Kimkim Trip Reviews for Japan

Adeline worked with me to plan me and my husband's first trip to Japan. The accommodations were fabulous and varied from traditional ryokan to modern hotel. We were able to experience more rural areas of Japan as well as the major city hubs and the tickets/instructions for transportation were ready for us at the first location. She was an amazing resource throughout and thought of everything.

Two bad sections -
The geisha tea dinner - tourist trap - bad food
Very disappointed

Also lunch sumo - expected lunch with live wrestling was on tv.

Guides were great. Very flexible

We had a great time in Japan during peak cherry blossom season. Really enjoyed our tours in Kyoto and Osaka. Hotels were all well located.

Hotel Reviews

Mitsui Garden Hotel Ginza gochome

Tokyo

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Osaka Excel Hotel Tokyu

Osaka

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

RIHGA Royal Hotel Kyoto

Kyoto

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bed was uncomfortable

Asakusa View Hotel Annex Rokku

Tokyo

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Osaka Local Foodie Tour in Dotonbori and Shinsekai

Japan

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Bamboo Grove and Monkey Park Tour with a Boat Ride

Kyoto

Kyoto Highlights: Kinkaku-ji Temple, Nijo Castle and Fushimi-Inari Taisha

Kyoto

The guide was great, saw so much in one day.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Mt. Fuji with Lake Kawaguchi & Oishi Park

Japan

Not sure if it is worth the 2 hour drive from Tokyo since you may not be able to see the mountain due to cloud cover.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guide was great but driver almost fell asleep and it was a scary moment.

Transport

Driver almost fell asleep on the way back.

We were especially pleased with our guide, Gary. He was especially great working with our 17 year old grandkids. We were a little disappointed with the hotels in Kyoto and Osaka. We were also disappointed that we did not have the last part on the itinerary with the culinary adventure. Also we did not have the yen allowance mentioned.
Overall we all agreed that it was a thorough view of Japan, just as we requested.

1. The standard of tour guides were very high, we were very pleased with all 3. They were very informative, flexible and made the most of the time given.
2. In Tokyo we visited the fish market (not in our plans, but suggested by our guide) it was amazing. We went early morning and saw the hustle & bustle of the market, while stopping at several to sample items for our breakfast. Maybe a good suggestion, if you didn’t already know about it.
3. As you know we had issues with the 1st pick up driver, but we also had similar issues with another driver who did pick up on our second to last day, when he picked us up from Tokyo station to take to the hotel. Again we were wondering around the station looking for him, while he sat in the car texting directions. Not ideal with 2 kids and 5 suitcases. Also my younger daughter had to sit on my knee in the car because the rear seat belt was faulty. His suggestion was that he would drive slow!! Stewart also questioned his driving skills. But noted all the other drivers were reliable and safe.
4. We liked all the hotels we stayed in, maybe the first one in Tokyo and the Kyoto one could have been a little closer to the centre, to save on taxis.

Thank you for your help and we look forward to book our next trip with you.

Hotel Reviews

Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo

Tokyo

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Blossom Kyoto

Kyoto

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Mitsui Garden Hotel Roppongi Tokyo Premier

Tokyo

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

One Day Miyajima Island and Hiroshima Tour

Japan

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Gion District and Nishiki Market

Japan

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arashiyama Bamboo Grove and Monkey Park Tour

Japan

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Kyoto City Tour with Fushimi Inari-Taisha

Kyoto

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half Day Kids-Friendly Samurai Ninja Museum and Kimono Tea Ceremony

Kyoto

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

Tokyo City Tour with Tokyo Tower

Tokyo

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sandy and team were great. Some teething issues with being able to contact someone on the ground when we arrived due to connection problems and a late hour of night but all worked out and mostly smooth sailing from then on in. Our local guides: Kaiko, Kahori and a special mention to Masaaki san, were amazing. Masaaki was especially great and very understanding on our last full day in Japan when our kids (9 and 11) were tired after clocking over 20,000 steps everyday for two weeks.

We especially loved the local and less touristy recommendations and Masaaki's ability to pivot at short notice due to bad weather. The kids absolutely loved the Toeii Film Studio!!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Rose Garden Shinjuku

Hotel is in a good location, close to central transport. Clean and comfortable. Sometimes a bit loud at night from street noise. Beds are comfortable.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Sotetsu Fresa Inn Hiroshima

Hiroshima

Hotel is clean and comfortable enough. Breakfast is decent. Location is good for transport. Hotel is very busy though (Special mention to the staff running the breakfast room though, Japanese efficiency 👍).

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Cross Hotel Osaka

Osaka

Superb location for Osaka sightseeing and shopping. Close to the metro and shopping streets. Hotel is clean and well appointed. Breakfast was the best on our trip. Only criticism is if you stay in a room on the street side rooms are noisy at night.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Park Hotel Kyoto

Kyoto

This was our favourite hotel during the trip. Clean, quiet and well equipped rooms. The breakfast has a decent offering and the staff were friendly and helpful.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Bamboo Grove and Monkey Park Tour with a Boat Ride

Kyoto

We didn't get to the boat ride or the monkey park due to weather but the alternative was just as good if not better.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Mt. Fuji with Lake Kawaguchi & Oishi Park

Japan

Such a great day, we were lucky that the weather let us see Fuji all morning before the clouds came in. We loved our local Hotou lunch.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tokyo Day Tour with Tsukiji Outer Market & Senso-ji - East & Central

Tokyo

A really good tour of the city, the personal explanation of the temple and shrine. Authentic Japanese paper making and traditional Nori making. We had a really great day.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ben did a phenomenal job planning my family trip to Japan! Our guides, Peter and Ursula, were very helpful as well! We can’t wait to book our next adventure with KimKim!

Eleanor helped plan a trip to Japan for me (senior citizen) and my adult son. We said we are interested in art and food, and Eleanor suggested some activities that fit our interests. The Zentis hotel in Osaka was lovely and in a very good location. Our guide, Yuki, was knowledgeable and kind. She showed us how to use the public transportation, which was very helpful. We enjoyed the cooking class and the foodie tour and the day at Meiji Castle and Kobe. Our trip was planned to fit with my son's work schedule, but it turned out that we arrived one day after the start of cherry blossom season, very beautiful but also very crowded. Our Kyoto guide, Mr. Tanaka, is a Kyoto native, very knowledgeable and professorial. In addition to showing us some of the famous tourist sites, he suggested great, typically Japanese restaurants for lunch. The one negative thing for me was our hotel in Kyoto. It is a very busy tourist hotel, which could have been in any city in the world.

We have just returned from our once-in-a-lifetime family trip to Japan. Travelling with two young children is not meant to be a relaxing adventure but Eleanor’s pre trip planning has taken the stress out. We were able to focus on soaking up the atmosphere (cherry blossom season-yay!), the culture, meet amazing local people, drown in the incredible food and feel comfortable knowing the rest is taken care of. Eleanor was very receptive to our needs travelling with a baby and a 4 year old. Our accommodation needs and transfer assistance between hotel/ train stations/ airport were spot on. She was available every step of the way.
We have fallen in love with Japan and we will definitely be back.

I needed to book a last minute trip to Japan for my wife and myself and contacted KimKim after reading good reviews. Their specialist, Sandy, came up with a great itinerary that only needed a few modifications to fit our travel style. Despite it being the height of cherry blossom week, she was able to get us excellent hotels in great locations and set up several private tours with excellent private guides in Tokyo and Kyoto. She also arranged all of our transportation between cities and between airports and hotel. Everything went exceptionally smoothly and the drivers and guides were all excellent at communicating with us before each leg of the trip. Overall, it was an excellent experience and I would definitely use KimKim again. Their attention to detail was outstanding.

We loved our trip to Japan! It was very well organized and everything went very smoothly. Angel responded right away and was very quick to make adjustments if we needed.

The tour guide Taku was amazing, very friendly and informative and funny. We had a great time touring Kyoto with him. The only thing was it was very busy hitting 4 destinations in one day. We would have preferred to have more time to explore and only do 3 destinations.

The tour in Hiroshima was also good but we noticed that we could have taken a 30 min ferry directly from our hotel to the island, but instead we were scheduled for 1.5 hrs of public transportation (streetcar/bus). We ended up buying the ferry ticket ourselves but it didnt make sense why that wasnt offered initially.

The accommodations were all lovely. Great food options and comfortable. It would have been nice if the last hotel let us pay a day rate to keep the room for the day since our driver was picking us up at 6pm and even with late check out we couldn't stay past 12, so when we were tired of exploring Tokyo we had no where to rest while we waited for the driver.

The only excursion I wouldn't recommend was the tea ceremony. It wasn't great, we would have preferred to do the Geisha show in Kyoto that runs in April. It looked much better but there were no tickets available when we looked while we were there.

Hotel Reviews

Grand Prince Hotel Hiroshima

Hiroshima

Beautiful view and easy access to the Ferry which comes right to the dock, but not a great location for seeing anything in Hiroshima or getting to restaurants or shops.

Authenticity & Character

The reception was nice but the rooms were dated.

Location

Scenic but not very accessible to restaurants or shops.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very stuffy, we always felt like we wanted to open a window but none of the windows open. Was a little better after we got the AC running.

Hotel Vischio Kyoto by GRANVIA

Kyoto

Authenticity & Character

They had a cute little robot walking around the reception that made everyone smile.

Location

Right near the train station making it easy to hop around everywhere, but also central enough to walk places if you want.

Staff

Very friendly and helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Mitsui Garden Hotel Nihonbashi Premier / Tokyo

tokyo

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

One Day Miyajima Island and Hiroshima Tour

Japan

Had we known a little more about the area, we would have spent less time at Bomb Dome and more time on the island. The museum at the Dome is very informative but it was very busy and hot/stuffy walking around making it hard to see things. The island was beautiful and once we made it there later in the afternoon, we wished we had gotten to spend more time there.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Kyoto City Tour with Fushimi Inari-Taisha

Kyoto

Our guide was wonderful, he had binders with pictures to help him explain the history and he constantly kept us engaged even while waiting for transportation. It was a very busy day trying to hit 4 destinations. We would have preferred to only do 3 and have a little more time to walk around and explore.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Kimono Tea Ceremony at Kyoto Maikoya

Kyoto

The staff were nice and the Kimonos were beautiful. We did enjoy the tea ceremony but the location wasnt great. The "garden" was a teeny little walkway around the building where you could take pictures. It felt very cramped with no room to walk around.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our trip was an overall enjoyable experience. Angel was very attntive druing the trip and making sure we got to where we needed. We appreciate the attention which made the trip more relaxing. We also liked the vast majority of the hotels that we were in with a single notable exception. Our lodging on the second night in Tanahara was extremely difficult to check in with their totally inadequate remote check-in process. if we did not encounter a Japanese lady staying at the same place that night who spent close to half an hour on the phone with the vendor to get us into our room, I have no idea what would have happened. The dinner they supplied unfortunately was woefully inadequate and some of the described facilities, such as a sauna was simply not available.
We enjoyed the guides that waere booked, they were knowledgible, very pleasant and accomodating.
The trekking we did was great, the information provided by Angel was very useful. There was suficient flexibility that we were able to do our own thing when desired.
There were a few notable glitches that I believe could have been avoided. There was a mix up on the time of our cooking class in Kyoto. The substitute Angel was able to comeup with was not quite a cooking class, but it was an enjoyable evening nonetheless. We thought Angle should have known that the Alpine route would not be open when we were there before we started our trip and we could have made some changes in our itinerary during the final planning stages. We were unable to get on the boat cruise on the Kumano Kodo following the intructions provided by Angel. Several of the travellers we met had made bookings weeks ago and we thought perhaps that could have been done for us. It was not a huge problem but it meant we had to do some last minute plan changes.
We understand that no trip planning is ever perfect and we are used to making last minute adjustments during our travels. However, similiar trips planned along the same manner did go a little smoother than this one.
Finally, we are generally satisfied and would consider using your services again.

Our first trip to Japan went very smoothly and Angel was very efficient and helpful in planning the itinerary for our 1 week visit. This was the last leg of our month long Asian vacation thus the short week stay in a country that had much to offer.
The guides she set up for us in Tokyo and Kyoto/Osaka were fabulous. All 3 were knowledgeable and helpful guiding us through the subways and the key sights.. We learned so much of the history and culture of the country from each of the guides and each was enjoyable company for all 3 days. Also, they were very punctual.
We did request mid range hotels however, we had to get used to the size of the rooms which by our standards were very tight. I would change this in the future and ask for 2 beds and maybe get a little more room. or get a higher end hotel, The locations of the hotels were spot on - safe neighborhoods and clean (the entire country is clean).
I would extend our time in Japan to a minimum of 10 days and in terms of time spent in each area, my suggestion is to spend 3 days in Tokyo, 3 days in Kyoto and surrounding area, 2 days in Osaka; this does not include travel time to get from 1 city to another. In fact 2 weeks should be a minimum to allow for time spent in smaller villages, especially if you do not like crowds.
Overall , we had a great experience with Kim Kim and Angel and would definitely use their services again.

Activity Review

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

Hakone

There needs to be a better backup on rainy days - we got to go to an aquarium.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Angie was very responsive to any emails and questions. Our accommodations were all excellent. Our favorite was BYAKU in Narai …. That was the highlight for sure. Our guides in Kyoto and Hiroshima were excellent as well. We could have done without our stay in IMABARI as the hiking was terrible. All along city roads !! Overall an excellent trip … we will recommend Angie to friends.

Hotel Reviews

Dogo Onsen Dogo Funaya

Also great location and service. Lovely garden

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Shimanami PRIMEHOTEL IMABARI

Imabari

The town was very disappointing ..

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Grand Prince Hotel Hiroshima

Hiroshima

The ferry goes directly to the island from the hotel . Wish we knew this beforehand. We took took the ferry back.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Vischio Kyoto by GRANVIA

Kyoto

Great location. Can walk from the train station.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Matsumoto Hotel Kagetsu

Great location

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Kiso Mikawaya

Kiso-Fukushima

It was a bit tired and the food was not great.

Authenticity & Character

Location

15 min walk from the station

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Fukinomori

The ryocan experience was great.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Mitsui Garden Hotel Nihonbashi Premier / Tokyo

tokyo

Good location but a long way from Narita

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

BYAKU Narai

Narai

This was the most beautiful and amazing stay with excellent food. The highlight.

Authenticity & Character

Location

The hiking over the Torre pass was beautiful and it was great to end up in Narai

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

One Day Miyajima Island and Hiroshima Tour

Japan

Our guide was lovely BUT the transportation to the island was lengthy and boring when we could have taken a ferry instead. We would have preferred a night on the island. As there was a beautiful hike to the top which we only learned when we got there.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Kyoto City Tour with Fushimi Inari-Taisha

Kyoto

Katu was an amazing guide…. Very worth while

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Kimono Tea Ceremony at Kyoto Maikoya

Kyoto

Disappointing as the garden was very small and uninteresting. A Geisha concert would have been much better.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had a wonderful time in Japan, would credit its success as a result of careful planning (mostly started with my wife and my later addition) and working with Olivia during the planning process, booking, and even during the trip for the most up-to-date and timely intervention/support. I'd emphasize this timely and supporting communication with Olivia as the most satisfying experience.

As for accommodations, those in Tokyo and Kyoto met, even exceeded my expectation in terms of location, facility and amenities. I suspect at time of booking, there was some shortages of hotels in Osaka, the selected hotel was not at par with the previous two. Thus the contrast exacerbated the differences, as we expected the same caliber as before. However, the Osaka location, not sure if being a smaller city, is walking distance to all attractions in this wonderful cultural city, e.g. Kuromon market, Dontobori street. By chance we met an Aussie couple during the Foodie Tour, that we learned about the Free Osaka Walking Tour, which we took on our free time on the last day of our trip. It can be hit and miss, but Masaaki as the Guide who used to live in Florida for 25 years really impressed us with his communication skills, that we learned and appreciated Osaka culture and history, but I digress ;)!

There are many fond memories and great impressions we had from this trip. I now recover from jet lag of this trip, so it many not be a complete review at this time. That said, I was very impressed with the food we had, possibly thanks to the Foodie Tour we had in Tokyo and Osaka, and on our own in Kobe, having an experience with Kobe Sukiyaki beef. But I am most impressed especially with the buffet breakfast at Mitsui Garden Premier and Vischio hotel. In addition to the standard "meaty" (American) breakfast -which even includes roast chicken and pork, the complete traditional Japanese breakfast was served, from Miso and variant (Corn) soup with all delicate ingredients, to a full sushi palette with eels, topped up with deserts like individually made Yatsuhashi and whole wheat Gallete (pancake). Matt even found out something new about Shirasu, a tiny, translucent, silvery-white baby fish in his Japanese breakfast, what a find and an experience! A big breakfast was much needed for our daily walk, typically 15-20K steps, or 10 miles, more than enough for a daily cardio exercise, so we made full use of it! Fudou Houtou - Yamanashi, a veg flat udon noodles is honorably mentioned when our Guide brought us to a restaurant going to Hakone, was an interesting and unique experience. The whole bowl made of cast iron, was individually cooked for each person, as I could see the process from the door of the kitchen. It is noteworthy that the provided Guide recommended good restaurants for lunch during our daily tour, which is very important to make efficient use of time. More can be written on food, but it is sufficient for this purpose.

There are more than just food, but it will take time for me to systematically recall to review, and this would need going back to all the photos and videos I took, so that would be my own report, perhaps for future trips back. Perhaps I should focus on what could be improved, or lessons on my own part. First would be to review and priority the attractions to visit, as we all have limited time and budget. Now that I've been to one, a different list of attractions can be revised to complement what I have visited. Given the number of temples (Bhudist and Shintos), perhaps we could reduce one or two, and add a Geisha experience in Gion, Kyoto in lieu. Given only a day or less in Hakone, we could have booked 2 nights for a better experience, especially to allow more time to enjoy the outdoor onsen. In addition, some flexibility in events booking in Tokyo could have been reserved as an option, in order to prepare for weather changes. E.g. when we first landed in Tokyo, the next day was to enjoy Ueno Park especially during Sakura Blossom time. However, the weather was not cooperated, it was lightly rained and cold, we managed to enjoy and capture precious moment anyway. However, as I checked the weather forecast at the time, found that the next day (after Ueno Park) was scheduled for TeamLabs Planets, that it was going to be sunny! I thought about a possible swap, but all arrangements were done, possibly not easy to change, so I went with the plan! Another note is about the Tour Guide, as they are fine doing their job, however I kind of wish some minor improvements can be considered. I suppose for a small walking group, the need for individual electronic listening devices (earbuds) could be used, as we all could listen to the Guide, and we were usually immersed in a sea of people walking to an attraction. Such use of earbuds can help. In addition, and this may depend on the Guide him/herself, whether they can add some story telling, some interesting and unique info on where we are going can be added. But this is like an enhancement, not strictly necessary.

That said, I really appreciate the change offered by the Tour on the first day to Kyoto, as Olivia added a private driver! In hindsight, as we had to wander Kyoto a couple hours before checking in at 3PM, we may not be able to go to the Tea Ceremony scheduled at 5PM by local public transit. ( We used this time to check out the nearby UEON chained shopping mall ). So the Driver came in very helpful to make it to the Tea Ceremony timely.

Another point of local transit, we were happy with the additional transfer when needed, but the local going from point A to point B in a new city using public transit would assume the travelers to be well-versed with Google Map, and an understanding of the local transit (subway, train, bus), which can be a challenge for certain activity, such as the meeting place for the Tokyo/Shinjuku and Osaka Foodie Tour. This would require some knowledge of using the subway and especially exiting at the right exit. I could have managed on my own, however not an easy task for me. Thankfully, travelling with my adult sons, using Google map, translate, and perhaps when walking with the Tour Guide on a previous day in Tokyo, they learn quickly how to navigate the local transit, which was a good experience to learn, still a challenge for first timers in general.

As mentioned, there are lots to recall and review. And no trip, regardless of planning would be perfect, weather cooperation always an potential issue . Thankfully, we are more than compensated watching Sakura blossom season throughout the trip, in Tokyo and surprising in Osaka after all. Overall, myself had a wonderful time in Japan, and really appreciate working with Olivia to timely work out some minor issues, making the trip a very pleasurable memory!

I arrived in Japan after spending a week in China. My China trip was booked with another company and we had top notch service everyday. Our trip in Japan did not provide the same experience. We booked this trip with another couple, each of us arriving about 3 hours apart. I was told that it was important to provide our flight information so that our driver would not need to wait unnecessarily. Both of us did this, months before our trip began. My husband and I arrived first, and we expected to have to wait for the other couple for our driver to arrive. The driver was texting me as soon as we landed. Regrettably he then had to wait three hours for the other couple. We were then told we would need to pay an additional $10,000 yen because of this. Had Shona paid attention to both of the flight schedules this would not have happened.
Our biggest issue was communication with Shona. I would send her a message via the chat and when I got no response after a day, I called the contact number provided. I had to do this 5 times during the trip as Shona was not responding to my chats. It got so the person manning the contact phone, knew m y voice and would acknowledge me by name. Shon would then respond. The other couple and I sent her chats describing our frustration. Her communication improved but we still had issues. Her communications weren't always clear, a good example was the directions from the train station to our hotel in Osaka. She told us it was a 15 minute taxi ride or bus ride to the hotel, or we could walk it for 20 minutes. We exited the train station and walked quite a distance to the taxi stand and thankfully, our friend put it in our phone gps and we discovered if we had turned right out of the train station the hotel was about 2 minutes from us as it was literally part of the train complex. We shared this information with Shona and it was clear she didn't understand our feedback.

Our hotels all met our expectations. We had one issue when we checked in at our first Tokyo hotel. Our confirmation stated a king room and they said that was not the information the hotel had. We contact the number we were provided and Shona said she would take care of it. I took about 2 and a half hours to get it straightened out.
Our guides Yumi Takahashi, and Hector Julio Bozahelfers were outstanding.
Satomi our guide for the Himeji was a nice person but she didn't have the expertise the other guides had. W commented at the end of the day that she took more pictures than we did of the cherry blossoms and castle. It appeared to us she listened to the other tour groups and then provided us with information.

Our Yanka Historical Walking Tour was not what we expected. The description said lunch was included. Lunch was a glass of sake and three meatballs on a stick. We did three other Magical Trip excursions and they were all far superior to this one.

Our experience should have been stress free, but there were many days in the first two weeks where we were waiting on communication with Shona. I shouldn't have had to call the help line as often as I did. I believe she finally understood our frustration and did improve communication with us during the last of the trip.

Hotel Reviews

Cerulean Tower Tokyu Hotel

Tokyo

Beautiful hotel with lots of extras.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Very close to lots of restaurants as shopping

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Happo

The staff were terrific. Location was perfect in getting around to the ski lifts and restaurants. The restaurants, Geo's in the hotel was excellent.

Authenticity & Character

Charming ski hotel

Location

Centrally located near the lifts, bus station and restaurants.

Staff

Friendly, and very helpful with whatever we needed.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Rooms are comfortable and clean.

Activity Reviews

Full Day Kobe Hakutsuru Sake Brewery Museum and Himeji Castle Tour

Osaka

The castle and ground were beautiful with all the cherry blossoms

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The guide did not have a lot of information. Driver was fine.

Transport

Miyajima Half-day Trip Historical Walking Tour

Hiroshima

Beautiful day on the island

Quality of Experience

Our guide was flexible as we wanted to walk and experience the island casually.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Dress warm for the ferry

Hiroshima Bar Hopping Food Tour

Hiroshima

This ended up being about food and the bars. Great choices by the guide.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Full Day Tour of Arashiyama Bamboo Grove & Sagano Scenic Railway

Kyoto

Beautiful experience

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Hector was a great guide. Very knowledgeable and helpful

Transport

Kimono Tea Ceremony at Kyoto Maikoya

Kyoto

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Drive to Hakone with Mt. Fuji Tour

Hakone

Yumi our guide did a great job with this experience as it was snowing! Great selection for lunch.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Yanaka Historical Walking Tour in Tokyo's Old Town

Tokyo

Not what we expected. Lunch was to be included and all we got was a drink and three meatballs o a stick

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Full Day Sake Tasting & Snow Monkey Park Tour (Join-in)

Nagano

Warm day so we didn't see the monkeys in the springs. A little icy on the trails.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

All the guides assigned to our group of 4 were excellent, however special mention goes to Mizuho in Kyoto and Cherry in Osaka who were just superb and gelled effortlessly with us.

Sandy’s organisation for the entire trip was second to none and anything asked however small was no problem for her to review or organise.

My trip to Japan was extraordinary because of Leny.
Hee daily follow up was so useful
Leny knew exactly what I had in mind. The hotels choices were excellent & a few footsteps away from restaurants and services.
Traveling by trains & navigating huge stations with lots & lots of crowds can be pretty intimidating but the detailed maps Leny provided made it very easy to do this.
The guide in Tokyo was excellent giving me detailed historical information about the shrines & shintos we visited & came prepared with charts to explain the differences between shrines & shintos.
Marco the photographer was amazing choosing all the perfect locations for an excellent photo shoot.
My guide to Nara did a lot of research & came prepared with sheets & charts. I found this very sweet. Shows the real Japanese ethics & dedication to work.
Thank you Leny for creating the best travel plan for me & for making my first trip to Japan unforgettable.
You are the best!

We enjoyed our trip to Japan very much and Eleanor provided excellent service. Eleanor provided good feedback and was flexible in making arrangements. Japan is beuatiful and it may be the most orderly and polite society we have ever encountered. We caugyt the cherry blossoms in several cities and the food was extraordinary.

Hotel Reviews

Swissotel Nankai Osaka

Osaka

Authenticity & Character

Authenticity & Character

Location

Location

Staff

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

was noisy and there continued to be construction above room at all hours even though we complained.

Cleanliness & Comfort

was noisy and there continued to be construction above room at all hours even though we complained.

Nazuna Kyoto Tsubaki St.

Kyoto

Great place and loved the accomodations and breakfast was excellent.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel New Otani Tokyo The Main

Tokyo

The New Otani was a lovely hotel with all the amenities. The breakfast was good but it would have been nice if the food changed periodically during the stay.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Well located but needed to walk 30-40 minutes to most place or take subway which was 10 min walk.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Osaka Local Foodie Tour in Dotonbori and Shinsekai

Osaka

Was fun but probably would have benn better at beginning of tour as had already tried many of foods we tasted.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Transfer from Kyoto to Osaka via Nara

Japan

Nara was great and trip was fun.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Fushimi Inari Hidden Hiking Tour

Kyoto

One of our highlights. Amazing hike.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arashiyama Bamboo Grove, Sagano Scenic Railway & Tenryuji Temple

Kyoto

This was amazing. Great pictures and wonderful day

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tea Ceremony in Kyoto FLOWER TEAHOUSE

Kyoto

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Mt. Fuji with Lake Kawaguchi & Oishi Park

Japan

We drove out to see Mount Fuji and take a boat cruise but because of the overcast weather, we couldn't see fuji and wasn't worthwhile going on lake so a bit of an underwhelming day particularily since we had a long drive each way.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tokyo City Tour with Culture & Life

Tokyo

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Eleanor did a fantastic job helping us (2 people with some physical constraints for touring) for a trip to Tokyo and Kyoto. She steered us away from trying to do too much (a common problem when visiting Japan). She arranged three days with guides, all good, for Tokyo, Kyoto and day trip to Nara, along with suggestions for things to do and where to see cherry blossoms for our self directed days. Guides were flexible and sensitive to our needs for rest, and even found the colorful toilet from the movie "Perfect Days" when we requested that detour.
3 hotels were good, with nice varied breakfasts. Drivers were all punctual and safe.
We had used KimKim before to plan a trip to Colombia, and would use them again (but unfortunately not Eleanor) for trips to other countries.

Hotel Review

Mitsui Garden Hotel Otemachi / Tokyo

Tokyo

The final accommodation near the Imperial Palace was a much better fit for us. The location was ideal for a short walk to the gardens, which we enjoyed on our last day. While the area lacked shops, it provided a peaceful and pleasant environment, better suited to our preferences.

Activity Review

Sumo Morning Practice Viewing Eexpeirence in Tokyo Sumiyoshi

Tokyo

The Sumo Morning Practice Viewing was fascinating! It was intriguing to learn about sumo in an authentic setting. Watching the sumo wrestlers train was intense but very insightful. Even those of us not interested in sumo found it to be a unique experience that we couldn't see at home.