Kimkim Trip Reviews for Japan

Our family of three generations (grandmother, 74, daughter & husband, and grandchildren, 18 & 14) all absolutely loved our first ever visit to Japan. Our first overall impressions were of the politeness and respect, the cleanliness (of streets/stations/trains/shops/hotels) and the efficiency and punctuality of the trains. Our guide, Suzuki san, on our first day in Tokyo, was so informative, interesting and friendly. He realised that on our first day a quiet walk along the river with beautiful cherry blossoms was a good introduction - then we ventured to the shops, which the grandchildren especially loved. We all thought the Meiji Shrine was wonderful, and the Togo Shrine, where they were celebrating an anniversary, so there were monks chanting, and stalls outside. The next day another guide, Yoshiko, took us to Sensoji temple, which although impressive, with all the stalls, was extremely crowded. Earlier we visited the fish market at Tsukiji, which was fascinating. Moving on to Kyoto, which we loved, and June, our guide was really good and explained everything so clearly. The Golden Temple was one of the highlights, and we loved the Nishiki street market. We had a tea ceremony, which was impressive, and went through the bamboo forest in Arashiyama, which we all liked very much. We changed our planned itinerary the next day, as it involved many hours travelling to see cherry blossoms in Yoshino, and we all thought that would be too tiring, and we saw many, many beautiful cherry blossoms in and around Kyoto. We gave June the day off, and looked after ourselves in Kyoto.
On our way to Osaka we had a tour of the Suntory Whisky Distillery, which the adults enjoyed, particularly my son-in-law - the children weren't allowed on it, so had to wait outside. On to Osaka with June, who showed us the beautiful Castle Gardens. Thence to Hiroshima, and the wonderful Japanese garden, followed by the memorable and thought-provoking Peace Memorial Park. Our guide, Fumiko, was very interesting and sympathetic. Finally, our fabulous Onsen hotel in Hakone. It was wonderful to be in the countryside, out of the cities, and we all enjoyed our Onsen baths immensely. The six course Japanese dinner was delicious, and beautifully served. Then back to busy Tokyo! Our hotel was by the Shibuya Scramble - so we were in the thick of it! We found a karaoke bar, which for me was a novel experience and fun.

Hotel Review

The Gate Hotel Kyoto Takasegawa by Hulic

Kyoto

The hotel is so comfortable, and very well located. The staff are friendly, and polite. The breakfasts were so good! We really loved the lounge/bar/restaurant up on the top floor, with stunning views.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Arrival to Japan

Japan

We had very long queues, due to Covid checks and immigration, which was quite tiring, after a long flight, even though we had done all the QR codes on the Visit Japan Web. Our greeter met us successfully, but didn't seem to know about our driver, who was also waiting for us. Eventually, we rang him and met up. Our greeter sorted our our Suica cards. Our driver gave us a comfortable journey to our Pullman hotel.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Modern Tokyo Tour and cherry blossoms

Tokyo

I've already reviewed this earlier

Quality of Experience

Toyosu Fish/Tsukiji Market Food Tour

Tokyo

I've already reviewed this earlier

Quality of Experience

Explore Asakusa

Tokyo

Impressive, but very crowded

Golden Pavilion (Kinkakuji) and Ryoanji

Kyoto

A beautiful, peaceful place

Nishiki Market

Kyoto

Really fun and interesting, with all the different foods on display, and eating/tasting available

Visit Kyoto's most famous temple- Fushimi Inari - Taisha

Kyoto

Very impressive, and a special place

One-day trip to Arashiyama, a true cherry blossom paradise!

Kyoto

A beautiful place, with lovely traditional houses, shops and restaurants

Traditional Tea Ceremony

Kyoto

We all enjoyed this very much, learning about the traditional rituals, and tasting the matcha tea.

Suntory Yamazaki Whiskey Distillery

Japan

A very interesting tour, and even if one didn't like whisky, the tasting was worth doing!

Sightseeing & Food Tour of Osaka

Osaka

The Castle Garden was beautiful, but very crowded. We didn't do the food tour.

Hiroshima & Miyajima Day!

Japan

The Shukkeien Garden was beautiful and peaceful and not too crowded, despite the cherry blossom season. We then visited the Castle briefly, which was quite a warrior-like building, reminiscent of the samurai. Then we went to the Peace Memorial Park, which was very special and thought-provoking. We didn't go to Miyajima as it was so crowded, with long queues, and it would have been very tiring. We were very happy with what we did see. Our guide, Fumiko, recommended a very good Okonomi-yaki restaurant for our supper.

Discover Hakone

Hakone

This was heavenly, being right in the countryside, in the hills, and experiencing the wonderful, relaxing Onsen baths. The hotel was amazing - the rooms were large. Our 6 course Japanese dinner was truly memorable. We didn't want to explore Hakone the next morning - as it was our last proper day, so it was relaxing to enjoy the hotel and garden, and then make our way back to Odawara to catch the train to Tokyo in our own time. It would have been tiring to check out/go to Odawara/do the tours/come back to the hotel to pick up our bags, then back to Odawara station, then to Tokyo.

Our recent trip in last two weeks of March 2023 entailed travels to Tokyo, Kanazawa, Takayama, Kyoto, and Osaka. The arrangement of the trip by our Guides Claudia, Xavier and Irish was superb in the form of being responsive to all our questions., queries and concerns. The selection of Hotels and their locations was great, well thought out, convenient and excellent. The itinerary was great. We did get to see a lot of Japan in variety of settings and it’s rich history and religious diversity and tolerance. The guides and people that we interacted were very helpful in all possible ways.

My only concern with the trip was that compared to travels around the world, travel in Japan entailed a lot of time was spent getting from point one to the next and I think about more than Thirty percent of stay involved in walking, finding the right train stations and connections. These train train stations are large and getting to the correct. Entrance point and exiting the correct exit was confusing at times and tiring to say the least. This cut down a lot of time that we could have spent on seeing things we were suppose to visit. The trains, train schedules, train stations and and exits were not just confusing for us but at times was also too much for the Local Guides who were accompanying us.

There is to be better way of getting around Japan than what we had encountered.

My last concern was getting back to Airport there was never any instructions about making reservations on Narita Express . Our assumption that we could get on the direct Narita Express from Tokyo made us almost miss our Flight. Trying to get to the JR Rail offices and getting reservation is almost exhausting and all the great fun and excitement of the trip kind of evaporated in the last hours.

This is not Kim Kim.s fault but I conclusion was that Japan after being shut off for three years is not ready for the onslaught of Tourists that seem to have converged during our visit. The staff at Japan Rail was significantly lacking in their knowledge to respond to the questions from Tourists not just us but people in front of us at all their offices or at Information centers was very obvious and added to the long queues.

Overall Thank you for making this great trip possible.

Kirti and Ila Patel

Our trip was well planned and executed.
Irish was very responsive.

We just returned from Japan. Had a great time. Working with Malissa was good but it would often takes multiple days for her to get back to us. We wish she was able to have given us more information on the non organized days. For example she recommended going to the Imperial Palace but it is closed the day she indicated. The hotels she helped pick turned out great. The detailed travel worksheets were very helpful and the experiences were great.
We really enjoyed our guide Pedro. We were lucky to have him. He even helped us on days he was not with us. He was great about answering all of our questions.
We would use Kim Kim and Malissa again.

We were initially very happy in dealing with Andy as he seemed to understand our interests well. Subsequently due to Covid delays and his change of jobs we ended up interacting with other specialists who were sometimes pretty unresponsive (1-2 weeks to reply) and didn't see to know our interests as well

Thanks to Irish and Kristy our first family vacation to Japan was a success! They found us great hotels in Tokyo (Karaska Hotel Premier Tokyo Ginza) and Hakuba (Hakuba Highlands Hotel) and helped us navigate the JR Rail Pass process to get us around Tokyo and to/from Nagano. They also arranged for a driver to pick us up and drop us off at the airport - which was a bonus with the luggage.

Amazing travel experience with KimKim.

I would like to pay extra thanks to our travel agent Christine. She is knowledgeable and approachable. She helped putting the trip together with us and booked all the necessary items.

During the trip, she went above and beyond to help us confirm reservations and help with issues came up along the trip such as luggage shipping. I cannot recommend KimKim more. Defintely using KimKim on my next trip to Japan.

We had another wonderful trip thanks to KimKim!
Christine helped organize our Japan adventure. She was kind, patient, and detail-oriented! She made sure to get to know our family and our interests and budget. She arranged for an outstanding itinerary that was perfect for our family!

During the trip, she was available for questions and logistical issues that arose along the way. She was responsive and handled everything gracefully and efficiently. We were so pleased with our experience! We can't wait for our next family vacation with KimKim!

This was an amazing trip thanks to Claudia and then Kristy, who made it all possible. My husband turned 50 on 12/31 and to make it a memorable birthday, we spent a week in Japan. We were off to a rough start due to the airline delay of 1 whole day! That made us miss a couple of planned events in Tokyo, but we still tried to make up for it. We are foodies, so we tried absolutely everything - from Japanese street food, to a local Ramen dive, to a preplanned multi course Teppanyaki place at a 5 star hotel in Kyoto. We visited a number of shrines and walked through the busiest shopping areas of Tokyo and Kyoto. Bamboo forest in Kyoto and a couple of parks (like Nara that has deer roaming around) were amazing. We also got the JR and metro systems figured out in both cities and were very comfortable getting around. Cat and mini pig cafes - fun! We will be bringing our sons with us next time and experience a different season in Japan. A day hike at Mount Fuji is in our plans for next time!

Hotel Reviews

Nishitetsu Inn Shinjuku

Tokyo

Very clean, friendly service. Breakfast was provided.

Authenticity & Character

We loved staying at authentic boutique hotels and this felt like one

Location

Close to everything we needed

Staff

Friendly and helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Small (which is to be expected in Japan) but cozy and very clean

Sotetsu Fresa Inn Kyoto Shijokarasuma

Kyoto

Great location, clean, very helpful staff. Breakfast is provided

Authenticity & Character

Small boutique hotel, very authentic

Location

Close to transportation and local dining and shopping

Staff

Helpful and friendly staff. Very accommodating

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very clean and cozy

Tokyu Stay Shinjuku Eastside

Tokyo

Very nice clean place

Authenticity & Character

Beautiful design

Location

Design and character were unique. Larger of the few hotels we previously experienced in Japan

Staff

Helpful and friendly

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very clean and cozy

Activity Reviews

Traditional Tea Ceremony

Kyoto

This was one of our favorite experiences. We dressed up into authentic kimonos with the assistance of very nice staff who helped us expertly and expeditiously to look amazing. Then we walked through Kyoto’s cozy winding streets for a bit taking pictures. Then we experienced a very informative and fun tea ceremony with a lovely instructor. She was very friendly and explained all the details of what was involved in the making of a perfect cup of Matcha tea. We would love to bring our sons here next time.

Quality of Experience

Immersive experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Very friendly and informative

Explore Arashiyama

Kyoto

We spent about half day at Arashiyama - walking through the bamboo forest and the adjacent park and shopping area. Very pretty, although I am certain it would be even more beautiful in other seasons (we were there at the end of December).

Quality of Experience

Amazing views, lots of photo opportunities

We had a wonderful time. Irish was fabulous planning everything and Shegao was just wonderful. I would recommend them to anyone visiting Japan!

Hotel Review

Peninsula Hotel Tokyo

Tokyo

luxury hotel with fabulous breakfast and service

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Tokyo Full Day Tour

Tokyo

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arrive in Tokyo, Free Day!

Tokyo

Sanrio Puroland

Tokyo

Free Day in Tokyo

Tokyo

Quality of Experience

Explore Asakusa

Tokyo

Quality of Experience

Tokyo Departure

Japan

Quality of Experience

Max was a great guide and we had a wonderful experience! There is so much history, culture, and delicious food to be had! Our stay on Mount Koya was an indescribable experience and it was something I’m super happy we had the opportunity to do.

Hotel Reviews

Koyasan Saizenin

Wakayama

Something I never imagined having the experience to do but it was unforgettable. The communal bathrooms and specified shower times were interesting. Was happy to have the experience.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Mitsui Garden Hotel Kyoto Station

Kyoto

Beautiful, clean, great staff, great breakfast, and great location. The laundry self service was perfect!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Shinjuku Washington Hotel - Main Building

Tokyo, Shinjuku

Exactly what we needed in Tokyo. Great location, great staff, delicious breakfast!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Visiting Osaka: The Gourmet Metropolis of Japan

Japan

So much fun exploring this city and eating all the food! The local fashion and culture was really cool to experience and different than the other cities on our trip.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

7-day Ordinary JR Pass

Tokyo

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hakone Full-Day Private Tour By Public Transportation

Japan

Make sure to take the cable car to the top of the mountain for a view of Mt Fuji and black volcanic ice cream!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Traditional Kyoto

Kyoto

Max, our tour guide, was super knowledgeable! Beautiful city and we got to so and see so much in our short time there.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Japanese Buddhism, Mount Koyasan

Mount Koya

Definitely was unaware of what I was walking into, but we got the full immersion experience by staying in a temple. You have to just fully go with it and enjoy the experience!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our trip to Japan was perfect for our honeymoon! Our guide Max was knowledgeable, experienced, and help us navigate the complexities of getting around Japan. We especially enjoyed our trip to Koyasan and the hike with Max through the cemetery. Colas from kimkim provided excellent guidance and the preparation allowed for a smooth trip. We want to thank Colas for the honeymoon surprise he coordinated with our friend Whitney on our last night in Tokyo. This is a trip we will never forget and look forward to our next adventure with kimkim!

Hotel Review

Mitsui Garden Hotel Kyoto Station

Kyoto

This is an excellent hotel within walking distance of the Kyoto train station.

Authenticity & Character

Japanese style breakfast

Location

Walkable to Kyoto train station

Staff

Nice and helpful staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean accommodations and ability to quickly do laundry

Activity Review

Japanese Buddhism, Mount Koyasan

Mount Koya

This was a very special part of our trip. Staying in the mountains amongst such a sacred place was part of the reason why it was so special. It was helpful to have our guide Max there to put the sights into context of history and importance.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

1. Use Kimkim only if you have no idea about the country, like I did with Japan. Irish was very helpful and suggested Hakone, which was a lovely place.
2. Be prepared to pay almost double for your trip, compared to doing it yourself. I saw the price and there was a sticker shock, but I decided to still let Irish have her pay since she did a lot of work already.
3. Give them a lot of time! For example time difference between Japan and US is 13 hrs. So it takes 1/2 a day for the email to be answered.
4. Be careful in choosing your "price range". Select "mid-range" only if $300 a night hotels are ok with you.
Overall I appreciate the help in initial planning. Irish was very meticulous and tried hard to meet all our special requests. The support "on the ground" was spotty though. The "limo taxi" that was supposed to meet us at the airport never connected with us and it took Kimkim an hour to answer our call. By that time we were already in the taxi that we hired ourselves. It took them 1/2 hour to an hour to answer our calls each time. So this is not an emergency service. They may have the same problem as everybody else - not enough people willing to work?
Local knowledge was still worth it. Irish suggested JR pass (a weekly bullet train ticket) which was very convenient to have. The Suica card for local trains, subway etc. was also a great suggestion.
Our local guide in Hakone, Mr. Shigeo Ishibashi (a retired engineer) is a great person and we enjoyed talking to somebody local and asking all the "cultural difference" questions!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Sunroute Ginza

Tokyo

Don't choose the smallest room unless you're traveling alone! Or unless you're newlyweds and don't mind VERY close quarters! :)

Location

It's in Ginza about 15 min walk from Tokyo station.

Staff

Very helpful. The breakfast "hostess" helped us with directions and answered all questions despite of being VERY buisy!

Cleanliness & Comfort

VERY clean!

Ajisai Onsen Ryokan

Hakone

Great property in a tiny "park" of it's own! Next to an antique "museum".

Authenticity & Character

A real traditional Japanese ryokan with onsen. Real Japanese food for breakfast, if you want it.

Location

Beautiful if small property on a quiet street.

Staff

Very helpful and nice!

Cleanliness & Comfort

In our traditional Japanese room there were extra futons that I used to be more comfortable sleeping on the floor. Very clean.

SAKURA TERRACE THE GALLERY

Kyoto

3 minute walk from Kyoto Station! Great open air modern "lobby". Welcome drinks.

Authenticity & Character

Ver nice modern design.

Location

3 minute walk from Kyoto Station!

Staff

Helpful in all respects.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very clean and comfortable

Activity Reviews

Hakone Museum of Art

Hakone

The art museum itself is ok for a small town, but hard to compare to big city museums. But the park around it is wonderful. Japanese come there in November to admire the beautiful colors of autumn. Many dress in kimonos which they rent for the occasion. They even dress up their kids, very cute!

Quality of Experience

Beautiful traditional Japanese garden.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Mr. Shigeo Ishibashi san was great pleasure to talk to.

Hiking at Fushimi Inari Shrine

Kyoto

The "tunnels" made up of thousands of tori gates are amazing. So are the shrines and the gardens!

The Sumida Hokusai Museum

Tokyo

A must see for any Hokusai art lover. The exposition itself may not have all the originals, but it's so well organized! His life's timeline, different periods in his art. They even animated some of his "dancing" cartoons. There's "find the Fuji" activity for kids (great fun for adults too)!

If you seek a spectacular once in a lifetime adventure in the Heart and Soul of Japan, KimKim will create a unique trip experience, specifically built around your individual interests and passions! 
Soleil was the creator of our unique Japan adventure, and she did a highly commendable job.  She gave generously of herself during the extensive planning phase, and throughout our entire 9 day Japan adventure to Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka!   
Gibwa, from our Japan support team, greeted us at the airport and we traveled together by train to our hotel where we checked in and went over our trip package, containing various train cards, show and tour vouchers.  Soleil had left several very thoughtful gifts in our room for my daughter, based upon her interests in a particular Japanese culture.  What a very  thoughtful surprise this was! 
Our Japan support team checked in with us daily to ensure we felt supported if we had any questions or concerns.  Our trip was so well detailed, but also gave us huge flexibility to change up along the way if we wanted, which we loved!  
The cooking classes, food tours and other very unique tours and adventures which Soleil planned for us were highly enjoyable!  Some of our favorites were the Ramen and Gyozo cooking class by Chef Yumi, (who was incredible) the absolutely fabulous food tours by Arigato Japan, and the beautiful Hozugawa River Cruise!!!  
Soleil additionally ensured that everyone along the way celebrated my daughter's college graduation while we were with them! Thank you so much Soleil!  
I am extremely happy we chose KimKim to help us create and execute our highly unique and fabulous trip to Japan!  It was truly AMAZING!  A very heartfelt thank you to Soleil and the entire Japan support team, who spoke perfect English, by the way!  
*Also, a very special thank you to Anne Kyle, CEO of Arigato Food Tours, Japan,  for her very generous heart and truly awesome food tours!  Her tour guides Haruka and Anna were fabulous!!!

I cannot begin to write a review that can give my friends and my experience traversing the Nakasendo Trail in Japan. I think a large part of this amazing time was the service provided by Kimkim and the team. We did not use a guide but honestly, this group is so organized, they gave us almost step by step instructions on how to hike the trail, going to far as to provide pictures of junctures so that we could not get lost even if we tried.
All our train tickets, itinerary and inn reservations (including food restrictions) were all handled ahead of time with no necessary added work on our part. In fact, due to the typhoon that occurred just prior to our trip, a Kimkim agent came to our inn with updated instructions and amended train tickets to accommodate the change in plans due to problems on the trail. I have never, never experienced such service in my life.
This is what I would say, if anyone is considering walking the Nakasendo Trail, please trust your trip to Kimkim. Yes, you can do it yourself, and yes it might cost to give it over to this company. However for peace of mind and even looking back on it now, it was the smartest move and the best money I have ever spent on a trip.

A very well thought out trip working around 2 Rugby world cup matches which inevitably constrained the itinerary to a degree. The information provided before and during the trip was excellent and where we had guides they were very good, it was nice to be met at the airport and talked through using the train system and to set up our japan rail pass. We became confident in using the transport systems much more quickly than we would have left to our own devices.
Hotel choices were well judged with great locations and were a better standard than I expected for the cost of the tour. We took up a couple of suggestions that we wouldn't normally have gone for and were glad that we did - the evening guided food and drink tour in Osaka was particularly memorable.
We started with a few days in Tokyo then travelled down to Hiroshima and over to Miyajima Island - that was a highlight despite the iconic Tori gate being covered in scaffolding. We then got the train back up to Kyoto where we were based for 4 nights, as well as visiting numerous sites here we also did day trips to Nara - must visit, loved the deer and Himeji castle where we were shown round by a volunteer guide - these were available at numerous sites and very knowledgeable.
The station hotel in Kyoto was probably our favourite in Japan - great rooms, facilities and location and good restaurant recommendations by the concierge.
Next we went back to Tokyo for 3 days and met up with some friends for a couple of days watching England beat Argentina, visiting the robot restaurant and going on a bar/restaurant crawl, we also really enjoyed the team labs borderless digital art gallery.
From Tokyo we did a loop through the mountains first to Kanazawa, we then stopped at the world heritage site village of Shirakiwa-go in the mountains on the way to Takayama. We stayed for 2 nights in a ryokan in Takayama to coincide with the autumn festival - a lovely town and great experience. From here we got the bus to Matsumoto where we visited the castle and art museum.
Our last stop on the trip was Yokohama - very near Tokyo but quite a different feel with a very interesting waterfront. Unfortunately the England v France match was cancelled as Typhoon hagibis passed through on the saturday - it was eerie spending a day in the hotel with everything shut down.
The weather was beautiful the next morning and we managed to get tickets to watch Japan beat Scotland - a memorable last night in Japan before our flight home next morning.

Carrick was integral in making this trip happen! From booking the travel and accommodations, to answering questions, to helping me be as flexible as possible, there was no way I could have done the Kumano Kodo without her help. Through Carrick, I was able to do not only the Nakahechi Route, but the lesser traveled and (I think) more rewarding Kohechi Route. Even when things went slightly awry, their English speaking support team was able to help me work through any missed connections. I fully recommend her, Oku Japan, and their services via KimKim! Thank you for making my trip so amazing.

We had a fantastic 10 day trip throughout Japan! Alan, Gibwa, and Katherine were wonderful to work with. They were quick to respond and very thorough. They created a custom journey with many of the must-see highlights as well as some hidden treasures. Some highlights were our bike tour through Takayama with our guide Taka. The festival float exhibition hall exceeded expectations and we'd love to go back and experience the exhibition. Our cooking class in Kyoto was a blast! We had a wonderful conversation and long walk through Nishiki Market, a surprise stop at a sake brewery followed by an informative and delightful class where we made sushi and miso soup. The Edo Wonderland was a bit underwhelming for us, but might be a great activity for a family. We would've been happy using that time to explore more of Tokyo. Overall it was a fantastic trip and we would highly recommend Kim Kim and Kichi Japan in the future. Gibwa and Katherine it was wonderful to meet you in person! Thank you for everything!

The trip was very well organised by Kanata. Our only concern in booking was a delay in progress every now and again. The hike was FANTASTIC! Accommodation SUPERB. Maps and booklet etc EXCELLENT

Awesome suggestions and super friendly guides throughout our trip - we really had the vacation of a lifetime.