Review

I enjoyed the variety within the tour of city, village, and nature destinations as well as the variety of historic, religious, culinary, and other points of interest.

We very much enjoyed our Japanese-style accommodations. The breakfast buffets were wonderful. The garden with waterfalls and koi, evening buffet, yukatas, and rooftop outdoor onsen in Hakone were especially wonderful. We appreciated that the hotels were conveniently located. We had a beautiful view and a very comfortable room in Hiroshima. The staff at each location was extremely kind and professional, and everything was clean. We had trouble getting a good internet signal at one of the Onyado Nono hotels but that was our only hiccup.

The breakfast buffets were fantastic. We also especially enjoyed our kushikatsu and sushi lunches in Tokyo, our lunch with homemade noodles in Hakone, our curry lunch at a small restaurant run by a couple in Shirakawa, and our lunch with okonomiyaki at a very little local place on Miyajima Island. Amy and Tomoko also took us to nice lunch cafes, which were a refreshing change. We really appreciated Masa\'s surprise of some Mr. Donut doughnuts and enjoyed trying the Momiji Manju cookies that he gave us. We also enjoyed the opportunities to taste sake, rice balls, miso with William.

We very much enjoyed our guides. They were enthusiastic, kind, and knowledgeable. I appreciated how ready and willing they were to answer my many questions and to enjoy the day with us. They went out of their way to make our trip special in many ways, like helping us find stamps, taking our pictures, remembering our interests, and giving us guidance for our free time that we really enjoyed, like Yuriko\'s suggestion of going to Takeshita Street and Hisako\'s suggestion of visiting the Meiji Shinto Shrine and Iris Garden in Tokyo. Amy even double checked that everything would work out for us where we were going and helped us hail a cab for several minutes in the pouring rain so that we could attend Catholic mass the evening we arrived in Kyoto. Those are just a few examples of many special, thoughtful moments. It was great to get to know so many people, and they made our trip experience rich and fun. We can\'t thank them enough.

The pre-tour materials were fantastic. I appreciated how thorough, clear, and interesting they were and that they included highly practical, cultural, and historic information as well as information on books and movies that enriched the trip for me. I found myself often mentally referring back to things that I had learned. A few elements in the pre-tour documentation may need to be updated. An example would be that renting devices to have access to the internet is no longer necessary. I appreciated being able to learn more updated information when I talked with Martin prior to leaving. I also very much appreciated Martin\'s suggestions for the days that we remained in Japan after our tour ended.

The tour was exceedingly well-organized. The guides always knew which train car we were in and were ready to meet us the moment we stepped off of the train. They even shared information they had learned about us and knew what we looked like. All of the overnights, meals, transportation, sight-seeing and communication went smoothly. The shipping of our suitcases went off without a hitch. The only suggestion I would make is that all of the guides provide their contact information. A few of them didn\'t, and if something had happened, we wouldn\'t have had a direct way to reach them..

The tour transportation was very smooth.