Splendours of Japan (Takayama Festival, 9 Days)

Customer Reviews

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  Marcie

  · October 5th, 2024
  Avoid Trafalgar’s Splendors of Japan with Hiroshima Tour & Terrible Experience with Trafalgar's Guest Services I strongly advise against booking Trafalgar’s Splendors of Japan with Hiroshima tour. While our guide was professional, they spoke to us like we were children, which quickly became condescending and frustrating. The itinerary was poorly planned, with way too much time spent on the bus and not nearly enough time at the actual attractions. Despite the sweltering heat, there were no adjustments made to accommodate the weather, leaving us uncomfortable and exhausted. The hotels were outdated, and no precautions were taken to ensure guests' health, which was especially concerning during a group tour. The experience felt far too touristy and staged rather than authentic, making it a huge letdown for anyone hoping to truly experience Japan. Group meals were also disappointing—unimaginative and lacking local flair. Considering the price, this tour is not worth it. Between the rushed schedule, uninspired itinerary, and lack of concern for guests' comfort and health, it was a major disappointment. I would recommend looking elsewhere if you want a meaningful, well-organized trip to Japan. Additionally, our experience with Trafalgar’s Guest Services was extremely disappointing. We contacted them during our tour with urgent concerns, and it took days for them to respond. When they finally did, their answer was dismissive—they told us we’d have to wait until after the trip for any resolution. This left us feeling helpless and unheard while still on the tour. After the trip, we reached out again hoping for some accountability, but instead received a detailed response that completely brushed off all of our concerns. They offered no remedy or compensation for the issues we raised, despite how much we paid for the tour. It was clear that they were not interested in making things right. We expected better service from a company like Trafalgar, and this experience left us frustrated and dissatisfied. I would not recommend relying on their guest services for any meaningful support.
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  Trafalgar commented on this review

  Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback with us. We appreciate your input and apologise for any inconvenience you may have experienced. Our team has initiated a case to review your booking, and our Guest Relations Department will contact... Show more
  Trip date: September 2024
• KG

  Kevin

  · March 24th, 2024
  A pretty comprehensive tour
  

  Trafalgar commented on this review

  Thank you for choosing Trafalgar for your travel adventure; we appreciate your positive review and being our guest.
  
  Trip date: March 2024
• VB

  Vivian

  · November 18th, 2023
  The itinerary provided a very wide and varied taste of Japanese culture. The tour guide was personable and excellent.
  

  Trafalgar commented on this review

  Thank you for taking the time to share your review with us. We appreciate hearing from our clients and learning about their experiences. We are thrilled to hear that you enjoyed the exciting itinerary we had planned for you and that you found our Travel... Show more
  Trip date: October 2023
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  Aida

  · August 29th, 2023
  Nicely organized tour. Perfect hotels. Great food everywhere. Very comfortable busses. Extremely well organized, knowledgeable and caring tour director.
  

  Trafalgar commented on this review

  Thank you for sharing your review and photos with us. We're grateful for your positive feedback. We are delighted to learn that your Travel Director made you feel at home while sharing their expertise, insider tips, local secrets, and top... Show more
  
  Trip date: August 2023
• DD

  Debra

  · April 19th, 2023
  Tour itself was quite good but Trafalgar's communication is extremely slow and definitely sub standard. Also lied about final destination; it was Kyoto NOT Osaka as advertised. They also are way too slow at providing a proper itinerary, we missed out on Imperial Palace in Tokyo because they didn't know the opening tines
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  Trafalgar commented on this review

  Thank you for sharing your feedback with us during your time in Japan. Our Splendours of Japan starts from Tokyo and ends in Osaka; however, at times, for the safety of our valuable guests, there are occasions of last-minute changes to an itinerary due... Show more
  Trip date: April 2023
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  Caroline

  · April 16th, 2018
  Awesome itinerary and tour.
  Trip date: March 2018
• AP

  Abhay

  · April 16th, 2018
  Great tour, well paced for elderly people. Hotel locations were excellent.
  Trip date: April 2018
• EW

  Errol

  · November 18th, 2017
  This tour was an excellent introduction to the special features of Japan: its history, culture, contemporary developments and aesthetic achievements. Well chosen events and locations meant we were introduced to Shinto and Buddhist traditions, technological advances, sushi making, traditional paper making, types of saki, and a wide range of geographical features from Mount Fuji-san to traditional gardens and samurai temples. Tokyo and Kyoto were focal points, but we also travelled through the Japanese mountains entering an amazing complex of roads and tunnels through steep terrain, tree-covered hillsides and cultural heritage sites. Our tour guide, Kaito, provided a continual commentary of interesting background and explanation. There were numerous high points and no lows.
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  Trip date: November 2017
• PH

  Pauline

  · April 27th, 2017
  The tour was excellent as was our tour director
  Trip date: April 2017
• S

  sofia

  · April 25th, 2017
  We have just returned from 9 day tour. Our tour director Naggi was great. She did everything to accommodate all our needs. The locations and the hotels themselves were very good. It is true that the hotel in Nagano was not on the same level but we were brought in at the end of the very long day so nobody had any desire to leave the hotel for any exploration and we got an excellent opportunity to change into kimonos, experience Japanese onsen and had the great buffet dinner. My greatest complaint is with Trafalgar's itinerary. For the first day in the itinerary it says 'see the Tokyo skytree' but it should say " mention the Tokyo skytree". "5th station" on mount Fuji - none though there were weather problems. The worst part though was that we drove to the Goykayama in anticipation of washi paper demonstration but instead were had 30 minutes in Mr. Murakami house for the very mediocre presentation, drove an 1.5 hour to Kanazawa and then told that by the way tomorrow we should drive back to Goykayama to watch washi paper demonstration. How can any company plan such things?! If for whatever reason washi demonstration could not be done on the day of the tour they should have replaced it with for example pottery demonstration which Kanazawa is famous for. As the result when the group came back after 3 hour roundtrip it started raining and there was no time to enjoy one of the real highlight of the tour - Kenroku-en garden. The itinerary in Tokyo is very poor. They could have done Edo Museum, Asakusa (greatly overrated) and Imperial Palace (worth 40 minutes) in one day, leave out sushi preparation as optional but on the second day organize the day trip to Nikko. Moreover Nijo castle is the real highlight in Kyoto (not planned) while overcrowded Fukushima Inari (planned) is curious at best. Bottom line: the itinerary deserves C+ at best.
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  Trip date: April 2017