Japan Trip June 2025

Japan | Jun 28 - Jul 4, 2025

We traveled to Tokyo, Hakone and Kyoto for 7 days. Sandy arranged all of our transportation, hotels and several guides and outings. Beginning in Toyko, we spent a day with a guide which was very helpful because it helped us get familiar with the public transportation. After that we were able to wonder around the city easily with helpful suggestions on what to visit based on the areas we were in. Our hotel, Shiba Park Hotel, was perfect for us. The neighborhood was more relaxed and low key, but still very accessible to parks, shrines and temples that we wanted to visit.
Next, we traveled to Hakone. We had a wonderful driver and guide get us down there and we enjoyed the Mishami Skywalk and ziplining through the nature. I loved stopping in this town, as it was fun to wander along Lake Ashi and was a nice respite from being in the busy city. It was amazing how green and lush the entire area was. And don't miss staying at a ryokan so you can experience the onsen - a wonderful, relaxing experience and I was able to get a much needed massage (from all the walking!)
We then traveled by bullet train down to Kyoto. Traveling by train was the best, in my opinion, because it allowed us to sightsee and still travel efficiently. I loved Kyoto. It had a smaller, older feel than Tokyo. It felt like you could wander for hours, stopping to look a temples and shrines at almost every corner and grabbing a bite to eat and drink - which is exactly what we did. We opted to walk most of the city to see things and enjoyed going at our own pace. Sandy set up a sake tasting tour which was great. It was in a cool neighborhood we probably would not have a chance to visit - it was informative and a great group of people. We also rented kimonos one afternoon and participated in a traditional tea ceremony - a true highlight of the trip! It was a wonderful activity that brought us to a neighborhood we ended up hanging out in for hours - the ceremony itself was calming and culturally informative. The woman who lead it was wonderful.
Overall, we had a great trip. Unfortunately, we did not have as much time as I felt necessary to really experience everything we wanted to do and see, but Sandy made the most of the time we did have! Would definitely use this service again!