Classic Japan: Cities, Country, and Culture Tour

This was truly an incredible trip and one that my wife and I will never forget.  It was two weeks across 5 cities in Japan and I only wish it had been longer.  We visited Tokyo, Hakone, Takayama, Kyoto and Osaka.

There were a couple of issues that we had with some of our guides that we addressed with our travel agency and they were very understanding and helped work through the issues and make everything right.  They were top-notch in service, availability, and resolving issues to our satisfaction.

I definitely plan on using this company again in the future for another adventure.

Our trip was well organized, with no glitches. All the hotels were fully paid for, without extra charges. All the trains were reserved and travel was seamless. All pickups were on time or early. Zicasso’s travel partner was very helpful.

The one thing I would raise is the quality of the guides. We had guides in Tokyo, Hiroshima, Kyoto, Kanazawa, and Nikko, provided by our travel agency. Most were elderly and some did not speak English intelligibly.

I did a significant amount of preparation for the trip, studying Japanese history and culture to help me understand what we were going to see. I am thankful for that. Many of the guides began their careers after finishing a work career. This is their way of supplementing their income in retirement. That is perfectly fine, but they need to be up to snuff. They are required to pass a competency exam in English. However, passing such an exam does not mean one is able to function at a level appropriate for guiding.

Our one guide in Kyoto was somewhat frail and did not tell us much of anything. Her English was unintelligible unless we listened very carefully, and I seemed to be telling her more about the sites and history of the Nara, Heian, Kamakura, Muromachi, and Edo periods than she imparted. Guides need to show adequate competency in English in order to work.

Our best guide was one I found online to guide us through the history of Kobe, with emphasis on World War 2 and the history of the Jewish refugees who came to Kobe in 1940 and 1941. They were saved from the Holocaust by Chiune Sugihara, the Japanese consul in Vilnius, who issued fake visas and saved their lives. This guide’s English was impeccable and his knowledge of what we were interested in was amazing. He led the tour for free. If I can find such a guide, such guides should be available for other sites and could be found by an experienced travel agent.

I believe a guide should be a teacher and we her/his students. For me, a guided day in a place is like a classroom. If it requires more payment to find a first-class guide with adequate, intelligible English, then so be it. I speak five languages (not Japanese, of course), but would guide only in three as my fluency is not adequate in the other two.

Indeed, if one adequately prepares oneself, it might be better to have a self-guided day in a city with a step-by-step itinerary containing information on transportation between sites etc, rather than having a guide who does not speak adequate English. If it is not possible to find such guides, it would be better not to have one at all.

I know our Zicasso travel agency partners with another company, so the above comments are likely targeted at that company. I hope that this is helpful going forward.

1.  our first hotel, though having no glaring deficiencies, was still below vacation expectations.  the other two other hotels were excellent. the ryokan was a wonderful experience, with two nights just about right for our group.

2.  all four guides were knowledgeable and entertaining.  the kyoto and toyko walking tour guides were also quite vigorous as we walked many miles on those days.  the osaka guide (from the UK), not surprisingly, was the easiest to understand, so he provided more complete answers to many of our more complicated questions about japan.

3.  some of the attractions the group liked best were on our "on your own" days, including the hakone open air museum, the sumo matches, the diabutsu in nara, and the fushimi inari-taisha (though that walk up the mountain is not for the faint of heart).  i do not at all in comparison disparage the activities you scheduled.  in particular, my family very much like the tea ceremony and the skytree.

4.  one oddity was the half day we spent at disney japan.  my three daughters were raised on disney and we have been to disneyworld many times, including several when they were adults.  when we unexpectedly saw disneyland japan on the ride in from the airport, they insisted we make time for a visit.  they loved it but this is probably not a destination for most american tourists.

5.  the osaka guide was quite dismissive of the river cruise suggested in your guide, actually stating that has urged "them" (don't if that is your company or his japan employer) to remove reference to it.

6.  we ended up, against your advice, going to the robot restaurant.  my wife and i agree your advice was correct though the younger group thought it was at least a once-in-a-lifetime experience.  

7.  this was our third large group family vacation through zicasso (greece, italy, and japan) and have been more than satisfied each time.  japan in particular required much more guidance for tourists, which you provided both in the written materials and in our several conversations.  Because japan is so different from the US, tourists can easily be overwhelmed.  We could not have enjoyed the trip (which we did immensely) without your help.

     thanks again for everything.

Japan was amazing.  The coordination of this trip was unbelievable and there is NO way we could have done what we did without the help, guidance and support of this travel company.  I would highly recommend them.  Clear communication, fantastic step by step logistical details and all of their reservations were solid, with people ready and waiting at the exact right times.  I felt the pre-trip coordination was easy and thorough.  They guided us through all of the steps and made sure we had all of our travel documentation, tickets, and transportation  details squared away before we even stepped foot on our first flight.  We traveled all over the nation - Tokyo, Kamakura, Hakone, Kyoto, Himeji, Koyasan, and Kanazawa - with no issues.  There were countless times we commented on how grateful we were to have used this company, joking that this trip was likely "impossible" without their help.  They coordinated tickets to the National Grand Sumo tournament, a traditional tea ceremony, a Geisha Performance, and even a night out to Robot Restaurant.  In addition, they coordinated several full day and half day guides who were always on time and obvious specialists in their region.  On top of all that, the accommodations were wonderful with a nice mix of western hotels, traditional ryokans, and luxury resorts.  The itinerary was well paced and I often felt like the travel company had spent the time in advance to predict when we needed downtime and when we would have energy for activity.  It was almost like they knew what we wanted before we even did.  I was also impressed with the follow-up provided, knowing they had a local presence was really useful.  5 stars and full accolades.