Next Japan Travel

Katsu planned us a beautiful trip to Japan during the first two weeks of May. We had an in depth discussion when we first started talking about our priorities for the trip. We centered in on food and nature experiences as the most important focus of our 12 days in Japan and Katsu put together the perfect itinerary. From basking in onsens to wandering through moss gardens and eating delicious Japanese food in between we had truly special experiences surrounded by the unique natural beauty of the mountains and sea side towns of Japan. Katsu was kind attentive and kept an eye out for our best interests in the entire time ensuring that each activity we did allowed us to spend our time in the best way possible.

My guide was truly amazing, but so was the driver. One day it was raining and we had a few hours left and he suggested going to the library. I'm an academic, so I was up for it to get out of the rain. It wasn't a normal library. There was a scale model of the region with every building and tree. We spent two hours there and could have stayed longer. It was more like a museum.

I had a fantastic trip with my two nieces to Japan. It was only nine days, the time I had with my nieces for spring break. I will say you definitely need more time in Japan to explore it. Unfortunately, I missed the peak of cherry blossom season, but I still saw some, and they were lovely. My travel agent, Katsu, arranged all the Transfers and set up the train tickets for me. Everything was pretty much Seamless. Saori, Hana, Harumi, Sachiyo, and Mr Ko were great. Attentive answered all our questions. I enjoyed visiting the temples and shrines. The Rickshaw Rides in the bamboo forest and Tokyo were a nice experience. The Rickshaw ride in Tokyo stood out since my driver was entertaining and charismatic. I did a bike tour in Kyoto my butt hurt at the end, but did also enjoy that unique way to see the city. I would like to thank everybody who was part of my trip, and one day, I hope to go again, but for longer.

Katsu Okada-San of KimKim helped to create lasting memories on our first trip to Japan.

This was our first visit to Japan; my ancestors are from Kumamoto-Ken. I daydreamed about Japan for years, cherry blossoms, Mt. Fuji-san, sashimi and being enveloped by the culture.

The experience changed my life and my family’s lives, and I owe this to Katsu Okada-san. He tailored our needs with definite care and excellent communication needed for a family traveling across the ocean to unfamiliarity.

Upon arrival at Kansai airport in Osaka, he arranged for a driver to take us to our hotel. He helped to arrange guides in Osaka, Kumamoto, Kyoto, Hakone and lastly, Tokyo. Detailed instructions were sent by email and tickets sent to our hotels in advance with handwritten, step-by-step itinerary to travel to and from places. He set us up with lovely Japanese-native, mostly English-speaking guides in each city. Here are their names and memories of them:

Sachi Oguchi-san in Osaka - she was kind, patient and flexible, and took us off course to the Osaka Natural History Museum. She encouraged us to try the foods Osaka is known for.
Noboru Narukawa-san in Kumamoto – He was the kindest and sunniest person; he reminded me of my Japanese family in Hawaii. We communicated with Google Translate.
Akiko Tonomura-san in Kyoto - She was just as wonderful as the other guides, fun, enjoyable to learn from and kind, kind, kind.
Eriko Ishiguro-san in Tokyo - So filled with tender care for our family and really got to know us personally. She helped us to get familiar with Tokyo’s transportation system; I’m envious of its efficiency.

Through continued correspondence with Okada-san before, during and after Japan, I got to know him almost as a friend, sharing stories and emotions evoked by them. That’s the part of this writing I wanted to emphasize, how someone so far could have so much impact across the miles.

Thank you, Okada-san, from my and my family’s heart, for doing what you do so well and for helping to change our lives and viewpoints of the world.

We had a great time! Many thanks to Katzu who was so accommodating and patient with us, he coordinated everything for our trip to Tokyo. Thank you to Eriko, and Kazu the polite, friendly and knowledgeable guides in Tokyo. The hotels we stayed at were fantastic, we enjoyed delicious japanese food in each one. We were pampered at Hanoke's Fufu hotel with a private hot bath! we trully enjoyed all about Japanese culture and are looking forward to another trip there in the future.