Japan Vacation Ideas

Zicasso's travel specialist and her team planned an absolutely outstanding 16-day trip for me and my family. We visited Tokyo, Ghibli Park (near Nagoya), Kanazawa, Kyoto (with day trips to Nara and Osaka), and then wrapped things up with two nights at a beautiful and luxurious ryokan in Hakone.

Communication leading up to the trip was clear and efficient, and whenever we had a question during the trip, we were able to get quick answers from our travel company's rep in Japan.

I would absolutely book another trip with this company.

We (A and B) had an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime, 36-day trip to Japan and were very grateful we found Zicasso’s travel specialist to help us plan our itinerary.

The travel specialist made sure that all our travel arrangements were well thought out and his instructions were (mostly) straightforward. He was a good listener and helped us craft an itinerary that totally suited our needs. We had about four sessions (hours) on Zoom with him before our trip to iron out details. A company that does customized tours was exactly what we were looking for and that is what we got. This way, we had a lot of say in where to go, how long to stay, how we wanted to spend our time, and what attractions we wanted to see. He told us ours was the longest trip to Japan he had helped arrange.

The trip was amazing and we were blessed to be able to see the spectacular fall foliage everywhere we went, Mount Fuji on numerous days, and many beautiful places, as well as eat authentic Japanese food and immerse ourselves in Japanese culture. In addition to all that, we had many days on our own where we were able to meet up with 12 friends of B in three different cities, people B met 45 years ago in Japan.

All the arrangements made for us by the travel company were fantastic, including local transportation, drivers in every city, and train and shinkansen rides. The accommodations were excellent too and we especially appreciated that the location of our hotels was very convenient and in the best areas. The two stays in ryokans in Hakone and Miyajima were unique and special.

Every single local guide we had was fantastic. They were all knowledgeable, friendly, personable, helpful, and kind. The drivers were terrific too and we enjoyed meeting them and talking with them.

We highly recommend this travel company if you are looking for a customized, comprehensive, and fun tour of Japan.

Zicasso’s travel specialist is amazing! She went out of her way to plan the best trip for 11 of us to Japan. She listened and understood exactly what we wanted. She is sweet and truly cares. Not only this, but she responds quickly.

As an added bonus, the travel company was reasonable, especially for all that was included. We were spoiled and had a driver and guide for most of the trip, so we did not have to worry about anything. We were also booked at lovely hotels, with delicious breakfasts and spacious rooms.

We absolutely loved our guide in Osaka and Kyoto. She was wonderful! She even got us hand warmers and gifts for Christmas! She was relaxed, positive, and went with the flow. She stayed later at times for us too! Our driver in Tokyo was able to get us a last-minute restaurant reservation for lunch because there was one more type of food we wanted to try there. He was very kind and flexible with us in Hakone too. Our guide in Tokyo was also very nice! Thank you to the team for our trip of a lifetime!!!!!

Zicasso's travel designer had less than three months to bring an amazing trip to life. Our goal was to experience the history, art, culture, and people of Japan. Mission accomplished!

There were so many highlights shared by our exceptional guides and drivers, who felt like friends and family by the trip's end. Some experiences surprised us with their creativity, joy, and value (slapstick sumo skits in Tokyo, the samurai sword experience, sushi class, open-air and Venetian glass museums in Hakone, and especially the Himeji Castle master carpenter tutorial). Though in our late 70s, walking five to seven miles per day and climbing 766-oot sacred Mount Inari weren't an issue.

The veracity of this review is paramount... the only experience we would forgo was spelunking (crawling) in the cold, wet lava cave, as in our ignorance, we were out of our element. We found joints we did not know we had! We are focused on collecting memories, not things. This fabulous trip achieved that goal. Thank you!

Zicasso’s travel specialist did a fabulous job planning our 12-day trip to Japan! We took our two kids (12 and 14 years old) and worked together to come up with such an amazing and fun itinerary covering all of our interests.

In addition to seeing the sights around Tokyo and Kyoto, the travel specialist found us classes in and outside of the cities for sushi-making, Shibori fabric dyeing, and bamboo basket-making. We had the most wonderful guides, drivers, and translators take us to an organic green tea farm (an unexpected favorite!) and even managed to get tickets to the Ghibli Museum.

We had a phenomenal time and I look forward to working with this travel company again.