Having travelled the "back roads" of Japan with no Japanese language a few years ago, we knew we needed help to plan and implement the type of holiday experience we had in mind. Our agent Asuka Nagata took time to get to know our priorities and goals, and checked with us constantly to confirm that we were on the same page with routes, accommodations and experiences. Every single arrangement fell into place perfectly and kept stress levels low. Asuka recommended several experiences and accommodations which left us with a great appreciation of traditional Japanese inns outside of large cities - and the joys and conveniences of more western hotels in the few cities we visited - Sapporo, Hakodate and Tokyo. We really enjoyed the few days spent with guides who were eager to exchange ideas and to give us historical insights into the cities of Otaru in Hokkaido and Hirosaki in northern Honshu, and life in Japan more generally. With no Japanese language, we found some aspects of travel in Japan quite challenging - without the help of Asuka and Japan Holidays we probably would not attempt it, particularly in the less touristic areas we preferred to visit. We will definitely recommend Japan Holidays and Asuka to anyone planning a visit to Japan.

Thank you so much for your kind words.
I am grad to hear that you enjoyed discovering authentic Japan, from t Hokkaido and Tohoku to those in the Kanto area. Many of these destinations are still relatively unknown to international visitors, which makes them all the more special.
Japan has so many wonderful places yet to be explored, and I would be delighted to assist with your future travels whenever the opportunity arises! Asuka

Hello Japan Holidays,

I am emailing to let you know how absolutely grateful I am for the diligence, care and warmth I experienced from your agent, Noriko Natori.

In my many years of travel I have never been so impressed with such careful attention to detail, such prompt responses to any query, such sincere care for my (and my husband’s) well-being when there was a train suspension en route. Noriko was such a delight in all her dealings with us. I cannot commend her highly enough.

I will certainly recommend your company, and Noriko in particular, to anyone I know who is planning to visit Japan.

Yours sincerely,
Penelope

Dear Penelope san,

Thank you so much for your lovely review. We are delighted that you enjoyed your second trip to Japan. We hope to help you plan a third visit and welcome you back again in the future!
Warm regards,
Noriko

We had previously discovered that small-group tours offered by companies that had in-depth knowledge of specific regions or countries were a great way to "discover" culture, history, scenery and food ,which otherwise would not have been experienced by us.

After a little bit of searching, Japan Holidays presented itself as a great fit for our first trip to Japan as it is an Australian company which focuses solely on travel in Japan. That fact-  together with the impressive customer reviews- lead us to deciding upon a Cherry Blossom tour,with the request that the other 14 days of our trip be arranged as well.

From the moment we were met at the airport our rather vague expectations of the trip ( as we knew Japan culturally is quite different to other countries we had been to ) were not just met, but well and truly exceeded.

Our guide was Ken,who had lived near Melbourne for around 10 years. To say that he is quite an  engaging , intelligent  person would be an understatement which sells him short. He knew heaps and had a wonderful capacity to engage in plenty of factual historical story telling with a charming ability to slightly embellish  the facts to enhance our experience. For example, we have endured some harsh drought times on our farm so he went to the effort of changing the itinerary to visit an amazing aquifer which discharges massive volumes of water, while at the same time, taking me to the small temple of the Water God with whom he introduced me to. It rained heavily when we got back to the farm.... So what more can I say, except that every night we went for dinner at  fascinating local establishments where local residents were the only patrons ,apart from us, with fascinating  food that we had never had before, even though my wife cooks Japanese food once a week.

All in all, a top notch experience.

Trip going v well. Thank you. Pete and I thrilled with our hotel in Tokyo - so well placed to wheel our small bags (left the big ones there) the 3 blocks straight to platform 9.

All continuing wonderfully well. We are in love with the Art Islands ( and grateful for our night in Benesse House) could you tell your colleague how helpful our guide was(Masa) for everything but particularly orienting us.

Hotel JR Clement excellent and well positioned as you said.  I could go on about the delights of Takumatsu—- there’s a very famous garden there, a Shogun Palace and the train trip across the Inland Sea was quite exciting with our special seats.

Hi Juliane,

Lewis and I wanted to say thank you very much for helping us with our recent Japan trip.

Shiga Kogen was absolutely fantastic and we want to go back in the near future. It was the perfect relax and the Prince Hotel reminds me so much of the resort my family has always stayed at in Smiggins. Getting to the Prince Hotel then onto Kyoto was a breeze with your instructions! How easy you made all the trains for us does not go unnoticed. Lewis was thrilled at the planning.

Baggage transfers were so easy as well. This was something that had me worried but again, so easy.

Getting to Suzuka while staying in Osaka was a mission, which we expected — but for any future travellers, our biggest tip would be to leave Osaka by 7am and leave Suzuka at 6pm. This gives an additional 2hrs at the track to see the happenings and not feel rushed.

Thank you again. I am very sure we will at some point book Shiga Kogen again!