Kimkim Trip Reviews for Japan

Thanks to Kate for assisting in the coordination of the trip. Overall you were very responsive during the planning and reached out several times during the trip to check in. My only wish is that the daily itineraries were really evaluated and questioned from a time and location perspective, especially in Kyoto, as there was no way to actually achieve the intended itinerary in the time allocated.

Tokyo with Allan-san was fantastic!, our favorite of the trip -- he really set a high bar which was unfortunate for our future guides. He took us on a walking/subway city tour of the city one day and then again for a van-trip to Hakone. Both days were seamless. He was super knowledgeable, friendly, patient, and helpful. We modified the day based on what made the most sense rather than the pre-determined itinerary. We started in Asakusa, then took my teenage son to some gaming centers, and ended with Meiji Jingu. Then the next day we headed to Hakone with our driver Ho and enjoyed Hokone Jinja, the pirate ship (fun, but shorter than I would have liked), the tram and black eggs (they taste like totally normal hard boils) from the sulfer springs, Oshino for lunch and back to Tokyo. It was a long day, but gorgeous with all the sakura blooming (only caught one quick glimpse of Fuji). Before we left Tokyo, Allan went to great length to organize all the rest of our shinkasen tickets and explain how to properly navigate with multiple tickets. We can't thank him enough for that as when we got to the first station and made a small mistake, his explanations made sense and we were grateful as can be. Also loved our hotel in Tokyo.

Our time in Takayama wasn't as successful. First, ALL 7 of the restaurants in the hotel were fully booked before we even arrived, so we were required to venture out for dinner after arrival. Takayama is a bit sleepy and finding something open was a bit of a challenge. We walked to multiple places before finding someplace open on both nights there. Our guide was a sweet young lady, but came all the way from Osaka and had only been to Takayama once before and her English was weak. She had to use her phone to find her way around (we could have done the same on our own), and didn't really have anything to offer in the way of history, insights, or recommendations for our day in Takayama and Shirakawago. This was disappointing as I think Takayama was a really interesting and quaint town that we didn't really get a good feeling for. The highlight of Takayama was definitely the onsen at our hotel, my husband and I really enjoyed going each day. We also stayed in a Japanese-style room and although grateful for the experience, we would all probably not choose to do it again as we missed having comfy beds or chairs to lounge on before heading to dinner.

On to Kyoto, which is my favorite city in Japan and I was looking forward to the most. Unfortunately, there was some kind of confusion regarding our guide. We were told our guide would be a gentleman, but then changed to a woman the night before -- and then, the morning of the meeting, we discovered that the guide was at the wrong hotel about 30 minutes away from where we were. I think perhaps the two guides were exchanged by accident (maybe another group had the same happen?). It took about 45 min for us to adjust and meet somewhere in between. Our guide, was a lovely young lady full of energy and smiles, but again from Osaka. She knew Kyoto alright, but still not the level of expectation for a private guide fee and we often would listen in to tour group guides to get more details during our day. Additionally, there was no way that we could have gone to all the places on the initial itinerary as they are too far apart. (I wish this had been pointed out during the planning). Getting to the Kinkakuji Temple, Nishiki Market and then Fushimi Inari Shrine would have spent several hours in transit as they're quite far from one another. So unfortunately we only got to the Market and also Kiyomizu-dera Temple with the time we had. Guess I'll have to come back to Kyoto another time. (poor me - lol)

Our van-trip from Kyoto to Osaka included Slash as our guide -- and he was great! We had a lot of fun talking about music and guitars on our drive and then had lots of interacgtios with the deer and the amazing Todaiji Temple (just WOW) and Kasuga Taisha Shrine. Kudos to Slash for hanging with us as our family was starting to get on each other's nerves a bit after 9 days. He handled it with class and realized when to let us have a bit of space for our bickering. Luckily ice cream solves lots of problems. Slash renewed our faith in guides again and we're grateful for his energy and rocknroll spirit. The hotel was very comfortable, also with an onsen and an incredible massage chair (best 300 Yen spent on the trip). However, there was no restaurant for dinner (only breakfast) I think in the future I'd stay closer to Gion/Pontocho so we'd be a bit more central to the night life and key destinations.

Our last days were on our own in Osaka. This was the least favorite hotel of our trip -- small rooms, and lots of late night noise from the Dotonbori. We definitely had fun exploring the Dotonbori at night, but would be willing to travel a bit for a quieter space.

Overall, we appreciated all the coordination of the hotels, planning, guides, and drivers that KimKim provided. Except for the one confusion in Kyoto -- all guides/drivers communicated well about timing, meeting places, and were on time each day.

This trip cost over $1000/day BEFORE our lunch & dinner meals & non-KimKim activities -- which is high, even for Japan. We didn't stay at luxury hotels -- I can see that our hotel rooms could be booked online directly for between $250 to $550/night, and I can also see the shinkansen fees on the internet, and most of the entry fees to places were fairly minimal, seems like the majority of this cost was towards our guides/drivers, so I would expect those to be top notch/excellent in every regard. Allan definitely met the bar and Slash was close, but the other two, although nice and genuine people, just didn't meet the bill. This is the area where I felt most let down as we rely on guides to provide more than we can do ourselves as seasoned travelers. That means providing history, insights, and secrets hidden among the tourists, restaurant suggestions, recommendations for other experiences for our "own" time, well-thought-out plans for the day, etc. We'll probably give KimKim another chance in the future, but my expectations will be stricter in the planning phase regarding guides and what we want to achieve each day.

All our guides were great!

We had wonderful time in Japan. This was our first trip to Japan, so we wanted to see main attractions with some focus on 'hidden' Japanese treasures. Fei really did great job in organizing everything to tinny detail. Fei was also supportive during our trip, responding to some of the questions or small additional requests quickly. Communication via KimKim platform and response from local agency was good.
We had few days organized with local guide &driver while for few days we joined smaller group. We had also enough time to do some things by ourselves.
Highlights:
- Katana Sword Making in Kyoto
- Half Day Sagano Bamboo Grove & Arashiyama Walking Tour (Join-in)
- Osaka Highlights Bike Tour
- Full Day Mt.Fuji and Lake Kawaguchi Tour - it is a bit longer drive from Tokyo. We were unlucky that road to 5th station on Mt. Fuji was closed and traffic to the place was challenging so we spend a lot of time in car that day.

Few things that could be improved:
- few of our guides were actually more help to go around the place, rather than being really guide explaining things around the place we were visiting. We felt they didn't have much of the local knowledge, which was something we were expecting. They were mostly students living in Japan for several years. The guide that we had in Tokyo was really knowledgeable and was able to share more details.

Altogether, if you want trip without too much of worry, highly recommended. Make sure you stress out importance of having local guides.

What went well: 1) Shona did a great job planning our trip and making sure we were enjoying our itineraries every day! Our biggest highlight was being able to do all tourist special attractions in one trip across cities. 2) She added things to the itinerary, per our request (Team Labs Borderless), which we are so glad we did and a big thanks to her for organizing it! 3) Louisa (Tokyo guide) gave us some great restaurant recommendations. 4) And the location of hotel in Tokyo was AMAZING.

What could be better - 1) The tour guides we got were not very knowledgeable nor experienced. They were nice people, but it was hard to get much touristy/historical information from them about our destinations. Shu (Kyoto/Osaka guide) didn't even enter most of the places with us; he would just wait outside. We felt like we always had to ask him to explain history / significance of places we went to, as he offered very little details/stories. 2) For the amount of money we paid, we should have received much better and experienced guides. e.g., we met some other guides (via Viator) who have been doing this for more than 10 years and really knew about the history and cultural significance of places - we feel like we didn't get that at all! 3) We also felt like we walked needlessly to fill time in Kyoto / Nara - the distances were very spread out and we had to walk miles (within a single day at times) that we believe should have been a private car experience for the amount of money we paid. We were exhausted by the end of the trip given how much we had walked every single day. Plus, it was very hot in both Kyoto/Nara and Osaka. That wasn't value worth our money spent!

Overall, I think the trip was fine and Shona did a great job checking in and following up on our whereabouts and making sure we were comfortable. But, the guides (especially Shu) really made us think that we didn't get the experience we deserved!

Hotel Reviews

Shibuya Excel Hotel Tokyu

Tokyo

Location, location, location!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Amazing location, right in the heart of the city, next to a Metro

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Vischio Kyoto by GRANVIA

Kyoto

Location is good but there were no in-house restaurants or bars!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Osaka Excel Hotel Tokyu

Osaka

The Osaka Excel Hotel Tokyu was conveniently located near the train station, but it felt slightly distant from key attractions like the fish market, and always needed to take a cab to move around. Overall, it was a satisfactory stay

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Spot Early-Blooming Cherry Blossoms in Tokyo

Tokyo

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Her knowledge and storytelling

Transport

Full Day Tour to Arashiyama Bamboo Grove & Sagano Scenic Railway

Kyoto

Sagano Scenic Railway was a fine day tour, but the train ride was not as spectacular as it seemed, the main attraction was supposed to be a boat ride which was canceled due to the weather conditions. Overall, it was a pleasant day.

Hotels were good. Transport between different places with the van was good.
Tours guides took us from the hotel to the van and to the planned destinations. We had too many tourist guides, some of them were very unexperienced and they lacked any deep knowledge of the places that they took us to. It seems that the language was a barrier, too.
This trip was overpriced for the quality that we had.

Shona was very quick to respond and accommodated our concerns. There was the nice feature of customized private tours; Shona made changes as needed. There are a few things that can be worked on to improve service:
1) Guides need prior training to be more knowledgeable about sites and the transportation system. We learned that the guides did not have a proper selection process; they only had a short interview and were asked if they knew English, and there was no formal identification of English proficiency.
2) It is suitable for travellers to experience the public transport system; however, it is more practical to use taxis if the public system takes too much time.
3) There is a need for more instantaneous communication between the office and the guides; for example, the guides did not get updated on our changed hotel.
4) I used KimKim for my Spain travel May 2023, that experience was far superior than the Japan experience.

Hotel Reviews

HOTEL MYSTAYS PREMIER Akasaka

Well located in Tokyo, many eating places around, breakfast good, rooms small but very user friendly with space-saving design, clean and adequate; 7-11 store situated downstairs for snacks etc.

Authenticity & Character

Well located in Tokyo, many eating places around, breakfast good, rooms small but very user friendly with space-saving design, clean and adequate; 7-11 store situated downstairs for snacks etc.

Location

Close to subway stations and eateries

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Thousand Kyoto

Kyoto

The rooms are big, clean, and comfortable. The breakfast has lots of variety.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel New Otani Osaka

Osaka

Grand Hotel, many restaurants and upscale shopping are attached. It is a great location, close to Osaka Castle and the river, and a nice walk along the river and neighbourhood. Fantastic breakfast buffet, Western and Japanese, the best breakfast buffet we had during the trip.

Authenticity & Character

Grand Hotel, many restaurants and upscale shopping are attached. It is a great location, close to Osaka Castle and the river, and a nice walk along the river and neighbourhood. Fantastic breakfast buffet, Western and Japanese, the best breakfast buffet we had during the trip.

Location

Grand Hotel, many restaurants and upscale shopping are attached. It is a great location, close to Osaka Castle and the river, and a nice walk along the river and neighbourhood. Fantastic breakfast buffet, Western and Japanese, the best breakfast buffet we had during the trip.

Staff

Service outstanding

Cleanliness & Comfort

Perfect.

Activity Reviews

Spot Early-Blooming Cherry Blossoms in Tokyo

Tokyo

Blossoms do not fully bloom with cold snaps. Not anyone's fault. The guide was enthusiastic for the first half of the tour, but then he lost steam and was off to do the tasks on his agenda. I have to take my time walking and cannot do stairs well. The guide knew this; he was accommodating the first half of the tour, yet for the last hour or two, he did not take time to look for elevators and escalators; he would walk fast and way ahead of us. We had to try to catch up. That evening, I could not get up to walk as my right leg hurt too much; fortunately, it recovered after the night's rest. One good positive attribute of the guide: his English was good, he did make a good effort the first half of the day and guided well.

Quality of Experience

See above

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Part of the transportation should be by taxis, to save time and walking.

Full Day Mt. Fuji with Lake Kawaguchiko Cruise and Oshino Hakkai

Tokyo

The driver was excellent, and it was a smooth ride. The driver was helpful. The guide was personable and had a good command of English. The guide and driver accommodated our suggestion. The weather was foggy and rainy in the morning, so we adjusted our destinations on schedule and could see Mount Fuji in the afternoon when the sun came out.

Quality of Experience

See above

Guides, Drivers and Staff

See above

Transport

See above

Full Day Kyoto City Tour with Fushimi Inari-Taisha

Kyoto

Our guide was terrific. He is passionate about his work and talks almost nonstop about the history and background of Japan. He is friendly and personable, has a wealth of knowledge, and has a good command of English. He was attentive to our needs. He is the best guide I have ever met.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Some of the transportation should be done by taxis to save on time and energy.

Full Day Tour to Arashiyama Bamboo Grove & Sagano Scenic Railway

Kyoto

The guide's English can be better. He needs to have a better knowledge of the public transport system and the structure and layout of the Aryashima bamboo grove. We needed to walk around the loop of the bamboo grove twice as the guide did not know the train station's information. The guide is well-meaning, though. He was unfamiliar with the Kyoto public transit, he took us to the wrong station etc.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The guide's English can be better. He needs to have a better knowledge of the public transport system and the structure and layout of the Aryashima bamboo grove. We needed to walk around the loop of the bamboo grove twice as the guide did not know the train station's information. The guide is well-meaning, though. He was unfamiliar with the Kyoto public transit, he took us to the wrong station etc.

Transport

Some of the transportation should be done by taxis to save time and energy.

Day Trip to Nara

Nara

I liked the Buddhist temple, but the rest of Nara was not as exciting as it was portrayed. The guide was well-meaning; she studied the destination ahead of time and did her best to give us information, but her English was not good, so I found it difficult to understand. She was unfamiliar with the public transportation system and made some mistakes. It would have been far better if we had taken taxis that day. We asked her to call the office for permission, but the office did not respond.

Quality of Experience

I liked the Buddhist temple, but the rest of Nara was not as exciting as it was portrayed. The guide was well-meaning; she studied the destination ahead of time and did her best to give us information, but her English was not good, so I found it difficult to understand. She was unfamiliar with the public transportation system and made some mistakes. It would have been far better if we had taken taxis that day. We asked her to call the office for permission, but the office did not respond.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

I liked the Buddhist temple, but the rest of Nara was not as exciting as it was portrayed. The guide was well-meaning; she studied the destination ahead of time and did her best to give us information, but her English was not good, so I found it difficult to understand. She was unfamiliar with the public transportation system and made some mistakes. It would have been far better if we had taken taxis that day. We asked her to call the office for permission, but the office did not respond.

Transport

I liked the Buddhist temple, but the rest of Nara was not as exciting as it was portrayed. The guide was well-meaning; she studied the destination ahead of time and did her best to give us information, but her English was not good, so I found it difficult to understand. She was unfamiliar with the public transportation system and made some mistakes. It would have been far better if we had taken taxis that day. We asked her to call the office for permission, but the office did not respond. It ended up the day was very uncomfortable and tiring.

Full Day City Tour with Osaka Castle

Japan

The whole day exceeded my expectations. Others had biased me to think Osaka was uninteresting. The guide was very good. She had a good command of English and gave us information on interesting facts. She was attentive, problem-solving, and knowledgeable. The main agent, Shona, responded to our request to use taxis, so the day went a lot more smoothly.

Quality of Experience

The whole day exceeded my expectations. Others had biased me to think Osaka was uninteresting. The guide was very good. She had a good command of English and gave us information on interesting facts. She was attentive, problem-solving, and knowledgeable. The main agent, Shona, responded to our request to use taxis, so the day went a lot more smoothly.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The whole day exceeded my expectations. Others had biased me to think Osaka was uninteresting. The guide was very good. She had a good command of English and gave us information on interesting facts. She was attentive, problem-solving, and knowledgeable. The main agent, Shona, responded to our request to use taxis, so the day went a lot more smoothly.

Transport

The whole day exceeded my expectations. Others had biased me to think Osaka was uninteresting. The guide was very good. She had a good command of English and gave us information on interesting facts. She was attentive, problem-solving, and knowledgeable. The main agent, Shona, responded to our request to use taxis, so the day went a lot more smoothly.

One Day Miyajima Island and Hiroshima Tour

Japan

The guide was good. His English is fair; it can be better, but it is better than some. He was attentive. The main agent, Shona, responded to our request to use taxis, so the day went much more smoothly.

Quality of Experience

The guide was good. His English is fair; it can be better, but it is better than some. He was attentive. The main agent, Shona, responded to our request to use taxis, so the day went much more smoothly.

Food

The guide was good. His English is fair; it can be better, but it is better than some. He was attentive. The main agent, Shona, responded to our request to use taxis, so the day went much more smoothly. The guide took us to amazing place for oysters, best oysters I ever had.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The guide was good. His English is fair; it can be better, but it is better than some. He was attentive. The main agent, Shona, responded to our request to use taxis, so the day went much more smoothly.

Transport

The guide was good. His English is fair; it can be better, but it is better than some. He was attentive. The main agent, Shona, responded to our request to use taxis, so the day went much more smoothly.

The overall experience was great. Our KimKim specialist was very helpful, responsive, and available especially during our trip.
All the guides that we received in Japan were amazing and went above and beyond.
Just to clarify, I would categorized this trip as an adventure and not so much of a relaxing vacation so we did lots of activities and sight seeing (30K+ steps on daily basis). I had 3 children (9-14) with me so it was a bit challenging at times however the guides were incredibly helpful to minimize the pain.

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

Watermark Hotel KYOTO

Kyoto

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.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Full Day Tokyo City Tour

Tokyo

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.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Mt. Fuji and Lake Ashi Tour (join-in)

Hakone

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.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Shibuya Sky and Sumida River Cruise

Tokyo

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.

Day Trip to Nara and Uji

Kyoto

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!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Bamboo Grove and Monkey Park Tour with a Boat Ride

Kyoto

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.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our Kyoto guide, Tomoko, was lovely! We enjoyed spending the day with her.

Transport

We engaged with KimKim because of a very positive experience to Spain last year Frances, one of the traveler had. We expected the KimKim standard to carry through.

This is my first experience in engaging an agent for a customized itinerary. Both of us had visited Japan before. We loved the country and was hoping to get a good glimpse of the cherry blossoms, thus a repeat itinerary was acceptable, while we were also hoping to see new things.

Shona as an agent was efficient in setting up an itinerary and responsive to our questions and requests during the month long planning. We were hoping for a more comfortable tour but amenable to public transportation even though we indicated excessive walking can be an issue. We were told that private cars would not be an option because of high season demand, even though some guides commented it was a surprise that we did not have a car.

Our transfers to and from hotels were handled well. The drivers were punctual and efficient. Our transportation via local subways and trains much less so, especially when some guides did not seem to be very familiar with the system. There were excessive walking, as well as time spent in figuring out the proper trains to take, acquiring tickets, or finding escalators/elevators. It was exhausting in a busy city. The situation was rectified on the last three days in Osaka when we were given taxi service to destinations. The Osaka experience was much more pleasant without the hassle of public transportation.

We had 6 guides during this trip. In general, I find the local guides to be average. Most of them were guides to take us from one destination to another, without depth of knowledge of the place. Their English language skills were mostly sub-par. I wonder about their qualifications of being tour guides than just being local. Learning about their personal background stories were more interesting than the knowledge I gained about the places from them. They were all friendly and polite. Some tried harder than others.

The hotels were ok. They all offer great breakfast buffet. The New Orani Hotel in Osaka was the best in terms of amenities and space, exactly the kind 5-star hotel we were asking for.

Regarding the logistics during the trip. I was not happy with the communication between the central office and the local guides. We had questions from a guide asking what hotel we were at in Tokyo, we had to tell another guide in Kyoto our new hotel, and one guide actually went to the wrong hotel because of the change which costed half the morning. That type of information should be communicated properly from the office.

We had to change hotel las minute in Kyoto, which had costed us substantially extra to secure during initial booking. We looked forward to staying in that 5-star hotel in a nice city. We ended up having to change hotel at the last minute because of a mix-up in reservation. Shona did well to get us a hotel quickly but there was a lot of anxiety and it was very disappointing. Shona was on top of things during our trip and responded quickly to the needs and other issues we encountered. She should be commended for her attention and willingness to compensate for shortfalls.

All in all, Japan is a very beautiful country with friendly people and a lot to offer. I would definitely consider visiting again but I would scrutinize the details more carefully to assure my experience meets my expectation.

Hotel Reviews

HOTEL MYSTAYS PREMIER Akasaka

Nice location. Comfortable bed and conveniently located. 7/11 store in basement and availability of free laundry are nice amenities. Buffet breakfast is very good. Room is a little cramped. Enough chairs to sit but almost no space to move around.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel New Otani Osaka

Osaka

Very nice hotel of 5-star quality. The room is spacious with chairs, coffee table and desk. The beds are comfortable. The buffet breakfast is excellent with high quality and variety of both western and Japanese food. The hotel lobby is linked to high end shops - fun to browse. Its location is right across from the river with a bridge to the Osaka Castle. Very pleasant walk.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Spot Early-Blooming Cherry Blossoms in Tokyo

Tokyo

Public transportation to the city sights quite hectic. We did not follow our exact original itinerary. Our customized itinerary allowed us a visit to the Fish Market, which is interesting with great seafood. The visit to the bottom of the Tokyo Tower was a waste of time and effort, especially since we were not scheduled to go up.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide was ok to start the trip, but seemed to have lost interest in the afternoon and was in a hurry to finish up and get us back to hotel. He was walking at least 1/2 block in front of us :(

Transport

Take taxi or use private car to save time and energy.

Full Day Mt. Fuji with Lake Kawaguchiko Cruise and Oshino Hakkai

Tokyo

Mt Fugi boat ride on Lake Kawaguchiko was beautiful with perfect weather. Oshino Hakkai Village was very scenic with the small ponds. Great grilled fish.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Kyoto City Tour with Fushimi Inari-Taisha

Kyoto

The touring of the various sites were good, very crowded in most places because of the high cherry blossom season. Beautiful sites, streets with interesting shops. Kyoto never disappoints.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Tour to Arashiyama Bamboo Grove & Sagano Scenic Railway

Kyoto

Arashiyama Bamboo Grove is amazing. The boat ride was also very enjoyable. The scenery was captivating, just wish for more cherry blossoms. The Sagano Railway was supposed to be a highlight, but the guide did not know our booking was for a certain time and location. We ended up in the wrong station, and walked through the bamboo grove twice to the right station.. Also with advanced booking and assigned seating, the tour company should be aware of the direction of the train and booked us on the scenic side (water side). We were not able to enjoy the scenic water front, a bit disappointed.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Day Trip to Nara

Nara

It was a long ride from Kyoto. We started late due to meeting location mixup. The guide was not given our hotel. BY the time we get to Nara, it was well past noon. Even the deer were full and not interested in our food. Nara is a nice city with long history thus the temples were all interesting. The guide tried hard and did her homework, but a more knowledgable guide might be able to give us more information. We were short of time and did not make it up the hill to see the city of Nara. IT was a long day as we were also heading to Osaka the same evening.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day City Tour with Osaka Castle

Japan

Even though it was a rainy day, I enjoyed the castle visit, the exhibit was nicely done. The city museum was also fun to visit, especially indoors on a rainy day. The Umeda Building has amazing architecture. Very enjoyable. The guide was not experienced, since she was very new, but she conducted herself well. Her English was also the best among the guides we had. The Shinsaibashi was very crowded, as expected. It was probably not the best option to put at the end of a long rainy day. We had good kobe beef dinner there though. We used taxi service for the day. Much better than negotiating subways. We were also just in town, so not very tiring.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

taxi service.

One Day Miyajima Island and Hiroshima Tour

Japan

Miyajima Island is beautiful. It has interesting touristy sights, eats and scenery, but not crowded. I was able to enjoy the sights and scenes without much anxiety. Hiroshima is a sobering experience. The Memorial and the Museum were all well done. I am glad I finally get to visit the site of such an important event in human history. The day was not rushed. Very enjoyable.

Quality of Experience

Food

Oysters!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Mie in Kyoto and Osaka was the best guide!!! She was so kind and helpful, Layla in Tokyo was nice the only problem was that she was all the time in the cellphone like every minute, and Mina in takayama and Emily there were nice I liked the trip….

The other thing was that I noticed was missing that the tour was nice but had a lot of anime and a few spots in the cities that were important… so sometimes we had a chance to change the itinerary a bit but other times we couldn’t… so it was a bit disappointing no to see the city specially in Tokyo and Kyoto but we were able to manage things!!

The drivers were very helpful and the van is excellent!!!! I really enjoyed having a van and it was not a usual van it was in perfect conditions

Hotel Reviews

Ryokan Asunaro

Takayama

The best experience in Japan !!! I love the tradicional hotel, the staff was very nice!!! And it was perfect

Authenticity & Character

The tradicional stile

Location

Everything is really near!! Restaurants, the market, train station

Staff

Very nice and kind

Cleanliness & Comfort

The comforter of the bed is the best I’ve tried, and everything was very clean and in their place

Cross Hotel Kyoto

Kyoto

The beds were perfecto for a family of 3!!! And very nice the breakfast buffet, well located

Authenticity & Character

Location

Everything was close

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Full Day Takayama & Shirakawago Tour by Private Car(Miyagawa Market, Takayama Jinya, Shirakawa-go region )

Takayama

Loved both places!!!!

Quality of Experience

The vans that took us everywhere were the best traveling vans ever!!! Very comfortable

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full day Kyoto Tour by Private Vehicle

Kyoto

Mie the guide made everything better!!! She is the best guide tour, helpful and nice!!!! And Kyoto is amazing city

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

the best best guide ever Mie!!!!!! She is a must in this tour!!!!

Transport

Full Day Osaka Highlights Tour(Osaka Castle, Dotonbori, Kamigata Ukiyoe Museum, Umeda Sky Building)

Osaka

It’s was nice I would have skipped the kimagata museum! But all of the rest was very nice !!! Since we had Mie as well and she is from Osaka she knew exactly where to take us!!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Kyoto Arashiyama Tour by Private Car (Okochi Mountain Villa, Bamboo Groves, Nonomiya Shrine, Tenryuji Temple, Vegetarian Shojin-ryori Lunch, Monkey Park, Sagano Scenic Railway)

Kyoto

We had a great time!!!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Emily was very nice, she saw we were very tired this day so she made the trip less stressful and understanding with us!! She knows a lot of the culture and had a very interesting was of explaining things

Transport

Half Day Afternoon Make Your Own Anime Tour By Public Transport

Tokyo

I’m giving 4 stars because we didn’t go to the museum, instead we change the itinerary so we could know the city more since I’m not a fan of anime!! And the guide took us to Meiji which was a must and we didn’t have it in the original plan! And she took us to a restaurant I had made plans so it was nice and we got to travel by publicly transportation which was a nice experience as well

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

I’ll just tell Layla to use the cellphone less

Transport

All in all a memorable trip that gave us a good overview of Japan. Everything went smoothly. Guides and drivers showed up on time and handled all the details- the little things that can blow up a trip- efficiently. Our guides were personable and friendly and eager to help. Except for a period where Kate was on holiday she always responded to us quickly. (It might be a good ideas to have a back-up person to cover holidays)

We were a bit disappointed that our guides in general didn’t speak better English. I realize it’s kind of arrogant to travel to another country and expect to communicate like at home, but for a relatively high end trip like this we expected better.

Also, a couple of our guides were Chinese students studying in Japan. Delightful people but English was at least their 3rd language. We also found their knowledge of Japanese history to be lacking.

It’s also worth noting that the train system in Japan is pretty intimidating for Americans unfamiliar with train culture. We were given Shinkansen tickets by our guides but had to figure out how and where to use them. Thankfully the Japanese people are very helpful when the see bewildered Americans standing in an overwhelmingly busy train station. Just something to keep in mind when you plan future trips.

2 of our 3 hotels were great. Who is disappointing by the Ritz? After booking and paying for the trip our Kyoto hotel was changed from a 5 star to a 3 star. While the Resol Trinity was very pleasant and well located the rooms were very tiny and hard for two people to move around in. We put our luggage in the bath tub to get it out of the way.

All in all a delightful and well planned trip. Lots of moving parts and with so much that could have gone wrong but didn’t. All very professionally orchestrated.

Fei organised a wonderful trip to Japan (5 nights Tokyo, 5 nights Kyoto) for our family of four. Our tour guides (Gaku, Marcus and Slash) were absolutely fantastic – very accommodating, knowledgeable and kind. The drivers were impeccable, always punctual and helpful, taking all the stress of out of travel. The excursions chosen by Fei were amazing – and we have taken home many happy memories! We would highly recommend KimKim and Fei.

Hotel Review

Hotel Kanra Kyoto

Kyoto

Absolutely best hotel to stay in in Kyoto. On arrival we were greeted by the very friendly and helpful staff and a refreshing cup of tea. The front of house staff were extremely helpful in organising a table in the restaurant as well as providing excellent recommendations for a nearby coffee shop and restaurant. Rooms were beautiful and thoughtfully prepared. Restaurant was absolutely amazing - as were the restaurant staff. Would definitely stay here again.

Authenticity & Character

Beautiful peaceful rooms

Location

Staff

Front of house staff and restaurant staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

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

Japan

Our guide Gaku was super. She also had a great recommendation for lunch. Room for improvement? Perhaps only 2 out of the three activities would have been enough on this days.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Gaku was a fantastic guide - friendly, knowledgeable, interested in comparing and discussing different cultures. Driver was super helpful and kind.

Transport

Very clean and comfortable cars. Excellent driving.

Half Day Sagano Bamboo Grove and Tenryuji Temple Tour

Kyoto

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Marcus was very attentive and found the quietest corners of the very busy Grove and allowed us lots of time in the Zen temple to stop and stare. He also had some great recommendations for trying local food. Again, our driver was superb - kind helpful and excellent driving.

Transport

Clean comfortable transport. Excellent driving.

One Day Hiroshima and Miyajima Island Tour

Hiroshima

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Amazing! Slash was super friendly, very understanding and lots of fun to be with. He went the extra mile to help us find a restaurant at the end of our long day trip!

Transport

We used the Shinkansen and public transport. All very pleasant.

Kim Kim did an amazing job of planning, organizing, and communicating both before and during our trip to Japan. Myaen was always in contact wanting to ensure that we were prepared and understood our timetable. We would absolutely use Kim Kim again in the future.

Fei has planned a great trip for us, Jennifer was cool like a good friend, Ho was very professional. He also has good photography skills. We had a great time there. We experienced all the major attractions . It was exciting participating the tea ceremony, To watch the sumo wrestling live was an all together different experience .Onsens in Hakone were great.Great trip and made wonderful memories

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku

Tokyo

Hakone Kowakien TEN-YU

Hakone

Laforet Ito Onsen Yunoniwa

atami

MIMARU SUITES KYOTO SHIJO

Tokyo

MIMARU OSAKA SHINSAIBASHI EAST

Osaka

Activity Reviews

Full Day Tokyo City Tour

Tokyo

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

Tokyo

Meet Blossoming Pink Cherries in Atami: Acao Forest and Itogawa Promenade

Atami

Half Day Sagano Bamboo Grove and Tenryuji Temple Tour

Kyoto

Gion Geisha Show and Walking Tour

Kyoto

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

Kyoto

Half Day Osaka City Tour

Osaka

Tokyo Skytree and Shibuya Scramble Crossing

Tokyo

Transport

Full Day Nikko Toshogu Shrine, Kegon Falls & Lake Chuzenji Tour

Tokyo

Full Day Kyoto City Tour with Fushimi Inari-Taisha

Kyoto

Full Day Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park and Itsukushima Shrine Tour

Osaka

Another amazing trip from Kimkim.Perfectly organised with attention to minute details and great guides.Jennifer has become a part of our team ,a friend who was cheerful ,bubbly and very helpful.Our 2nd guide Ho was a thorough gentleman and went out of his way to show us places and experiences and took a lot of beautiful pictures of us.Fei our coordinator did a great job curating the perfect itinerary showing us the quintessential Japanese experiences in our short trip.Thanks once again Kimkim and looking forward for trip to SouthAfrica.

We had the greatest trip. We had enough going on everyday but not too much that we felt overwhelmed or rushed. We had a good variety of activities. Myaen was the greatest. We planned everything together, gave me all the information I needed and checked in on us periodically through the trip. Couldn’t have asked for a better time in Japan and we are so excited to return!

What an amazing trip! Kelly was exceptional to work with. She planned our trip meticulously. She was always so patient with us and gave us great advice on what to do and see. She curated a perfect trip for us. Kelly booked our drivers, train tickets and the hotel in Kyoto. She also arranged English speaking tour guides in Tokyo and Osaka. We asked her to secure sumo wrestling tickets for us once they went on sale which she was able to do. Attending that tournament was one of the highlights of our trip. Kelly was always so flexible with the changes we made to the itinerary to make it exactly what we wanted. Our only wish was that the cherry blossoms were in bloom while we were there but it was a little too early. We highly recommend this service and will definitely be using KimKim again in our future travels!

Hotel Reviews

THE HOTEL HIGASHIYAMA by Kyoto Tokyu Hotel

Kyoto

Great location, exceptional service. I would have liked a hotel with a gym, a lobby bar and better toiletries. There was no soap provided in the rooms except for the shower gel. The hotel concierge was very helpful and made reservations for us a few times. The buffet breakfast was wonderful each morning. I love that matcha latte machine!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Conrad Tokyo

tokyo

This hotel is spectacular! The location is amazing, the service is superior, the rooms are beautiful and large. Everything was thought of to the finest detail. Even the smell of the lobby is amazing. The lobby has the most incredible views of the Japanese skyline. We sat at night at the lobby bar and could see straight to the Tokyo Skytower! The buffet was very good but the service was overwhelmed at times. We had to wait a while to get a table at times and the wait staff rarely checked on us. But otherwise they offered a good variety of food offerings. The executive lounge was a highlight. Not only were the views amazing but the service was always spot on. The food throughout the day was wonderful and there was a large variety of beverages. This hotel was far more than a hotel, it was an experience - one that I hope to have again!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

2024 Sumo Grand Tournamen held in EDION Arena Osaka

Osaka

This was a highlight! It was such a fun way to experience the Japanese culture. I've never seen anything like it but even though we couldn't understand it, we were able to cheer along and have a great time. I've already recommended this to everyone that I know that wants to go to Japan in the future. It's a must!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Dotonbori Food Experience

Osaka

The Dotonbori area was really fun to see and experience. There were so many food options and everything was so crowded so I'm glad we had a guide. He wanted to make sure to give us what we wanted but he didn't really have an agenda in mind of where to go. We started with gyoza as an appetizer at a stand which was delicious. We then went to a restaurant where he ordered dinner for us. There were several plates that he ordered for us and told us what the local specialties were. We then left and went to get a match ice cream for dessert. While it checked the boxes, I was hoping to stop at more locations and try things as we toured the area as opposed to sitting in one restaurant.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Better idea of what to do and eat

Fei was fantastic! She is a great planner and went over our itinerary in detail. Plus, she was readily available throughout the trip to help with additional arrangements and questions.

Our local guides (Aruyi, Yuki, Remi and Mizu) were knowledgeable and attentive to our interests and capabilities.

Seeing Japan from Tokyo to Hiroshima was a trip of a lifetime thanks to the help of kimkim!

Fei ,our travel coordinater was just amazing,she helped me plan the trip soo well and efficiently ,making all my wishes and all the experiences i wanted come true.
Jennifer- our guide for the 1st 6 days was soo friendly ,guided us well and became a good friend for all of us
Mr Ho-our guide for the last five days in Kyoto and Osaka,is a perfect guide and went out of his way to show us places and capture great pictures of us all.
The only negative I can tell of our 12 days trip is the Kimono photoshoot ,I wanted a professional photographer and wanted to make it a memorable shoot.We were not happy with the quality of the kimonos provided and there was no photoshoot at all.Mr Ho was kind enough to take us out and clicked some good pictures.Barring this one experience,rest of the trip was amazingly coordinated by Fei and the two guides.Thanks kim kim for organizing one more great trip to me.Regards,
Kolla

Hotel Reviews

Hakone Kowakien TEN-YU

Hakone

Amazing hotel,awsome locale and the best of them all are the two onsens,one with an infinite pool overlooking hills and another with a waterfall.Five stars

Authenticity & Character

Location

Picturesque

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Laforet Ito Onsen Yunoniwa

atami

Traditional Ryokan

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

MIMARU SUITES KYOTO SHIJO

Tokyo

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

MIMARU OSAKA SHINSAIBASHI EAST

Osaka

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Tokyo Skytree and Shibuya Scramble Crossing

Tokyo

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We used public transportation-trains to reach skytree

Full Day Tokyo City Tour

Tokyo

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

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

Tokyo

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sandy organized some amazing local things for us. We especially loved the Tea ceremony and Fushimi Inari hike in Kyoto and our half day tour in Nara.

Todai-Ji is an absolute must see in Nara.