Kimkim Trip Reviews for Japan

My family and I are truly grateful for the partnership and support of Leny and her team.

From the very beginning of the planning process I felt at ease and excited about receiving the best care and advice from Leny. I had already talked to two different planners at independent companies and neither of them could provide the service that Leny did. She offered great recommendations, and coordinated the best hotels and guides and could give true feedback being a local and speaking the language.

Our memorable excursions were the samurai experience, ramen making and the open air museum. Thank goodness for all the Shinkansen help- she told us the platform and all the information beforehand- otherwise it would have been overwhelming to navigate . I changed my plans when we were nearly done with our planning and Leny worked through all the changes and stayed positive and professional ☺️

I especially want to point out the help she provided my husband when he lost his passport- she connected with the uber driver/taxi company and helped work out the return of his lost bag. She stayed calm, worked late and really went above and beyond to help us come up with a plan. We are forever grateful.

Thank you Leny and team- and we plan to use KimKim for future trips- and have already mentioned the company to our friends.

Monique and Nick Williams

Every place we stayed was absolutely wonderful. The experiences, like the sushi making class and the hot springs, were top notch. We were traveling with teenagers, so it was important that the activities and plans also met their needs, and our guides were excellent at that.

Eleanor did an outstanding job planning our family vacation trip to Japan. The itinerary was well‑organized, the tickets were handled smoothly, and the train directions were incredibly easy to follow. Every guide we met was knowledgeable, friendly, and made the experience even better. I truly recommend KimKim for anyone looking to book a stress‑free and well‑planned trip

This was a bucket list trip for me and it turned out really well. The itinerary was in line with my budget and was incredibly fun. A big part of what I was looking for was a great food experience. Check! I wanted to see historically and architecturally significant places. Check! I wanted fun local shopping where I could purchase goods not available in New York. Check! Some tour guides were a better fit than others, but everyone was professional and knowledgeable. They brought me to places I never would have found on my own.

In sum, I would highly recommend this outfit for booking a trip to Japan. I had a great time and got a lot of value for my money.

Ben was amazing to work with and provided excellent service in planning and while in country. This was a trip to remember thanks to his help.

Outstanding experience and without doubt the best vacation we’ve ever had.
Sandy at KimKim provided an itenary for our trip to Japan that matched exactly with what we wanted to do and where we wanted to go. The cost of the trip was in line with our previously established budget. Hotels were superb and centrally located to what we wished to do. All arrangements with regards to hotels, excursions, transportation, etc were planned and confirmed and we had zero issues with any of these items.
Our guides for the tours were superb and went above and beyond. Yukio was fantastic showing us Osaka, Hiroshima, and Kyoto and made our whole experience visiting these places stress free and enjoyable. Yuna took us to the best places in Tokyo and navigated us superbly through the city.
Drivers for pick ups were always on time and very helpful.
This was our first experience using KimKim and visiting pacific Asia. We loved it and wished the vacation had never ended! Thank you!

Hotel Reviews

Hilton Tokyo Narita Airport Hotel

Tokyo

The Hilton Tokyo Narita Airport Hotel was a wonderful way to end our trip. We were surprised to find that we had been booked into a suite, which was huge compared to the typically small rooms in Japan. It felt like a palace or a house, and it was a very comfortable and spacious place to relax before our departure.

Mitsui Garden Hotel Osaka Premier

Osaka

The Mitsui Garden Hotel Osaka Premier was a lovely hotel in a great location. It was comfortable and well-situated for exploring Osaka. We had no complaints about the hotel, and it contributed positively to our stay in the city.

Asakusa Tobu Hotel

Our hotel in Tokyo, the Asakusa Tobu Hotel, was perfectly situated. Just outside the door was a narrow alley full of restaurants leading to one of Tokyo's main shrines, which was very convenient. Across the street was the rail station for the metro, making it easy to get around. The central location was praised by everyone who visited us, and it really enhanced our experience in Tokyo.

Cross Hotel Kyoto

Kyoto

Fantastic location in Kyoto. Very friendly and helpful staff and room was lovely. Breakfast buffet had everything and whole hotel very clean and had a great vibe about it.

Authenticity & Character

Very clean. Staff professional, helpful and friendly.

Location

Very central and close to all the shops, restaurants and train stations but also off the Main Street and very quiet.

Staff

They made every effort to make sure our stay was enjoyable and answered all our questions.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Room was spacious and clean. Whole hotel was clearly well maintained and cleaned.

Activity Reviews

Half Day Samurai Ninja Museum and Kimono Tea Ceremony at Kyoto Maikoya

Kyoto

Great combination of activities and my wife is still smiling from the experience of wearing a kimono!

Quality of Experience

Great combination of activities

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Staff at each location were very friendly and helpful

Tokyo Highlights: A Day of Tradional & Modern Culture with Local Life

Tokyo

A great blend of activities/sights that gave us a great overview of this wonderful city. From visiting fantastic food markets to majestic shrines and spacious parks this day tour was a perfect way to.enjoy Tokyo.

Quality of Experience

A huge city and the day was spent visiting a variety of locations stress free

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide, Yuna, took care of us superbly and spent the correct amount of time at each site explaining everything and answering all our questions.

Transport

Spending a day using the Tokyo metro was quite an experience but made stress free by our guide

Enjoy Temples & Bamboo Grove in Kyoto

Kyoto

This day took us to some of the main highlights in Kyoto and was superb. Our guide, Yukio, took care of us and we spent the right amount of time at each location and he explained all the attractions. Fantastic day!

Quality of Experience

Seeing so many of the main attractions in one day stress free

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide could not have been better

Transport

A combination of trains, cars, and buses very well planned

Peter and his team at Oshinobi helped us plan a flawless two-week family vacation to Japan, covering Tokyo, Mount Fuji, Hakone, Osaka, Hiroshima, Kyoto, and Nara. Every single detail was taken care of.

Their customer service is great—when a weather cancellation affected our train schedule, they handled the rebooking immediately and got us back on track later that day. They made sure our trip was incredibly smooth, allowing us to just focus on enjoying our vacation. Thank you, Oshinobi!

All our guides were wonderful. Hana in particular gave us such a wonderful and in depth tour in Asakusa, a market and introduction to Shibuya. Our favorite activities were tea ceremony, dinner with the Geico, and our night at the hot springs hotel in Hakone. All of our hotels were pleasant stays with easy access to stations for getting to activities. We appreciated the WhatsApp chat to ask questions and receive assistance along the way. It eased our planning to have someone take care of the train tickets and help us figure out how to navigate the Shinkansen system. We had a wonderful trip!

Activity Reviews

Best of Shibuya Food Tour

Tokyo

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Experience Old and Nostalgic Tokyo: Yanaka Walking Tour

Tokyo

Miyuki was a great guide and we enjoyed Yanaka.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Kyoto Arashiyama Bamboo forest & Garden Half-Day Walking Tour

Kyoto

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Relaxing Evening: Private Onsen and Kaiseki Dinner

Hakone

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Welcome to Hakone!

Hakone

We enjoyed Hakone! We spent our afternoon at the open air museum, which was incredible. The stay at our hotel springs hotel was very unique and special: the location, the room, the hot springs, and the meals were all lovely.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Osaka Local Foodie Walking Tour in Dotonbori and Shinsekai

Japan

Rio was a lovely guide. She was pleasant and gave us a lovely experience to take in a food experience at a slower pace and truly relax and enjoy foods.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tea Ceremony in Kyoto (Private)

Japan

This was so special. We learned so much and loved making matcha for each other. Our instructor was so patient with us as we learned and helped us understand and gave us a wonderful experience. Highly recommend!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Dinner with Maiko in a Traditional Kyoto Style Restaurant Tour (Small Group)

Kyoto

This was an incredible, special, once in a lifetime experience. We loved it and highly recommend it.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Crowd-Free Kyoto: Fushimi Inari, Nijo Castle & Kinkaku-ji

Kyoto

Tom was an enthusiastic and informative guide. We saw interesting sites and he helped guide us and teach us in the best ways. He took the time to understand our knowledge and interests and adapted to make sure he was giving us the best experience. Highly recommend!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tokyo Early Morning Tour: Asakusa, Tsukiji Market, Meiji Shrine & Shibuya Crossing

Tokyo

Hana was an amazing guide! This tour is a must-do. We learned so much from her, she set a pace and covered a manageable amount of activities. She helped us find the best and most local foods to sample at the market. This trip was fantastic!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Judy and the team at Kim Kim made planning my trip extremely easy. She was extremely well engaged in what my goals were for my trip and had plenty of suggestions for different activities to do. Overall the process was really simple.

sandy from Kim Kim was terrific! Everything from start to finish was handled with care and great execution. I would use them again and would highly recommend. They were also flexible when we changed our plans on them and were very accommodating. Thank you!

Activity Review

Tokyo Night Foodie Tour in Shinjuku

Tokyo

Quality of Experience

Personal handling was great

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Very personable

Transport

We cannot recommend Sandy highly enough! She planned an absolutely extraordinary, once-in-a-lifetime trip for our first visit to Japan.

From the very beginning, Sandy took the time to understand exactly what we were looking for. We told her we weren’t interested in sitting around—we wanted to experience as much of Japan as possible—and she delivered an incredible itinerary that was perfectly tailored to us. Every day was thoughtfully planned with the right balance of sights, hidden gems, cultural experiences, incredible food, and unique activities.

We traveled through Tokyo, Kanazawa, Osaka, Kyoto, and Hakone, and somehow managed to fit more into 13 days than we thought possible. In fact, several locals commented that they couldn’t believe how much we experienced in such a short amount of time! Despite the packed schedule, the trip never felt chaotic because every detail was so well organized.

What truly set Sandy apart was her knowledge, flexibility, and responsiveness. She patiently worked through countless revisions as we refined our plans, always offering thoughtful suggestions and creative ideas that made the itinerary even better. Throughout the planning process, she was incredibly easy to work with and consistently responded quickly to every question we had.

It’s clear that Sandy genuinely cares about creating unforgettable experiences for her clients. If you’re planning a trip to Japan, do yourself a favor and work with Sandy - you won’t regret it!

Sandy was great to work with, she was very knowledgeable about Japan and what to bring and do. We really liked the private tour guides and being able to make adjustments on the fly. It was so nice not having to worry about the logistics of booking trains, cars, tours, etc. We appreciated having days that were full day tours and then days that we had to relax and explore on our own.
We will definitely use this service again in the future.

Hotel Reviews

The Royal Park Hotel Iconic Osaka Midosuji

Osaka

Great hotel and location. It felt brand new with a great breakfast.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

GOOD NATURE HOTEL KYOTO

Kyoto

It's a very eco friendly hotel. We had a balcony room that faced the interior courtyard, it was kinda odd but also unique. Great breakfast buffet and a good location to the train station and shopping.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Hotel Sanraku Kanazawa

Kanazawa

The breakfast buffet is amazing! the largest spread of food we've seen. The location was really close to all the attractions and a short walk from the main train station.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Fuji View Hotel

Minamitsuru District, Yamanashi

The onsen on location was awesome and we enjoyed staying in the traditional Japanese style room

Authenticity & Character

Location

It was a bit far from the downtown area but they did have a free shuttle which was nice. Unfortunately, it rained most of the time we were there but we were told there is a great view of Mt Fuji if it's not raining.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Groove Shinjuku

Tokyo

Great location and great view from our room!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Kyoto Sightseeing Tour with Sake Tasting

Kyoto

Full Day Gokayama and Shirakawago Tour from Kanazawa

Japan

These were great and I really enjoyed Shirakawago. They were both Unesco sites and had a lot of history and beautiful views. I do feel like you just need to go to one and not both.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Kanazawa Full Day Walking Tour

Kanazawa

This was my favorite walking tour. We got to see the castle, Geisha district, gold leaf, and Samurai quarters. We did 22k steps and it was worth it.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Ian was awesome and very knowledgeable about the area and history.

Transport

Full Day Mt. Fuji and Lake Kawaguchi Tour with Whisky Tasting

Tokyo

The lake tour was awesome and well worth it. The whisky tasting was more about the distillery and less about trying Japanese whisky. I wish there would've been an option to skip the tour and just try the whisky.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Yoshi and our driver were great!

Transport

The van we rode in was basically first class. We were in captain's chairs that reclined with foot rests. It was great!

Shinjuku Gyoen Garden, Meiji Jingu Shrine & Harajuku

Tokyo

Or guide was awesome and did a great job showing us the sights and explaining everything to us. The one thing I would change is that it would've been nice to have an IC card that we could've used for the day instead of having to buy one way tickets, but overall it was a great day.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our guide was able to get through the stations and trains with ease.

Everything was fantastic! Our drivers, Mr. Rand and Mr. Kyo were on time and very polite and professional!

Our guides, Peter and Lili, were professional, personable, knowledgeable, and a great part of our trip. They accommodated changes that we wanted to make like pros! Thank you! Thank you!

I will be recommending everyone I know going to Japan to ask for these 4 individuals. True professionals in every sense of the word!

Thank you so much! And thanks to Bella for accommodating our changes and making things happen. I will be using KimKim again for another trip!

My son and I had a great time traveling around the country and trying new foods. Our guide was helpful and reacted quickly when we needed to change our itinerary.

Activity Review

Osaka Local Foodie Tour in Dotonbori and Shinsekai

Japan

The food was good, but the real experience is the history we learned as we walked from restaurant to restaurant.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Yumi and Taku were outstanding! The trip was well planned and took a lot of the stress of a first time trip to Japan away. We all would love to go back.

Hotel Reviews

Kyoto Tokyu Hotel

Kyoto

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

the b asakusa

Tokyo

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Full Day Tokyo City Tour

Tokyo

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Samurai Sword Experience for Adults in Kyoto

Kyoto

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Tour of Arashiyama Bamboo Grove & Sagano Scenic Railway

Kyoto

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Kyoto's Cultural Treasures: Fushimi Inari-Taisha, Nijo Castle and Kinkaku-ji

Japan

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Mt. Fuji with Lake Kawaguchi with Oishi Park

Japan

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Lenny was amazing. Otherworldly experience 3 weeks in Japan. Strongly recommend.

Our 9-day trip to Japan was a whirlwind of last-minute planning, an ambitious schedule and special requests from our teens and we wouldn’t have made it without Ada and KimKim. They were our itinerary’s guiding light, wizards at scheduling and key factors in crafting the amazing adventure we just completed.

In mid-June, I started looking into Japan travel options, planning to leave the last week of June. I put together a rough itinerary and sent it to some travel groups to get thoughts on feasibility, additional options, and if they could help us coordinate things on the ground. Our family didn’t want a group tour and Ada, first to reply with a response that was professional and friendly, seemed to get that right away. She was always available for late-night or early-morning itinerary reviews, answered every question we had, made changes on the spot and never once mentioned how last-minute everything was.

Ada’s experience was clear, and I felt completely confident with her scheduling and suggestions throughout.

We left New York with a packed itinerary, tickets downloaded and easy access to everything we needed for the trip. Every part of the trip went exactly as planned, with drivers (and mini-vans), guides and all our bookings all uniformly excellent. The guides and drivers were always early, friendly, flexible and organized. On our first day in Tokyo, our guide patiently explained the city’s huge subway system—from buying tickets to reading the map and picking our seats - our kids felt confident enough to travel the subway solo the next afternoon.
One of our favorite guides was Yuki in Kyoto who maintained group calm and orchestrated a wonderful day despite heat, crowds and drooping family members. All guides spoke great English and were informative and hands-on without being overbearing.

Throughout the trip, Ada and her team were available and we felt supported every step of the way.

Now back in Brooklyn, our family of four gives Ada and KimKim 5 stars and would recommend them to anyone wherever they are in their planning journey.

We had a great time in Japan. I love the Kimkim app. Everything is well organized and it was very easy to get the day-by-day details. It is convenient that you can add attachments like the Shinkansen tickets. I wasn’t sure how that was going to work, especially since it was our first time taking the bullet train.

Eleanor did a great job putting our itinerary together. It was very easy to communicate through kimkim to work on the itinerary. It was easy to communicate with Eleanor during our trip.

The tour guides were fantastic. Yumi, Asuka and Yukiko were all very knowledgeable and communicated well. They each had notebooks with more details during our tours.

I researched about how much the hotels and tours would cost before I connected with kimkim. So when Eleanor asked about the budget, I was able to give her the budget. She stayed within our budget.

The only thing that I would do differently is to add a couple of days to our itinerary. I would add at least one day of “rest” after three days of touring or maybe even after each day of touring. But the itinerary was built on what our planned stay already was.

Overall, I am very pleased with how this trip worked out. Our itinerary went as planned. It was a great trip and experience. I will definitely use Kimkim again.

Hotel Reviews

Mitsui Garden Hotel Ginza gochome

Tokyo

Nice hotel in the middle if Ginza. Very nice breakfast. The hotel has three washer and dryers for the entire hotel, This hotel was the last one we stayed in on our trip. So I wanted to do some laundry, but the washer/dryers were in continuous usage late at night and even early in the morning. I gave up in doing the laundry! Fortunately, we had enough clean clothes to finish out our trip. If we really need to do laundry, I would have/ could have used the hotel’s laundry service.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Very close to the train stations, site seeing , restaurants and stores

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Forza Osaka Namba Dotonbori

This kind of an unusual location in the middle of the Dotonburi. We didn’t realize that we couldn’t take a car right up to the hotel. Our driver dropped us off on a street as close to the hotel ad possible. The hotel is a bit obscure. The lobby is on the third floor. We quickly figured it all out.

Authenticity & Character

Location

It is a great location for exploring the Dotonburi.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Vischio Kyoto by GRANVIA

Kyoto

Very nice location. It is close to the Shinkansen station so we were able easily walk to the hotel. The cafe had great breakfast with lots of selections.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Close to the train station, restaurants and department stores

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Mitsui Garden Hotel Ginza Tsukiji

Tokyo

The rooms were comfortable. It was great having a washer/dryer in the room. I didn’t have to pack as much since I knew that we coul wash our clothes. The breakfast was very good with lots of selection. I was disappointed that the restaurant was booked out for a private event our first two nights there. Usually we like to eat at the hotel on our first day if arrivals.

Authenticity & Character

Location

It was close to everything - train stations, restaurants, 🏬

Staff

Everyone at the front desk were very helpful,

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

From Osaka: Himeji World Heritage with Scenic & Culinary Kobe

Osaka

Himeji castle tour was amazing. We learned a lot. Yuki-san did a great job explaining the history of the castle and Japan. We then had lunch nearby. Afterwards we toured the Kokoen garden. Then we proceeded to the Herb garden in Kobe. We were late getting to the garden and didn’t have time to walk down through the garden.

Quality of Experience

The notebook that Yuki-san was very good with lots of information.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

My experience with Leny and the Kimkim team was wonderful. Leny found excellent hotels for us to stay in with sights very close by-- for example, we were in walking distance of Zojoji Temple in Tokyo, and Nijo Castle, Nishiki Market, and the Gion district in Kyoto). She reserved all the trains we needed and got us tickets so all we had to do was walk onto the train. She booked the experiences we were hoping for (kabuki, an onsen that was spectacular, the Studio Ghibli theme park) and several walking tours including one of the Arashiyama area with Hiro that was particularly good. She left lots of flexibility for us to choose our own activities each day,. She was present and helpful, along with Noemie and the rest of the team, before and during the whole trip. We're so grateful for what turned out to be the trip of a lifetime. Highly recommend.

We had an amazing trip to Japan, and I want to extend a heartfelt thank‑you to the Japan travel experts who helped plan and support our journey. Mina, Nicole, and Carinta were all incredibly friendly, knowledgeable, and responsive. Their guidance before and during the trip made everything seamless. We loved the suggested itinerary, and every hotel we stayed in was wonderful—each with its own charm and perfectly located for exploring the cities and towns on our route.

The small details arranged in advance, such as providing a pocket Wi‑Fi and pre‑purchasing most of our train tickets, made a huge difference in keeping our travels smooth and stress‑free.

We visited Tokyo, Kyoto, Kanazawa, and the Nagano region, and had a local guide in each location: David in Tokyo, Marcelo in Kyoto, Iris in Kanazawa, and Motoo in Nagano. All of them were fantastic—personable, insightful, and skilled at showing us incredible places we never would have found on our own. We also appreciated having time to explore independently with suggested itineraries, which gave us the perfect balance of guided and private experiences.

Some of the highlights of our trip included the Meiji palace (Tokyo), Tenryu-Ji and Kinkaku-ji (Kyoto), Kanazawa castle and Kenroku-en gardens (Kanazawa), and the Mausoleum of Fuku Obuse and Hokusai museum (Nagano).

Thanks to everyone on the team for making our trip such a wonderful and rewarding experience. This is the second trip we’ve planned through Kimkim, and both have been exceptional.

Hotel Reviews

Asakusa View Hotel Annex Rokku

Tokyo

Great location and a good place to start our trip to Japan. Wonderful breakfast at both locations!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Hotel Sanraku Kanazawa

Kanazawa

Loved this place and the breakfast was amazing!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Local Private Guide Full Day Nagano (9h-17h)

Nagano

We had such a wonderful day with Motoo exploring Nagano. He had some great ideas of places to go and having a car to explore the area with him was invaluable. Although the snow monkeys did not appear, we loved the hike, and the shrine and Hokusai museum were exquisite. He also had a great suggestion for a lunch place in Obuse that we enjoyed. Spending the day with Motoo was the perfect way to end our trip. Motoo went out of the way to help me find a yukata to take home to my father too. I was so appreciative of his caring about this.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Local Private Guide Half Day Kyoto (4h)

Kyoto

We really enjoyed spending the day with Marcelo.

Quality of Experience

Pocket wifi 1 day to 1 month

Japan

Having the pocket wifi was invaluable.

Local Private Guide Full Day Tokyo (9h-17h)

Tokyo

We loved spending the day with David. He was a wonderful guide, very knowledgeable and friendly, and did a great job of showing us around Tokyo~

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

He guided us on how to get around on the Tokyo subway.