Angel Tang

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

Mitsui Garden Hotel Nihonbashi Premier / Tokyo

tokyo

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

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

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.

Activity Reviews

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

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

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

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.

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

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

Shimanami PRIMEHOTEL IMABARI

Imabari

The town was very disappointing ..

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

Hotel Fukinomori

The ryocan experience was great.

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

Matsumoto Hotel Kagetsu

Great location

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

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

Dogo Onsen Dogo Funaya

Also great location and service. Lovely garden

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

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

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

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

kimkim took care of us from (before) the beginning until (after) the end. Angel was very responsive to our requests and knowledgeable about almost every facet of our itinerary. She provided regular updates during the planning stage and then made sure we were ready to travel. Once we were in Japan, everyone we interacted with (private guides, group activities, drivers, etc) was timely, polite, and exceedingly patient as we asked questions, made adjustments, and explored. In particular, we made multiple adjustments to our itinerary while in Japan and Angel was available to help us make sure everything went smoothly. It was my birthday and kimkim even treated me and my son with some surprises!

Hotel Review

Ryokan Aura Tachibana

Hakone

My favorite accommodation of the trip was definitely the Ryokan Aura Tachibana in Hakone. The experience and the vibe of staying there were just wonderful. It was traditional yet had enough modern amenities to keep our stay comfortable, especially for my child. There wasn't any friction, and the authenticity made our stay feel special without compromising on comfort.

Activity Reviews

Osaka Local Foodie Tour in Dotonbori and Shinsekai

Japan

Friendly and knowledgeable guide. Found out we had dietary restrictions after booking and made sure that these (incredibly tasty) local spots could accommodate in some way.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Fushimi Inari Taisha and Kinkakuji Temple

Kyoto

Our guide was incredibly knowledgeable and absolutely delightful. She knew the exact right balance of sight seeing/historical insights and keeping it interesting for my 10 year old son. We were able to nimbly manage some very crowded spots.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Family Fun Time in Tokyo: TeamLab Planets and Miraikan Museum

Tokyo

TeamLab Planets in Tokyo was one of the highlights of our trip. It was an activity I specifically requested to be added to our itinerary, and I'm so glad we did it. The immersive art experience was not only fascinating but also incredibly engaging for my child. We truly enjoyed the visit, and it stood out among the many activities we did in Tokyo.

Akieee in Hiroshima gave us an incredible tour of Hiroshima and Miyajima island!
We also loved our Kimono tea ceremony in Kyoto and our guide Taka Sakai !
And our experience in Kanazawa had so much lovely history, a beautiful place Hiroko was so knowledgeable!
And Nara outside of Osaka had amazing views and out kids loved interacting with the deer there! We couldn’t have done it without Taka Sakai!
Thank you to angel at KimKim for organizing a trip of a lifetime

Thank you,

Taka Sakai ‎

Activity Reviews

Kanazawa Full Day Walking Tour

Kanazawa

So much to learn, amazing place, less tourists than some of the other bigger cities! Worth the visit!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

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

Kyoto

Such a unique experience! Even our 10 year old boys enjoyed dressing up for this experience!

Quality of Experience

Our tea ceremony instructor!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

One Day Miyajima Island and Hiroshima Tour

Japan

Miyajima island is a can’t miss beautiful place!

Quality of Experience

Transport

We loved taking the ferry over!

Osaka-Nara Day Trip

Osaka

We had an amazing guide, beautiful temple and shrines! And so many deer! A great unique experience

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Full Day Mt. Fuji with Lake Kawaguchi with Oishi Park

Tokyo

Mount Fujibis a must see!

Quality of Experience

Lo

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hi - overall our experience with Kimkim and Angel was good. Im writing this more as feedback from kimkim as a service and less as a review of our trip, but there are definitely some learnings others could take from our experience.

We are experienced travelers, but when we looked into Japan it was overwhelming without some local knowledge to narrow down where to stay and how to book tours. Trains were overwhelming and without your support we would not have made this trip.

Hindsight being 20/20 I would have done more research on accommodations up front, but was trusting the service too much. Trusting things for Tokyo and Kyoto (to some extent), but Hakuba was a total miss and i'd advise you against booking that property.

I feel like communication during the trip was OK - there was one time when we were trying to figure out a transit and a more immediate response was needed. I received phone calls from China (which i would never answer) and whatsapp messages (which I dont use). You should align on preferred communication during the trip (text messaging for me) ahead of time to avoid this confusion.

As we went through our trip it became clear that the knowledge and experience around Hakuba valley was very limited as there were some major gaps in the plan that we had to address in real time without guidance. Our accommodations in Tokyo were great, Kyoto was nice as well, but Hakuba was no where near what the other two were like. It was more like a youth hostile than a family hotel. Logistics in Hakuba were also very challenging and if we didnt figure out we needed to pre-book a bus to get out of Hakuba we could have had to spend $1000 USD on a car service (Kimkim's recommendation was to order one from Tokyo which was 5 hours away). Taxi's were not an option from Hakuba and it was impossible to travel around without a car. We received zero guidance about this and would have changed both where we stayed and how we moved around with some more local experience. I believe this all comes down to a lack of local experience and knowledge about the Hakuba valley and i would have much rather there have been transparency about this which would have caused us to plan more closely there then to rely upon the service or pull in support who had local knowledge.

Our tours in Tokyo and Kyoto were all great, we really enjoyed the guides we had on all tours and felt they did a great job. The food tour was a highlight for us.

I do feel like you could do a better job of advising on the differences between a ryokan style hotel and a regular hotel. Our Ryokan included japanese breakfast every day which we only went to once due to it being so foreign for our kids. I appreciated doing it once, but it is unfortunate we paid for it 3x. I also think I didnt fully appreciate the style difference in this type of hotel and you could likely do a little more expectation setting when people are evaluating these options.

I know there are a lot of reviews about price transparency concerns with Kimkim and I do agree this is a challenge with your platform that would likely prevent me from using it again (not an absolute statement but a feeling as of now). Seeing what the cost difference is locally vs expectations in the US I cant help but feel like we were overcharged and with no detailed breakdown how do you overcome this feeling? It could be unjustified but I have no way of knowing.

So overall this was a good experience, especially when you are traveling somewhere you have never been. If Hakuba went more smoothly our review would likely be even better.

Hotel Reviews

Asakusa View Hotel Annex Rokku

We loved this hotel and location. The breakfast was great as well as the hospitality suite at night.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Asakusa was a really cool area.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hakuba Sun Valley Hotel Annex

Hakuba

This hotel is more like a youth hostel vs a family hotel. It was OK overall and the location was great if you wanted ski out, but with the Hakuba valley this comes with some major consequences about not being able to easily get to restaurants or town. I would stay here again with a car and if expectations were more clearly set.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

the owner of the hotel was very nice and helped us get to places on 2 separate instances.

Cleanliness & Comfort

the rooms were clean and while extremely basic, they were functional

Gion Ryokan Karaku

kyoto

This was a traditional japanese style hotel - as an american it was a fun experience but definitely know what you are getting into with this style hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Comfort is more about the style of this hotel vs the actual hotel.

Activity Reviews

Kyoto Night Foodie Tour

Kyoto

we loved this tour, a highlight of our trip and we wished we did one in Tokyo as well.

Quality of Experience

Food

great experience at all stops.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

was a walking tour

Tokyo Highlights Day Tour - East & West

Tokyo

Great guide and tour, made getting around Tokyo easy and gave us a good layout of the city.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Mt. Fuji with Lake Kawaguchi & Oishi Park

Tokyo

We had a good experience, but we didnt realize Mt Fuji was as far away as it was and that we were taking a bus there for 2.5 hours each way. We got really lucky that the weather was good but it would have been a bust if it was cloudy. We loved the temple we saw and Mt fuji was amazing but it is a lot of car time for what you do.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Bamboo Grove and Monkey Park Tour with a Boat Ride

Kyoto

This was a really fun day, lots of walking but we had a great time across the board and really appreciated how much we learned from our guide.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Thanks to Angel, my family had the most wonderful trip to Japan. It was a 10 day whirlwind tour from the US to Tokyo to Okinawa to Osaka to Kyoto to Hiroshima and back to Tokyo and a final return to the US. Angel arranged every step (hotels, tours, trains & drivers), listening to my concerns and fixing every detail. She offered tours for our consideration. When we were on the trip, she was very responsive & helpful which we truly appreciated as we had not been to Japan before. I highly recommend her for your travel plans!