Very Memorable and Efficient Two Weeks in Japan

Japan | May 1 - May 15, 2025

Tokyo: hotel Cerulean was amazing! Excellent service and spacious room. One of the best hotels we have ever stayed in. Our guide Yumi was not great. It was a rainy day so she finished the tour at 2pm but did not give much suggestions on what else to see. The Yanaka historical walking tour was very nice.

Kyoto: Our hotel was convenient because we did lots of buses. The room was spacious, but nothing like the Cerulean in Tokyo. Our guide Masaaki Tanaka fooled us because we saw him at first and he is an older gentleman but he was quicker and more fast paced than us. He was excellent, very knowledgeable and very interesting. Took us to eat in a beautiful noodle house and it was raining as well so instead of going to Kiyomiu-dera Temple we went to the indoor museum where there is 1000 buddas. Very fascinating.! Had another full day with him in Nara and temple there and he was excellent.
Our other guide was Yuki, she was soft spoken and very good as well. Had a long great day with her in the Bamboo forest.

Osaka: The Westin Osaka was very nice and had good service as well. There is alot of construction going on around it there so it was a bit of a walk to the main city and train station that had all the restaurants and stores. Would have prefer to stay closer to that area. Met with Yuki again and she took us on a city tour of Osaka. The museum was very interesting, probably would have skipped the Osaka Castle, was alot of walking. The food tour at night was alot of fun and the guide was funny and very quick. She took lots of pictures, would love to see them. Hiroshima guide, was very knowlegeable and spoke great english. Gave us a full tour and great place for lunch. Forgot her name, but Im sure you must have it.

Hakone: AMAZING!!!!! The hotel was first class, the buffets were fabulous, the springs were so relaxing and the scenery was spectacular. Our guide to see Mt. Fuji was May - excellent and a great photographer too! He was witty and bought us alot of local treats so we could enjoy them. Extremely knowleagable of the area and took us to an open air museum, including Picassos, that was not on the itinerary. This Hakone open air museum, should be on the list. Our driver, Joan was professional, on time and a sweetheart! This was the perfect ending to a hectic tour of Japan. Thanks to Angel and KimKim for all the assistance and patience with us!
Arnie and Carmen