Nearly one year in advance, we finally found the time to curate and book our Japan bucket list vacation. We have traveled extensively but never before to Asia, so booking a two-week vacation there in the first half of April, with the goal of immersing ourselves in the Cherry Blossom season in Kyoto while seeing a broad expanse of Japan, was a bit daunting. A colleague and his wife (now frequent Japan vacationers) recommended Jason at JapanQuest Journeys, and I’m glad they did.
We had a fantastic trip, with bespoke experiences based on our preferences (not just ordinary tourist attractions). Jason and I communicated frequently, ensuring that all big and small details were addressed, including my wife’s sometimes tricky dietary restrictions. As the vacation approached, we interacted by phone, text, and email to lock in dining experiences that could accommodate us. Ultimately, we had almost no hiccups the entire trip, which is a bit of a miracle considering the ambitious itinerary! A lot of that was due to the care and planning that Jason and his team devoted to the trip. And a lot of it was equally attributable to the amazing guide (and new friend) that we had for the entirety of the two weeks.
“Overall, our trip matched our bucket list hopes. We’re already looking forward to planning our next trip with Jason and his team.”
Our guide, Hiro, was incredible. She ensured that every lunch restaurant accommodated our needs, advance-planned nightly to ensure the following day would be stress-free and as crowd-tolerable as possible despite being high season, obsessed on every aspect of every day (from trains to cars, to shrines and temples, to the busiest of tourist attractions) to make it go as smoothly as possible, and was just the nicest, friendliest and most genuine person/guide we’ve ever encountered.
Overall, our trip matched our bucket list hopes, and the Tokyo-Matsumoto-Kanazawa-Kyoto-Naoshima-Tokyo itinerary – which did seem a bit tiring and overwhelming when we planned it out – was the perfect combination of active, relaxing, and otherworldly. We’re already looking forward to planning our next trip with Jason and his team.