Leny Vergara

All the guides and drivers in Japan and South Korea were amazing. We saw many incredible sights that we would never been able to negotiate without professional guides and drivers.
All of the guides were very knowledgeable on all the historical and religious sites. All were fluent in English as well as many other languages.
They were able to add local perspectives which was very informative.

Activity Reviews

Best of Shibuya Food Tour

Tokyo

Our tour guide was amazing. All of the food delicious and the restaurants super authentic.

Seoul Adventures: DMZ Tour, Korean Cuisine, And More of the City (Private)

Seoul

The DMZ was fascinating. Well worth touring, excellent guide, super knowledgeable

Full Day Kamakura with English Speaking Guide and Vehicle (Private)

Tokyo

Amazing!

The Alluring Nami Island (Private)

Seoul

Such a beautiful peaceful place. The ferry was fun and fast. Our guide was very knowledgeable and treated to a wonderful Korean donut . Great day

Leny was phenomenal. I’m so gappy we trusted her to plan our honeymoon. This was the best trip my wife and I have ever taken.

Leny and her team were awesome. They arranged spectacular private tours of Tokyo and Seoul for us. We saw and experienced so many more things than we could have on our own. The guides were amazing. They went out of their way to be helpful and provide us with the best possible experience. They bridged the language barriers and explained all the cultural nuances of the sites we visited. They suggested restaurants and amazing local cuisine to try. The vans were always waiting to take us on to the next stop. The whole experience was seamless.

Leny and her team were always in contact with us throughout the trip. Confirming pickup times and guides' names and phone numbers. When we wanted to make changes to our itinerary. It was done over night. They could not have been more caring or helpful. I would strongly recommend booking with Leny.

In Tokyo, the one experience you should not miss is the Shimbuya Food Tour. It was spectacular. No one on their own could find all the small hole in the wall restaurants we ate at. The food was divine!

Activity Reviews

Welcome (Irrashaimase) to Tokyo!

Tokyo

A seamless pickup at the airport and transfer to our hotel.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

West Tokyo Highlights: Half-Day Private Tour with Guide & Vehicle

Tokyo

The Meiji and Yasukuni Shrines and the Rikugien Garden were spectacular.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Best of Shibuya Food Tour

Tokyo

This tour was definitely one of the highlights of our whole trip. The food was divine.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Alex our guide was awesome. He knew so much about the food and culture of the area. We were blown away.

Transport

Explore East Tokyo: Full-Day Private Tour with Multilingual Guide

Tokyo

The tour was great. Wish we had more time to spend at each of the sites. Especially the Imperial Gardens

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Kashima-san was agreat guide. Very knowledgeable.

Transport

Full Day Kamakura with English Speaking Guide and Vehicle (Private)

Tokyo

Kamakura was great, Especially the giant Buddha. Well worth seeing.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Welcome to Seoul!

Seoul

Seamless pickup from the cruise ship terminal.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Modern Seoul and Cultural Heritage Half-Day Tour (Private) Airport Pick-Up with Direct Sightseeing Transfer

Seoul

A great way to spend half a day seeing Seoul. The Lotte Tower was a highlight.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Esther was great. She went out of her wat to ensure we had a great experience.

Transport

The Soul of Seoul: Hightlights of Korea's Heritage (Private)

Seoul

Over whelming all the culture and heritage in Seoul.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Esther was amazing again. Very knowledgeable.

Transport

Seoul Adventures: DMZ Tour, Korean Cuisine, And More of the City (Private)

Seoul

Everyone should experience this tour to understand the historical significance of a divided country.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Vincent was amazing. Extremely knowledgeable about the DMZ

Transport

The Alluring Nami Island (Private)

Seoul

Nami Island is a very peaceful and beautiful way to spend a day. Well worth the drive outside of Seoul.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Danny was a great guide.

Transport

Our trip to Japan was truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and we are incredibly grateful for all the planning and support provided by our travel agency.

From the moment we arrived, every detail was thoughtfully arranged. The hotels were comfortable and well-located, transportation instructions were clear, and the itinerary gave us the perfect balance of guided experiences and free time to explore on our own.

We experienced the energy of Tokyo, the beauty of Mount Fuji and Hakone, the rich history and culture of Kyoto, and the vibrant atmosphere of Osaka. We enjoyed everything from ancient temples and peaceful gardens to bustling markets, incredible food, and the efficiency of Japan's world-famous rail system. Every destination offered something unique and memorable.

What impressed us most was how smoothly everything came together. Traveling internationally can feel overwhelming, but the guidance we received gave us confidence every step of the way. Even when unexpected changes arose, we felt supported and informed.

Japan exceeded our expectations in every way. The kindness of the people, the cleanliness, the respect for tradition, and the breathtaking scenery made this an unforgettable journey. We returned home with wonderful memories, a deeper appreciation for Japanese culture, and a long list of experiences we will cherish forever.

Mahalo for helping make our bucket-list trip a reality. We would happily recommend your services to anyone considering a visit to Japan.

LENY you are amazing!!!!

P.S. The luggage forwarding was great, ensure you research how many days from one hotel to the next. ADDITIONALLY our luggage being sent straight to the airport on the last leg of travel was exceptional!

Our experience with Leny and the Kimkim support team was superb. I would highly recommend them. Leny helped us plan activities, hotels and transportation in Kyoto, Takayama, Kanazawa and Tokyo. The activities gave us a good introduction to Japanese culture and customs. We especially enjoyed the excursions to Takayama and Kanazawa. Our guides were excellent. Leny informed us of the Japanese luggage forwarding service which we used to send part of our luggage from Kyoto to Tokyo so we didn't have to deal with it in Takayama or Kanazawa. That was very helpful. And the hotel in Tokyo not only received it but already had it in our hotel room when we checked in. Leny's recommendation that we schedule our transfer from the Tokyo train station to the airport was also excellent. While it wasn't cheap, our driver met us on the train platform and escorted us to his vehicle and took us to Haneda airport. It definitely made that last leg of our trip very comfortable.

Hotel Reviews

Tabist kiki HOTEL KYOTO Sanjo Takakura

Kyoto

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Kanazawa the square hotel

Kanazawa

Our beds were futons on an elevated platform. It wasn't easy to get into or out of the beds for Americans who do not normally sleep on the floor.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Staff responded very quickly to help us set the air conditioning controls when the room was too hot.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Tea Ceremony in Kyoto (Private)

Japan

The tea ceremony itself left a lot to be desired. Our tea hostess had to use a translator app to communicate and a lot of information was lost in translation. After the ceremony, a native English speaker showed us around the house/building where the ceremony was held. That was a very interesting and informative tour to learn about this history of the building. It belonged to a family that were merchants of silk for kimonos.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Kyoto Nijo Castle and Imperial Palace - Small Group Walking Tour

Kyoto

I think this would have been more interesting to take the tour on my own and use an audio tour guide. Our guide didn't tell us much about the rooms as we walked through Nijo Castle. I felt like I didn't learn much about the castle or interior artwork.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

From Kitchen to Culture: Hands-On Japanese & Sushi Cooking

Kanazawa

The chef relied on a translator program displayed on a large TV screen since he didn't speak English. It made it hard to follow the instructions. The only sushi we made was nigiri style. We had expected to learn to make rolled maki style sushi. The only thing to learn with nigiri is to not press the rice too firmly when making the rice ball and how to thinly slice the fish for the topping. We spent most of our time making an omelette, stew and miso soup.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transfer from Takayama to Kanazawa, including a visit to Shirakawa-go

Japan

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Takayama Full-Day Tour with English-Speaking Guide

Takayama

We really enjoyed our tour with Ikue. She was really nice and spent extra time showing us around the town. She also provided some good restaurant recommendations for us for that evening.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Kanazawa Full Day Tour with English Speaking Guide (Private)

Kanazawa

We really enjoyed our tour with Ian. He started by taking us to a spot overlooking the city so we could appreciate full expanse of the area. We enjoyed visiting the gardens and castle and learning more about his experiences living in Japan (as a Canadian ex-pat).

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Best Of Shibuya Food Private Tour - Evening

Tokyo

Our guide was excellent and we got to try a wide variety of Japanese foods. We also enjoyed getting to explore some of the backstreets of Shibuya.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Overall, our trip experience was very well organized and executed. We felt that we got a good exposure to Japanese culture as a whole with our brief visit. Lenny was very responsive and helpful, especially when we were in-country. We appreciated her responsiveness and advice regarding my soy sauce allergy, understanding that it was a hard subject to address.

Activity Reviews

Bullet train from Shinagawa to Kyoto

Japan

Kyoto Arashiyama Bamboo forest & Garden Half-Day Walking Tour

Kyoto

Tea Ceremony in Kyoto (Private)

Japan

Very well done and thorough.

Kanazawa Full Day Tour with English Speaking Guide (Private)

Kanazawa

Our American guide was very thorough and helpful for giving us a good experience in Kanazawa.

Dinner with Maiko in a Traditional Kyoto Style Restaurant Tour (Small Group)

Kyoto

We enjoyed our interaction with geiko as well as the dinner.

Takayama Full-Day Tour with English-Speaking Guide

Takayama

We enjoyed our day tour and lunch suggestion. It was very informative.

Transfer from Takayama to Kanazawa, including a visit to Shirakawa-go

Japan

Shirakawa was a wonderful place and our driver/guide did a great job.

Half-Day Eastern Tokyo Tour with English-Speaking Guide and Private Vehicle

Tokyo

We had limited time to tour Tokyo and our guide did the best he could. His English skill was limited, however, and we wished we had been warned not to eat very much for lunch in preparation our Shibuya Food Tour that evening.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We had a hard time understanding our guide’s English.

Best Of Shibuya Food Private Tour - Evening

Tokyo

We really enjoyed our food tour in Shibuya and learning about the food culture of Tokyo.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our Shibuya Food Tour guide was very good and thorough.

Greater Sendai Friendship Force – Cultural Exchange and Journey

Sendai

Our cultural exchange was very successful and enjoyable. It was the perfect follow-up to our overall cultural introduction tour to Kyoto, Tokayama, Kanazawa and Tokyo.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

It was wonderful to be hosted by local Friendship Force club members.

All of our guides were tremendous and Leny and her staff checked in with us frequently to make sure all was going okay. Even when we had a train snafu (missing our stop) she was helpful in getting us "back on track." The hotels were all clean and met our needs. I will definitely use KimKim again!

Activity Reviews

Private Half-Day Walking Tour: EasternTokyo Your Way (by Public Transportation)

Tokyo

A great way to start our trip and acquaint us with Tokyo and the subway too!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Day Trip from Tokyo to Mount Fuji with an English-Speaking Driver

Tokyo

Our guide knew to take us to a smaller, intimate space as he could sense our love of the outdoors and nature. Maki-san was fantastic! He also had us buy our tickets for the cable car lift, then we had an hour to explore more rather than standing around. We enjoyed his company!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cycling tour in the Kyoto Countryside

Kyoto

Due to poor weather, we ended up not cycling. Instead, we were treated to the company of a tremendous guide who was so proud to show off her community. It was not a sightseeing trip, it was an experience!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

This was a wonderful trip, however in my own personal opinion there was not enough information on getting around Kyoto Station. Considering that it was all our first times navigating Kyoto Station, my family and I found it very confusing and overstimulating. But in a way, it did prepared us for our next trip to Japan. The trips itself were fantastic, I’d highly recommend walking tours to those wanting to discover more of a certain area. Nevertheless, Leny was a wonderful itinerary planner, very patient and meticulous. Highly recommend her for those wanting to explore Japan.