Kimkim Trip Reviews for Japan

Great experience staying in a temple. The rooms were comfortable for us to rest!

Spacious rooms!

Hotel was clean but the rooms were too small where we couldn’t open our suitcases.

Great learning experience watching the wrestlers up so close! Plus they allowed us to take photos in the end which was cool!

Since we already enjoyed the Tea ceremony elsewhere that part felt unneeded. But the dressing up part was fun.

Ended up being a perfect day weather wise to visit! A great day trip from Kanazawa

It was a great experience to be up close with Fuji!

The tour took us to nice places but felt the timing in each location is not enough

We loved the little town and the Buddhist temple stay. It was definitely worth the long drive (tho as mentioned previously, we thought our driver drive carelessly)

We loved Nara and we had an excellent driver.

Loved our guide! She made this a great experience. However we were disappointed at how little time we spent on the bikes.

This was made special due to our excellent guide.

This was a fun little town but certainly not a highlight.

Nice trip but likely not worth a whole day. I would not recommend.

Too much time on cable car with hour wait and mediocre view.

One of the most fun things we did.

Wonderful place. We wished we had stayed two nights rather than one, or perhaps it would have worked if we had arrived early in the day or stayed later the second day. But we arrived late in the day and left early the next - not good planning.

Quite small and compact. Basic needs met at least

This one is a great hotel for long stays. Staff were friendly and helpful. Also the room is quite big. It didnt feel cramped up

Splendid Hotel! Good space and amenities to support long stays and good location

This one was special. Its a food tour but I was surprised to know its also a Dark alley tour. Our guide Taka brings us for some local food and to explore the darker side of Osaka, around the Nishinari ward

A good exposure to Nara and its accompanying mountain Mikasa

One of the best chill guides among all of them.

Everything was okay until I had to rush for the tea ceremony sweating. Pulled my ankle muscle rushing because i am not geared up for a run yo

Fun class learning about Dashi. Good way to cook and make your own food

The trip was amazing. Managed to reach the 5th station of Mount Fuji and visited Owakudani and Lake Ashinoko

Great experience to cover Tokyo and its beautiful aspects. The guide Yukari was very helpful and knowledgeable. This was one of the well-planned ones

Kyoto Tokyu Hotel was wonderful. We thoroughly enjoyed the Japanese breakfast here and the options of American/Japanese food in the other restaurant. Hotel is beautiful; staff friendly and helpful. Highly recommend.

Shiba Park Hotel is in a great location and is a beautiful hotel. We enjoyed the Japanese breakfast very much. And we had American/Japanese options in the other restaurant. The staff was very helpful and nice. The library feel was pleasant! Highly recommend.

Holiday Inn and Suites Shin Osaka was perfect for our needs. We loved the room with small kitchenette and washer/dryer; we loved the morning breakfast; we loved the staff. Try out the restaurant around the corner!

Kyoto is beautiful and this was nice introduction to it. It would take several days to do Kyoto justice, and we had one day. We are glad to have had the overview of this beautiful place.

Great to see Himeji Castle and garden. This was a good first day option for us. Thank you.

We loved this tour - it was a long day. We would not have wanted to Miyajima Island - it was so nice to see. Perhaps we could have used just a little less time in Miyajima and more time actually in Hiroshima proper - we were a little rushed at the end.

Nara was a wonderful surprise to see! We didn’t know about Nara before we came to Japan, and we thoroughly enjoyed this tour. The temple with the giant Buddha is beautiful, as is the shrine at the other end of the park. The Park is beautiful to walk through and the deer are fun - don’t miss the fact that some of them have learned to nod their heads gratefully to the humans offering them food.

Grand hotel in great location in downtown Nagoya (10min walk from Nagoya station, main metro station in city). Beautiful views, clean, friendly staff. Breakfast buffet was unparalleled. Room was smaller (not as small as most Tokyo hotels though), but efficient and well appointed. Very nice onsen. I would definitely recommend to future travelers.

Amazing ryokan. Friendly staff who were aware of your personal preferences and spoke some English. Best onsen I visited in Japan. Many fun craft activities (paper making, soy bean grinding, coaster weaving) offered by staff. Beautiful, unique and extensive meals with local ingredients. Rooms were spacious with traditional ryokan set ups. Just be aware this hotel is in a very remote location, with a small village down the street with a few restaurants/shops - it was hard to see much without a car.

These activities are completely incorrect- Dec. 2 was taking metro from Nagoya to Magome to hike Nakasendo Way with guide Amy, which was truly amazing. I cannot say enough good things about Amy or the Nakasendo Way hike. Dec. 4 was a private car and driver around Nikko. That was definitely less amazing. I never went to Kamikochi because after I had put down the kimkim deposit the local guide told me the park was closed for the year. Review for Dec. 4 private car with guide around Nikko: Guide Layla sent me WhatsApp messages in advance, but never introduced herself, explained the itinerary or confirmed pick up location. Also, she never vocalized plans on the day of the trip either (I'm not sure if this was a cultural or personal issue). Trip was billed as a "full day tour", but in fact was only 2 hours of sightseeing and 2 hours of driving from my hotel. There was no discussion or inquest about getting food before dropping me off at 2pm. Also, the driver seemed very tired and I was a bit worried about his driving at the beginning of the trip. I am a very active person and thought there was supposed to be some hiking/walking on this day trip, but at most we spent 15min meandering around the lake. The most interactive part of the trip was walking around Toshogu Shrine.

Excellent friendly and helpful service. Perfect location for shopping and travel to sites.

The location in the mountain village with views is serene.

Great buffet breakfast. Beautiful, serene, and clean. The shuttle to/from the train station makes travel and shopping convenient.

We had a beautiful clear day.

All sights were breathtaking. Enjoyed it all.

Amazing historical tour. Lots of walking and never felt rushed or anxious.

More a business hotel, which is understandable in Kyoto. Very nice staff, great buffet breakfast, good location next to train station. We walked to several of the main Kyoto attractions.

We didn't know what to expect of this resort hotel, and stayed 2 nights here after our Kumano Kodo walk. The cave onsens were truly wonderful, and when we used them, the were not crowded at all. You sit in delightful hot water overlooking the coast--and I even saw fish jumping amidst the surf. The buffet style dinner and breakfast was great, and the place has its own 'Lawsons' (convenience store) with wonderful snacks and lunch food. Our rooms were great with balconies overlooking the bay, and largish rooms that were great. We decided to stay at the hotel (after an early look at the tuna auction) and lounge around in our Japanese coats provided by the hotel. It was a perfect way to end our walk.

After a long walking day, we arrived for our first ryokan experience, and it was wonderful. The staff were so welcoming, the onsen lovely, and the dinner very special. We would have been delighted to stay longer at this ryokan.

Hideo san and his wife were wonderful hosts, and the meal she prepared was unbelievable--complete with special saki and plum brandy! It was very special to get to know this family just a bit for our one night stay while walking the Kumono Kodo trail. Our hosts were so kind and gracious--we only wished our Japanese was better so we could have learned more about them. Hideo san does this as his 'hobby' (though he admits his wife shoulders much of the burden). We really enjoyed meeting the family and our stay. We were worried about our next day (a long one, where we needed to catch an early bus)--but we were treated to a delightful early breakfast, and a ride to the bus stop which made our day much easier. We are so grateful to Hideo san and his wife for their hospitality.

We had walked a long day to get here, and initially couldn't find it. A neighbor pointed the way, but still, there was no one there. The outside is unassuming, but...we slid open the door and the interior is absolutely beautiful. It has a large living/sleeping room with futons all ready; a smaller area for eating, a small kitchen and a lovely bath. Shino (who did all this lovely work) brought a delicious dinner, breakfast, and provided a bento box lunch for us for our trail walk the next day. We reconnected with her at her cafe after a few hours walk and had a great coffee. Her place was so welcoming it made you want to stay longer--and think carefully about how to incorporate her lovely design in one's own house!

This was perhaps the best hotel we stayed in for a variety of reasons. First, it was lovely--beautiful woodwork, lovely rooms and a pleasant small hotel atmosphere. The staff were absolutely wonderful--and treated us like family. We could have stayed many more days and been delighted. We walked to the temple being renovated, and would have loved to have seen more of the old part of Kanazawa, but didn't have time. We had the hotel's udon noodles which were wonderful, as was the breakfast. It was easy to move about town from the hotel, and easy to get to from the amazing Kanazawa train station (we walked). We would highly recommend this hotel!

The hotel was very good, with good food and very clean room. It is more like a business hotel, which is logical in Tokyo, and it was conveniently located. We enjoyed our stay.

At Sansaro, we had limited interaction with our host, and sadly, the community onsen was closed for that day. We had walked a moderate day, but then rather than wait for a bus (few scheduled) we walked the additional 3 miles so arrived tired. The guest house has a nice central area and a series of small rooms which were small but comfortable. Dinner was modest, and we got very nice lunch bento boxes.

We had walked the Kumano Kodo trail, so the forest wasn't spectacular--and fall colors were late. But we had a wonderful guide for this day and we learned alot about the place, but also about Japan and current life there.

Quite unique to ride this old railway. The gorge is very steep but wooded, so interesting. We walked a few miles up the trail at the end. Cold on the way down (November)

Small rooms. If I were staying longer in Kyoto I would have chosen another place. However very close to the train station.

What a quirky resort. The absulte BEST onsen with the hot springs in caves overlooking the ocean. It was a great place to relax after five days of treking.

We were grateful this guesthouse was available. However, the owner wasn't aware that the onsen wasn't open so had to clean her own bathroom before we could get showers.

What makes this place exceptional is the two 75 year old hosts who coddled us with home cooking and amusing conversation.

What a find! Definitely worth the extra walk down from the trail to experience this delightful guesthouse.

We spent only one night. The staff seemed a little harried but was able to answer our questiosns.

We loved this hotel!!! The staff were friendly and welcoming. The rooms were aesthetically beautiful. They had free drinks and made us udon noodles at night.

I was worried the hotel was to big and impersonal but it turned out to be nicely located for Shibuya, catching trains and walking to the Palace. The views of Tokyo were also amazing.

Really enjoyed this ryokan with it's outdoor baths and delicious food.

Yoshi planned a beautiful day experiencing Arashiyama.

Delightful trip. Lovely hike. Beautiful gorge.

He spent extra time with us at the end giving us advise.

Excellent! Could not have asked for more!

Tour and guide, Yakuri were really excellent.

Newly renovated hotel with excellent location in the hart of the city. 4 stars only due to size of the room.

The rooms are very small and have steps inside.

Very good hotel, convenient located near train station.

Samurai fighting equipment in the museum is very old but in excellent condition. We got additional historical facts. The Kimono Tea ceremony was so unusual for us. Besides the tea itself, we learned Japanese tea tradition and etiquette.

Very nice temple surrounding by garden, pond and bamboo grove. Travel guide - Noriko is excellent. Lake water tour very nice with amazing views.

Very nice trip and boat tour with a view on mount Fuji. Excellent ride on cable way up to the hill to view mount Fuji again

Must use the local bus due to lack of taxi service.

Very good, amazing view from the radio tower.

Very informative. Thanks to the guide for navigating via underground transportation

Very unusual experience with the deers in the Nara park surrounding the shrine. We feed them from hands and they bow in response. The shrine is absolutely amazing, especially gates.

The Sake museum is very informative, but may be not for every one, we think, mostly for men. The Himeji Castle is gorgeous outside. For going inside we have to climb over very steep stairs. That wasn't easy for us. Since we spend too much time for travel, it wasn't enough time to see the beautiful garden next to castle.

Loved this experience. This Ryokan, traditional Japanese style hotel was wonderful. It was really well located and the accommodations were very comfortable. Food was delicious although the menu was very similar for dinner and breakfast. There was a very clean Onsen. We had a view of the torii gate which was beautiful

This is a 4 star hotel however it is very new and beautiful. Rooms large and well appointed. Breakfast was nice although the buffet was limited. Beautiful bar. Really well located

The experience was wonderful. Their English was good enough. However the Monk who led services was difficult to understand. The food was good considering it is vegan . The meal is the same for breakfast and dinner so bring snacks. Property was well kept and the rooms very nice. The one downside was due to the timing of the prayer services at this particular temple you could not book the cemetery tour which we were told was an excellent activity.

Yoko our tour guide was great. We really enjoyed her. Hiroshima is a must see. The museum tells the story so well. And dont miss the Japenese gardens we loved the experience

Our tour guide Masako was incredibly knowledgable about Miyajima. We learned so much

Excellent restaurant - Royal Mouriya.

The saki museum was a lot of fun and easy to experience. We did not really get a tour of Kobe Harborland - our tour guide knew nothing about it

This was one of our favorite activities. I highly recommend it

There are a lot of shrines and Temples in Japan. Not sure we needed to see all 4 sights. Nishiki market was great and our guide picked a wonderful place for lunch,

Loved learning the history of the Samurais - it is a great museum The tea ceremony is a must as this is such a big tradition in Japan. We loved putting on a kimono and learning about the tea ceremony

This was a great experience. Unfortunately we were delayed getting there due to our train running 2 hours late so we had very little time to explore

This was amazing and I highly recommend it

Loved TeamLab Planets - definitely a must see. Miraikan Museum is well laid out but just not something that was of great interest to us

Loved this day. We ate an authentic lunch at a local restaurant. Had great views of Mt Fuji. Enjoyed the Whiskey museum

Tokyo is huge but Yumi our tour guide was amazing. We covered all the highlights

Different experience here. We had a lodging next to the river, which was fairly quiet despite traffic on the other side. Fixing your own meal from food stocked in the refrigerator was fun, though we were tired at the end of the day. It is nicely located across from grocery store and bakery.