Tokyo Holidays

Temples, shrines, bamboo forest, mount Fuji, cities, dress in authentic clothes, tea ceremony, japanese food specialities and the Japanese people. You can read that in the brochure.
But add in the best guide from Japan, sharing interesting facts, personal reflections, insider knowledge and a vitality and sense of humour.
Having learned japanese for three years Shioji our guide allowed me to ask silly questions, and that gave me confidence to jump right in to my adventure of a lifetime.
Our seven hotels were in convenient locations, so when I ventured out on my own in Tokyo the metro was nearby, as were Seven Elevens, Lawsons or Family Marts.
While journeying from one place to another the comfort stops, food outlets, and souvenir shops seemed well chosen and time available to explore was ideal.
I suppose as a first timer in Japan every thing would be exciting, but the size of group meant we could join up to visit venues, or just sit and drink it all in, at our own pace and ability, and this is where I mention the earpiece and 'intercom' device, that allowed our guide to easily communicate in the largest of crowds. Great idea!

We chose this tour as it visited virtually all the places we wanted to visit. We always go for Escorted Tours with all meals included and everything organised for us. This was our first tour with Wendy Wu and it really was worth paying a little more for the quality of service we received, particularly from our National Guide (Coco) who was professional, friendly and worked incredibly hard. As for Jaoan, we loved the country especially the culture (organised, quiet, polite, clean) and the highlights were: Hiroshima, Kyoto, Tokyo and the Snow Monkeys. Mention also should be made of the gardens, castles, temples, shrines, mountains, wooded hillsides, bullet train, rice fields and Sumo Wrestling. Lastly, we enjoyed the variety of food on offer including around 35% Western - we were able to try the whole range of Japanese cuisine including having to cook our own food on occasions - fortunately we were always provided alternative cutlery as well as chopsticks. Hotels were all of a high standard as were the toilets!

Overall, this was an amazing experience. From the start, the booking process and arrangements were efficient and well executed.

Rather than try to detail all 16 days in Japan, I'll just summarise the key elements:
- the destinations were great. On a tour like this it will be difficult to cater for all needs, but we found that most locations were well worth visiting and that free time was catered for, allowing us to pursue our own interests to a degree. In terms of the top things to see in Japan, I couldn't pick a better list overall, and we came away with a genuine sense that we knew the country a lot better
- the weather. We travelled end-July - early August. We were lucky overall, with only a couple of spots of rain and mostly clear and sunny days. Bear in mind that stunning vistas of Mt Fuji are very unlikely this time of year, but the visit is still worth doing. It was very hot and humid, especially at the start, but as we traveled into the mountains it cooled and was more bearable. Air condition is ubiquitous, so it's only really the outdoor parts where this was a little uncomfortable.
- the food was generally excellent, with a wide variety of Japanese food and no shortage. A couple of choices of European style food (especially in the final Tokyo hotel) weren't as good, but still completely satisfactory
- our tour guide (Hiroko) was utterly incredible. She made the tour very special, with lots of insights into Japanese culture and history, and a calm efficiency that made sure that we kept on schedule but didn't feel too pressured.

We all had a wonderful time, and felt that the tour was extremely good value for money. With all excursions and entrance fees dealt with, and all the logistics completely sorted, we could just get on and enjoy the moment!

Very highly recommended, especially for a first trip to Japan.

Great credit to Wendy Wu for a superb guided tour of Japan. Beginning in Osaka (good), Kyoto (better), Hiroshima (excellent), Kanazawa (excellent), Nagano (excellent) and Tokyo (super), the tour offered a fine variety of interesting vista and experiences.
They managed to pack a huge amount into each days sightseeing without putting undue pressure on any member of the group. Kudos here to a truly outstanding guide Taichi, whose English was faultless, attention to the group unwavering, had a great sense of humour and was a fountain of knowledge.
When travelling to Japan, you need to maintain an open mind about food. The dining experience is vastly different to our Western tastes, but the quality was very good at all times, even if our taste buds didn’t necessarily appreciate all that was put before us. My wife is coeliac, a condition unknown in Japan, yet her dietary needs were catered to better than any other trip we have done.
Is it worth the cost and jet lag?
A resounding YES.

My husband and I thought this was one of the best holidays we have ever had. It was very well organized with us seeing the cherrry blossoms, riding the bullet train, seeing the macaque monkeys, Mount Fuji and making paper. We saw all three capital cities - Nara, Kyoto and Tokyo and learned all about the history. We even learned a little Japanese - all thanks to the excellent guide we had. We enjoyed the Japanese food and it suited my stomach, even though at times I was not sure what I was eating! I loved the heated toilet seats. Can't say I was very keen on matcha tea.

It was the perfect trip/tour of a country I have long wanted to visit. A little hiccough re our airline tickets but everything else was perfect. We were met and had the most amazing tour guide Yoko Odawara. Yoko kept us well informed - lots of toilet breaks should we need it. Any questions were always answered. There was a complication one evening due to a road accident in Tokyo bringing all traffic to a halt but Yoko found us another venue to eat. Rain or shine she made our holiday