Kate Long

Our trip to Japan included many items and logistics which were managed by Kate. Overall, my family, who were first time visitors to Japan, were excited and felt like they got to see the major sites in each city. For me, a return traveler to Japan, it felt like a series of generic tours to the major tourist attractions which could have been hired individually through other services (Viator, etc). Personally, I was hoping for more unique experiences but I did appreciate that fact that KimKim was a 'one stop shop' for the logistics (cars, tickets, etc).

In terms of tour guides, our first guide, Peter Wong (Yoon) in Tokyo, was not a proficient English speaker. It turned out that our driver (who was excellent!!!) was a better English speaker than Peter. Hence, we did not receive very much information about the tours and the sites we were visiting. We spent most of the time googling the background information at each location. Peter is Malaysian (not Japanese) so a number of local questions we asked had him googling as well. When we first started, Peter did not have the agenda we were sent from KimKim so we had a bit of a disconnect on expectations for each day. He finally took a screen shot of the pages I received to align the agendas between what he had and what we were expecting. For the most part, everything logistically went well but we had one or two instances were the tickets were not accepted or procured. In the end, it worked out.

During our time in Tokyo, I booked the fish market auction separate than KimKim since the auction was not able to be organized by KimKim in the schedule (according to Kate). This event was a highlight of the trip. We hired a guide for this morning through the hotel and had a amazing experience since she was very knowledgable about Japanese history/architecture/politics/etc. In addition, as we were interacting with others, we would ask her questions and she would ask the host and then report back to us the responses. Our KimKim hosts (Peter and Naoki) did not behave like this and would just google to respond or listen to the Japanese response and then not revert back to us. We learned more from this lady about Tokyo in 4 hours than we did from Peter for the 5 days we had him scheduled.

As a side note, the KimKim agenda indicated we would be touring from 9am to ~5-6 pm each day (8 hours). This schedule was only true for some of the days. I highly recommend to KimKim to inform tour participants on expectations start and stop times to allow for meals and meal times. Since dinners were not included in the tour agenda, I worked off-line to book a variety of dinners and/or spa appointments in each city only to be told that we would not be back to the hotel in time or that we might need to skip something to fit the dinner schedule. In addition, on many days, lunch was not until 2 pm or later which also would have been good to know since we were having breakfast at 7-8 am and dinner at ~7 pm. If I had known this up front, it would have saved a lot of re-planning between myself and the tour guides and we could have brought snacks on the tours.

In Kyoto and Osaka, we had Naoki as a tour guide. Naoki was more engaging than Peter at a personal level and he had a better command of the English language. Unfortunately, Naoki is also more of a 'host' than a 'guide' and his college major was hospitality. For some of the places we visited, Naoki indicated he had not been to them prior to taking us to the see them so he was learning about them just as we were. When we visited the Palace in Osaka, he did not pre-book tickets (in fact, he told me he could not) so we spent time standing in line in the rain while others went through the 'fast track' to the entrance. I finally looked on-line and realized I could have booked them while standing in line to save time. These are all items that I would have thought they would have checked prior to our arrival.

For both guides, there were points when there were Japanese explanations of things we were seeing or touring instructions (no photos, etc) from the hosts at the sites and neither guide translated the information to us. We spent a lot of time trying to understand what was going on and what was next.

When we arrived in Okinawa, our driver was not at the airport arrivals. I called the number for Kate to check on the driver and no one picked up. There were two other numbers on the itinerary so I called the second number and got a voice mail which was responded to about an hour later. Finally, the person at the third number picked up the phone and asked why I was calling her (indicating we were bothering her.....not in a helpful way). I explained what was going on and she said Kate needed to help me so she transferred me to Kate who was sitting at the desk next to her. This was very frustrating that it took 3 international calls to locate someone and that Kate was at her desk while I was calling other travel agents in her system who were not aware they were on my agenda as a help desk person.

In total contrast, Wendy, our host in Taipei, was outstanding. She was well prepared and well educated. She explained each day in detail and worked with us to understand what we were seeing and why it was important (context). She was also very good at engaging my son. If there were any suggestions or updates to the agenda, she had us sign professional 'change orders' which we appreciated. Wendy was the type of tour guide that we anticipated for the entire trip. In addition, Wendy took a number of photos of us which was very helpful as we toured each location. We cant say enough about how much we learned from Wendy and enjoyed her tour. We wished we had her for the entire time.

We have been on many trips with Kim Kim but this was t disappointing. Asia highlights provided a very poor guide In Tokyo who both had no knowledge and a poor attitude. The other guides had good attitudes but also not knowledgeable except Mei at the end, who was both knowledgeable and hard working. Kate droppe the ball many times and never had good suggestions for activities, I would not recommend her or Asia highlights.

Activity Reviews

Full Day Tokyo Tour by Private Vehicle and Guide

Tokyo

It could have been a lot better with a warm knowledgeable guide who did more than just take us to places. She knew nothing, had no explanations and seemed generally unhappy.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Harajuku

Tokyo

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

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 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.

Our 3 guides, Layla, Dennis and Yoyo were phenomenal, they looked after us and helped us even with things that they shouldnt have helped us with, we had a great time and would definitely book with kimkim again now that i have the experience

Kate, the local specialist who helped me plan to trip, did a lovely job picking hotels that fit my specifications and finding guides for the different local adventures. She was very responsive to my questions and helped me make changes to the trip itinerary when it turned out the Kamikochi National Park was already closed for the winter. Amy, the local guide in Nagoya who hiked the Nakasendo Way with me, was truly amazing - I would HIGHLY recommend working with her for future travelers. The guide (Layla) and driver for a morning of sightseeing in Nikko area were timely and followed the itinerary.

Hotel Reviews

Ryokan Asunaro

Takayama

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.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Very remote - but valuable if that is what you are looking for

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Nishitetsu Hotel Croom Nagoya

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.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Full day Tour by Private Car with Guide: Transfer from Takayama to Kamikochi National Park to Nagoya

Takayama

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.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport