Our trip to Japan with Angel and KimKim was FANTASTIC!
Japan
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May 9 - May 26, 2026
I can't say enough about KimKim and our agent Angel, and how seamless the trip she put together for us, was. The experiences - knife making in Kyoto, kintsugi in Tokyo, visiting the kaga yuzen master in Kanazawa - were wonderful, fun, and informative, real learning experiences about each craft and its history. The guides were each great. They were each thoughtful, attentive, a wealth of knowledge and information, fluent in English, on time, and receptive to our inputs as we went through our time with them. They were also founts of information about what to do during our times on our own, where to go for particular interests (e.g., purchasing indigo fabric in Osaka, restaurants in each city, gardens to visit, where to purchase ceramics), and general information about each city, including providing a detailed understanding of how to use public transportation in Tokyo & Osaka. All local arrangements were also perfect - pickups at airports and hotels, train and hotel reservations. One small thing - we found hotel rooms to be on the small side, and in Tokyo & Kyoto, upgraded to larger rooms on our arrival. Had we paid closer attention to the information about the hotel rooms we were booked into, we would have handled this prior to departure. I see this as something that was our responsibility. In summary, we were very pleased, we would consult with Angel and KimKim first on any trip in their domain for our future travel, and we are highly recommending Angel and KimKim to all of our friends and family!
Hotel Reviews
Lovely setting with sitting area. Great location 2 blocks from major shopping and food areas.
Great staff, lovely hotel - including public bath - and while a bit outside of the main attractions, next door to a subway station and some lovely parks!
Authentic experience of a ryokan. Excellent food. Great baths!
Beautiful room with balcony. Excellent buffet breakfast. Large sitting area with soft drinks and sake/wine (for a small fee), very comfortable overall. Very helpful staff.
Beautiful room, excellent location, great staff, great breakfast
Excellent location (close to major interests & train station) and breakfast. Excellent staff, helpful with dinner reservations
Activity Reviews
Words cannot describe the experience of visiting the area with snow monkeys! great sake tasting experience, very educational. Also excellent - and huge - lunch!
WOW, We REALLY made knives! A real blacksmithing experience
A very full first day in Tokyo with our guide Yumi. She was excellent, spoke English fluently, helped us find gifts to purchase, our first teacher on this trip about Shinto and - among other things - the history of the fish market and associated shrine, how to approach a shrine and temple, etc. Taught us how to use the subway. Can't say enough!
Very interesting to learn about this practice and do it! We worked with a master. We have our pieces on display in our home.
Yuki was amazing. He was our driver and guide. Excellent English, very informative all along the way,, explaining and describing, and answering our many questions. Helpd us locate and purchase sparkling sake! Beautiful trip through a mountainous area. Cedar 'forest at teh Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen shrine (other worldly big), Mt. Fuji was in the clouds, but its top emerged as we walked along one of the lakes. Delivered us safely t our hotel
Wow! Dressed to the 9's in kimono, AUTHENTIC! Not quite a formal teas ceremony, but more of a learning experience. Lots of fun!
A VERY full day with our guide Zumi! Visited the Shogun castle, and both Shinto shrine and Buddhist Temple. Each highly worth the visit with much learned and extraordinary beauty. Especially the garden at the Golden Temple and overall, the castle, where we learned about how each room of the castle was used to communicate awe to those who sought an audience with the Shogun.
An immersion in street food of Osaka. Interesting, but not the food of my first choice. Nonetheless, and worthwhile evening. VERY jam packed with people!
The deer! But the high point was the Buddhist Temple, largest man made wooden structure in the world circa 740s. It left me in awe. I was deeply moved and did not have the words to describe how or why. It stopped me in my tracks. The castle was also interesting. We chose not to visit the tower as it had already been a full day and we wanted time to find indigo dyed fabric - which we did!
A VERY interesting and educational experience regarding the history of Geisha 'culture' and how it lives on today
Into the mountains - beautiful! Two villages comprised of thatched roofed houses, less than 200 left in Japan. Beautiful setting, very peaceful. Learned a great deal about this culture
Kaga Yuzen! Unbelievable craftsmanship and beauty. Also, the visit to the samurai section was interesting, educational, and beautiful, and was helpful for us to find ceramic gifts