Odynovo Tours Co., Ltd

The trip took us to good locations and we saw what we came to see. However, much of the best parts of the trip were without the guides provided. Only two guides out of the many we had were memorable. The others were so-so or poor. In some cases, proficiency with English was insufficient to have meaningful conversation. On the trips, the food was commonly not great. In some cases, no choice about the specific meal was provided. In other cases, the meals were up to us to find with no particular guidance. The foodie night in Osaka led us to mediocre quality street food. The plan had problems. The plan had us go to a restaurant in Kyoto that was closed on that day. The plan scheduled us to go to the same temple on both of the first two days. We asked for a change ahead of time but that change was not communicated to the guide before we got there (or at least, she was unaware of the change). In one case, the plan sent us to a destination that intended us to climb many stairs but no notice of that was communicated in the plan. Given our age, that was a potential problem. Fortunately, we were with one of the good guides who noticed this and was able to take us to an alternative destination. The hotels were largely fine, although the ryokan in Hakone felt more like a commercial hotel than an inn. There was no indication in the guide that the train trip from Osaka to Kanazawa started with a local train and then transferred to a bullet train. Given the expense, I would not use kim kim again, but would pick local guides via Get your guide or equivalent.

Our Japan tour had something for everyone. We especially enjoyed the smaller places- Hakone, Koyasan and Nara. Food was excellent, kids stayed interested and we decided before we had even left that we will need to go back!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Gracery Shinjuku

Tokyo

Gritty neighborhood, only dirty place we encountered in Japan. Inside the rooms were quite small, even by Japan standards. Didn’t find the novelty of the Godzilla to outweigh the vibe of the neighborhood that was not at all family friendly.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Good if you want that specific scene, but not our vibe.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Mt. Koya temple stay

Koyasan

Authentic Japanese temple stay.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Close to the center of town

Staff

Friendly and explained everything well

Cleanliness & Comfort

Asakusa View Hotel Annex Rokku

Tokyo

Great location and big breakfast buffet.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Right near station , shrine and restaurants in Asakusa

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Mimaru Kyoto Station

Kyoto

Close to Kyoto station. Fairly basic.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Not near many sights, but close to station.

Staff

Lo

Cleanliness & Comfort

MIMARU Osaka Shinsaibashi West

Good for families, otherwise quite basic

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Full Day Osaka Discovery with Cup Noodles Museum

Osaka

The Cup Noodles museum was fun, but we didn’t need a guide here and she didn’t even help us by translating despite participating in the activity herself. She was hard to hear and kids thought she was mean

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Samurai and Ninja Museum with Experience

Kyoto

Asakusa Sumo Club: Sumo Show Admission with Chankonabe in Tokyo

Tokyo

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

A Hands-on Cooking Experience: Nigiri Sushi and More

Tokyo

A bit long for our group- more geared toward adults

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Osaka-Nara Day Trip

Osaka

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guide was excellent and gave us some personalized tips.

Transport

Kimono Tea Ceremony at Kyoto Maikoya

Kyoto

Excellent way to enjoy kimonos and participate in a tea ceremony

Quality of Experience

Tokyo Discovery: From Traditional Landmarks to Akihabara’s Anime Haven

Tokyo

The trip was seamless from planning through departure. We had a great time and would highly recommend using KimKim for a China trip. Our guide, Alan, met us at the airport, even after our flight was delayed 5 hours. We needed to take a sick child to get medicine at the hospital, and he helped navigate and translate the whole time. Alan and our KimKim Planner, Heidi, mentioned they always support the human needs of their clients first. Because of this, help at the beginning of the rest of our trip was a breeze. We were able to change the date of our rest day to make up for the late arrival. We thoroughly enjoyed the rest of our activity, including the Great Wall, Forbidden City, Summer Palace, Hutongs, and the Vegetable market. Because of our schedule change, we had a second guide, Jim, who was helpful for our last day of exploring. We had full service the entire time, from lunches curated to our needs, to pickup and dropoff at the airport. This experience was a truly all-inclusive easy way to relax into China!

Winnie was very professional and responsive at all times. There is a time difference of 7 hours between us and it never felt like it.

We had a lot of issues with rescheduling and postponing the trip due the war in Iran.

We finally decided to take the trip and therefore the team of Odynovo and Winnie only had a week to plan our trip (since it was initially postponed).

They delivered a great full private tour that respected our requests and real time modifications.

All the guides and drivers were very responsive, kind and respectful.

I would highly recommend working with Odynovo Tours and specifically Winnie.

We really enjoyed our trip to Japan. The planning and service from Winnie was excellent.
Even there were some issues, Winnie resolved it very professional and quick and they even offered us a nice lunch as excuse for it.
The booked drivers were always in time and the cars in very good shape. Most of the hotels we liked. The guided tours were interesting and the guides friendly and knowable.
We saw really a lot. It was high saison, so too many people which made the trip a little stressful, but the rides in in Shinkansen were peaceful.
We saw Tokio, Hakone, Kyoto, Hiroshima and Osaka. We skipped the trip from Osaka to Nara, because it was to much and we enjoyed a free last day in Osaka with a little shopping.
Thank you very much, we would highly recommend the KimKim service.