Highlights of Japan

Customer Reviews

• LV

  Leonard

  · June 6th, 2024
  Tour guide was very knowledgeable
  

  Travel Talk commented on this review

  Hi Leonard, thank you for your review! We're glad to hear that you enjoyed your Highlights of Japan tour with your guide. We hope to see you on another adventure with us soon!
  Trip date: May 2024
• 

  Irene

  · May 26th, 2024
  The tour was great but the communication from Travel Talk was very poor. 1. We had a difficult time learning the booked hotels and only learned the final location a day or two in advance after multiple emails. 2. The tour incorrectly listed the departure time as 12 noon when the actual departure was 8:30am. 3. Details about luggage was not specified. That being said, the cities, sites and tour guide, Kay, were great and we had a fabulous time. This was our first Public Transportation Tour. We loved trains and were looking forward to using public transportation. We decided to bring one medium sized suitcase and a backpack to make walking with luggage easier. It would have been too cumbersome to have a carry-on, medium suitcase and backpack. To our surprise, we learned that our luggage would be sent from our current location to the destination we would be at in the future. This made train travel easier, but the only caveat is that you have to live out of your backpack for 1-2 days for two different portions of the journey. This was fine, but it was communicated to us by the tour company. Some people had to pay extra for luggage transport as only one piece per person was included in the tour price.
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  Trip date: May 2024
• AP

  Anita

  · April 13th, 2024
  This “tour” ended up being a poor method of transport from one city to another. Any hope of being guided and seeing places listed in the written summary were quickly dashed with the guide’s comment: “no we won’t see that/do that- the plan has changed.” The tour guide, while I’m sure a nice human being, was not at all prepared to keep ten people following him. No umbrella or flag to see him in a crowd of people. Tour member gave him a bright colored hat to find him. Without that, he would have lost us. Especially worrisome was his not good grasp of English. He said left when he meant right (a big problem in a busy train station) and several times led the exhausted group up and down stairs at stations only to realize it was the wrong way. One pair of the group had to go back to USA due to sudden death in family. He could not help them arrange for their baggage, and he would not )as in, REFUSED) to give them a manager phone number to call. Unbelievable!! Other times the tour didn’t allow for any time to buy food - if you didn’t have snacks you were out of luck for as long as twelve (yes, 12!!) hours. All in all, hotel cost and transportation cost could have been done on our own for less than half the “discount” price. Would not recommend TourRadar Japan tours AT ALL. Luggage handling was farcical - send away your luggage for 2 days between stops, no hauling of backpacks and carryons like other tour companies provide. Use of public buses where you may end up squished and standing for an hour or two. This is not a tour.
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  Travel Talk commented on this review

  Dear Anita, thank you very much for taking the time to share your experience. Firstly, can you kindly share with us the sights that you should have seen, but haven’t? We are investigating your points with our local partners and any further feedback on... Show more
  
  Trip date: March 2024
• EM

  Emma

  · January 22nd, 2024
  Our 8 day trip was amazing - the destinations were perfect (especially Takayama - where it snowed). The accom was great & the other people in the tour were really friendly - turned out to be a great combination. Above all, our tour guide Yoshi was sensational - great English, great knowledge & always got us everywhere on time. Highly recommend this tour (as long as Yoshi is your guide)
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  Travel Talk commented on this review

  Hi Emma, thank you for your wonderful review! We're so glad to hear that you had a great time on your tour through Japan with your group and guide. We really appreciate you sharing your experience, and hope to welcome you on another adventure with us... Show more
  
  Trip date: January 2024
• AD

  Antonela

  · December 30th, 2023
  Japan is a fascinating country, and this tour has a great itinerary, covering many must-see places. However, my experience with Travel Talk was not great. The tour guide had zero experience as a travel guide, it was actually his first time leading a group tour. I believe that Travel Talk only started tours in Japan in 2023, so that should have been a red flag already. But I was hopeful that by March when I went on the tour, they would haven gained a bit of experience and everything would be OK. However, that was not the case. For example, the hotels that we were supposed to stay in got changed at the last minute. This caused me much frustration both in Tokyo as well as Kyoto, because I had booked my pre and post tour accommodations based on the original hotels we were supposed to stay at. For example, in Tokyo I had to check out and travel to the other side of town to join the tour at the newly chosen hotel, wasting 2 hours of my precious time there. The itinerary was not going according to plan either. For example, in Tokyo we were supposed to go to the famous fish market. That never happened. Other items on the itinerary were removed as well, and even the guide felt bad for us and said the only thing we can do is write a review and complain to Travel Talk. Highly recommend going to Japan but not with Travel Talk.
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  Trip date: March 2023
• AD

  Anita

  · December 16th, 2023
  The food and hotel was five stars. We did everything on the list. The guide at best was a three star.
  Trip date: December 2023
• JC

  Jennifer

  · November 19th, 2023
  The 8 day "Highlights of Japan" tour run by Travel Talk was really a 6 day tour as we met for a briefing and optional diner meeting which counted as Day 1 and then Day 8 was a farewell at Breakfast. Mariko Takehana-our guide, was excellent. She was patient, knowledgeable and made our tour extremely pleasant . Tour Radar was good with pre tour communication. Travel talk was extremely poor regarding hotels and most tour participants had issues with knowing hotels and having ability to plan their trips. this puts extra unnecessary stress on travel. I would recommend Tour Radar but would hesitate to recommend Travel Talk
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  Trip date: November 2023
• ES

  Elion

  · October 3rd, 2023
  Guide was top notch; we did not the same guide as the less positive reviews below. There is so much to see and do in each of the places on the tour that it really feels like you need someone who knows what they're doing every step of the way to point you in the right direction. The stuff in the itinerary is great too. Day one is fantastic and sets the tone for the rest of the trip - active, interesting, and tiring (in a good way). I run regular 5Ks and the leg work here is no joke; my calves were worked stiff most every day. It made for a very rewarding vacation and I was sad to leave by the end.
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  Trip date: September 2023
• SC

  Steven

  · September 14th, 2023
  Excellent tour Did a lot saw a lot not having bag for 3 nights was unexpected and a bit disappointing but otherwise everything went smoothly
  

  Travel Talk commented on this review

  Hi Steven, thank you for your review! We're so glad to hear that you enjoyed your time in Japan and hope to welcome you on another adventure with us soon. All the best, Travel Talk Team
  Trip date: August 2023
• DM

  Deane

  · July 12th, 2023
  The guide was disorganized so that we missed trains, were consistently and didn’t get to see much of what was planned
  Trip date: July 2023