuest Journeys for a wonderful Japan trip!

Hannah and Bill, New Orleans

My dad and I traveled on a trip of a lifetime throughout Japan in the summer of 2023. Scott’s guidance and expertise helped us plan a trip where every detail was accounted for. While in Japan, our two guides were superb; they were friendly, knowledgeable and went above and beyond to accommodate our last-minute requests and our tricky food allergies. 

Reflecting back on our JapanQuest Journeys trip, I still cannot believe how unique, personalized, and seamless our travels went, we didn’t have to worry about anything (such as navigating the tricky train system)! We highly recommend JapanQuest Journeys, a truly priceless experience. 

Thank You, Scott, JapanQuest Journeys, and our phenomenal tour guides.

Lori Whitten, Texas

We enjoyed our trip so much, and we have recommended JapanQuest Journeys to a number of friends who want to travel to Japan. Alas, ridiculously high-priced airfares may have delayed a number of those planned trips, but I hope that when they do get to visit Japan, they work with you for the planning.

Alex and Vivian Strogen, Washington State

We wanted to tell you how great our trip was. It truly could not have gone better and often exceeded our expectations. We enjoyed so many facets of the trip that it would be impossible to list them all. However, the best part was the people we had the opportunity to interact with. 

First and foremost, Mimi-san was beyond incredible. She was knowledgeable, insightful, and sensitive to reading our needs/desires throughout the trip. The trip would not have been nearly as amazing without her. 

Aki-san on the Shiki-Shima train was also absolutely great. While all the staff on the train were helpful, Aki-san went out of her way to make us feel particularly welcome and included despite being the only non-Japanese speaking guests on board. 

We appreciated your efforts to make some of these unique experiences possible, including the Shiki-Shima and the Geisha evening. I know that these experiences took significant effort from you and your team. Thank you.

Suffice it to say that we had one of our most memorable trips ever.