Japan April 2024
Japan
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Mar 30 - Apr 7, 2024
Sandy was very easy to work with and incorporated all our input into the itinerary. She helped us plan a really well-rounded Japan trip! We got extremely lucky while we were there as the cherry blossoms were delayed in their blooming and therefore coincided perfectly with our travel dates! Additionally, we had great weather.
Hotel Review
Rooms at the Watermark are quite small, but it was very comfortable for the four nights we stayed there. There are really pretty lighting options in the rooms (lantern and wall lighting), which was a fun feature. The buffet breakfast was an excellent way to start the morning! There are both western and Japanese options. The hotel is not located very close to restaurants or epicenters, but is close to a subway line or a 25-30 minutes walk to more exciting areas.
Activity Reviews
Our tour guide, Meiji "May," made this day particularly special. He has a great personality and was clearly a very experienced guide, navigating crowds and transportation like a pro. He also recommended an AMAZING restaurant for lunch, Asakusa Tsurujiroh Hanare.
Mt Fuji is beautiful! The drive up was a great way to see the countryside, but where we stopped up the mountain was very crowded. The boat ride wasn't our favorite part, though Lake Ashi is lovely. The gondola ride offered great views but also wasn't a highlight.
Shibuya Sky is very cool; even our Tokyo-based guide was impressed. It was his first time visiting and he thought the view was more expansive than some other vantage points in the city, like Tokyo Tower or Skytree. The Sumida River Cruise was a bit underwhelming in our opinion, but a unique opportunity and cool way to see architecture along the river.
This was a long day with lots of driving! The temple is very impressive with it's scale, but at this point of the trip we had seen so many shrines and temples. The dear were cute, but we both felt we didn't need to go back to see them. Good food in Nara! We really liked our guide. Very helpful, positive, and fashionable!
The Bamboo Forest was very crowded which made it feel less magical. The garden at Tenryu-ji Temple right near the forest however is beautiful! The monkey park was very fun; it's a bit of a hike to get up there but subsequently offers a great view of the area. Lastly, the boat ride (Arashiyama Tsusen) was one of our favorite experiences! It's very cool to see how the boat is propelled with a bamboo stick, and there's a motor powered boat that comes up halfway through the trip to sell food and beverage.
