Real stories from travelers who experienced Japan with us. Premium guided tours since 1983. Showing 1–50 of 1865.
This tour was absolutely phenomenal, I couldn’t have had a better time. The tour guide Kana was amazing, so kind and knowledgeable, she went above and beyond to make sure it was a once in a lifetime opportunity. I couldn’t recommend this any higher.
The trip was great with amazing guide and bus driver! We wish we had more time for shopping and the Kyoto itinerary included more iconic sites of Kyoto.
We have travel extensively in many parts of Europe, North and South America, but never to Asia. Mostly the two of us researching sites and making it on foot. Recently and as we entered our 70’s we began to see the benefits of small group tours but true enlightenment came with a private tour of Greece. The sites are imprinted on my brain. So we searched for a private tour for Japan and found it at Deluxe Japan Tours out of San Diego. Yuki became our contact as we worked off an existing ten day group adventure, curating it to our taste for cultural and historical sites. We had brilliant guides through three different areas and traveled by Shinkansen, bullet train, between. They understood our needs and often moved sites around or added to our schedule with off the beaten path surprises that knocked us out. Hotels with breakfast were great and each very different. Most of our meals we looked after but they gifted us with a remarkable Japanese dinner and hot springs in Hakone. We felt safe and understood; we laughed and cried at the beauty of so many national treasures and we began to understand the Japanese culture. It was everything we had hoped for and more. We highly recommend Deluxe Japan Tours, they never let us down.
This was our first all inclusive group tour. On past vacations, we preferred setting our own pace and agenda. But, given the language barrier, lack of knowledge about the country, and the size of our group (6), we decided to give the tour a try. We made the right choice. There were no snags. We were kept busy but not overwhelmed. We saw and did way more than we could have scheduled on our own. Our guides were great (especially Yoshi). We stayed in 3 hotels and all exceeded our expectations. (By the way, staying on each hotel 2 or 3 days is a super way to go as it cuts down on packing, moving, etc.) The food was excellent and exciting (our only complaint being a so-called kobe beef hamburger which was terrible). The tour certainly gave us a feel for Japan and its citizens, who consistently met us with much warmth and friendliness. We highly recommend visiting Japan, and we highly recommend using a tour such us this to make the most of your experience.
JDT staffs are very helpful. Helping and Answering questions promptly. 10days tour but that included arrival, departure,and 1 free day on our own. So the tour with this group basically 7 days. The hotels, bus, program and guide are perfectly set. I really have a great time in this 7 days.
We really enjoyed this tour and learned a little bit about Japan and its culture. The tour guide was very helpful in recovering Carmen's pursue lost in the bullet train. Thanks again Keigo! Nelson & Carmen
Everything was excellent!!! Specially Keygo our guide, he was beyond that excepted!!! Congratulations!!
My wife and me really enjoy this trip, our tour guy Hide was wonderful, the hotels, breakfast , lunches and dinners were spectacular. We visited many castles , museums , markets, parks etc.. my wife was stunning with cherry blossom everywhere..highly recommend
Great tour with great people
Amazing...The tour itinerary and the tour guido were perfect. Food was great, places we visited were fabulous... A dreamed trip
My husband and I had a lovely experience in Japan thanks to Japan Deluxe Tours. From the initial booking, the process was super organized with frequent communication. The hotels worked out great and we liked the order of the cities we visited. Tokyo first and then ending in beautiful Hiroshima. The tour covered so much more then we could have seen on our own. We would highly recommend them!
The tour was wonderful. Each day was jammed packed with activities. This is perfect for people who like Anime, but absolutely great for those who don’t but enjoy learning about Japan’s pop culture. Combined with Japan’s traditional highlights, it was a trip to remember. Loved TeamLab, Sky Tree, Bamboo Forest visit in rickshaw, Ghibli Museum and digital lazer tag! Express pass a must at Universal Studios - able to hit most of the best rides with little to no wait. All tour guides we had were passionate about their job. I would have loved to see Sumo wrestling, I hear there is one comedic one with retired wrestlers. Meeting a maiko/geisha and Q/A was fun. Accommodations were good and included breakfast buffets! Thanks again
It was a fabulous tour! It was well organized, with knowledgeable guides, especially Kazo, who spent a lot of time with us and took the time to inform us as the bus progressed. The food was delicious, and the beauty of the omnipresent cherry blossoms was unparalleled.
Katzu was a great guide who went above & beyond!!! Knows his stuff and kept it fun, entertaining and educational. Geri
The tour we went on was a whirlwind of new and fun experiences. Each stop was well chosen and the guides, especially Kazu, we're phenomenal. It was a perfect first trip to Japan, though at some points we wished there had been slightly fewer stops and more time to fully enjoy every location. Regardless, we had a great time and will definitely be taking more trips to Japan in the future.
Coming from getting a tour company for a Japan trip cancelling us 3 times in a row, Japan Deluxe Tours came to the rescue for us! Me and my partner went with the Private Discover Japan 10 day tour route and Yuki helped us all the way through from helping us booking the tour, our flights, to even recommending activities. The communication is top notch too, from emailing about activities to giving direct updates from the other guides via Whatsapp. For those with allergies, they are very careful to book and help guide us to which hotel and eatery is safe from certain allergens too. The local eatery spots are so much fun and makes you feel like a local :) This group is the only one in my book that has DisneySea as a part of the optional itinerary where as others don't offer at all. Aside from the major highlights of Japan, there were some unique stuff they recommended. For example if you are a Final Fantasy fan, they had some guides who knows about it too and they recommended us a place besides Eorzea Cafe that none of us knew about even as a long time Final Fantasy fan. Out of my experience, we went on the Shinkansen a lot more than the previous tour I've been to so that was a huge plus. Also it was really fun to go on the local trains too :D The other local guides are the best so major shout out to: Kyoko, Fumihiko, Yoshito, Hisayo, Ayako, Nobuko~! All of you guys and Japan Deluxe Tours are the best~! Thank you so much for making our first private tour so memorable!
Terrific Guide and fantastic help from Tour Radar when my flight was delayed out of Cairns and I missed connecting with the Tour where I should have but they got me to the next stop brilliantly. The blossom was unbelievably beautiful.
From the people to the Convenience Stores (especially FamilyMart), we miss every thing about Japan, especially Kyoto. We are going to save our funds again, but Japan is definitely on our go to list in the future again. Keigo-san is the BEST tour guide we have ever had. Skillful and very caring, he is wonderful!
The trip was unbelievable. Our guide l, Miho, was great!!! We really appreciate the whole process, from booking to getting back! Thank you so much for everything!!
The tour of Japan with Japan Deluxe Tours was fantastic! Miho, our tour guide, was very informative and knowledgable. She would always go out of her way to ensure that our experience was nothing short of excellent! Highly recommend booking this tour when you visit Japan as you are guaranteed to see many of the beautiful sites/locations Japan has to offer. 10/10!!
An amazing introduction to the wonders and sites that Japan has to offer. Our guide, Miho, was extremely knowledgeable and strived to ensure the whole group had the best experience possible.
First international trip for my husband and I however JDT made it super easy with so much to see and do during our anime based tour! Miho-san was our guide and filled our days with lots of culture education as we took in the sights and gave us native insiders when shopping. I cannot stress how amazing she was with full itineraries and a large group full of curiosity, she's a superwoman! Definitely recommend booking with JDT for Japan travels
I recently completed the 9-day Highlights of Japan tour, and overall, it was a wonderful experience! Our tour guide, Miho, truly made the trip memorable. She went above and beyond when I became sick, personally taking me to a pharmacy, keeping an eye on my daughter while I rested, and even arranging a taxi back to our hotel. Her kindness and professionalism stood out the entire trip. She also made sure I always had vegetarian options at our group meals, which I deeply appreciated. The itinerary was packed with amazing sights from the serene temples to bustling cityscapes and every day offered something new to discover. My only wish is that we had a bit more free time for shopping, as Japan’s shopping districts are vast and fascinating. The first hotel, The Prince Shiomi, was excellent, comfortable rooms, great service, and a delicious breakfast. However, the hotels after that felt like a step down in quality. If I had one major critique, it would be the tour-provided meals. The standout was our dinner at Gonpachi Nishi-Azabu, which was fantastic, but most of the other meals were disappointing, the food often arrived cold and lacked variety, especially for vegetarians. Even the lunch at the Open Air Museum in Hakone, while in a beautiful setting, could have been much better in terms of freshness and selection. With improved food options, this tour easily could have been a 10 out of 10 for me and my daughter. Despite that, the experiences, organization, and care shown by MiHo made it a trip we’ll always remember fondly.
Family of 5 adults traveled to Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima, and Miyajima, in 10 days on bullet train, Metro, Monorail, and bus, with the best tour guide Mr. Yoshi. That is a lot of moving around, but what we requested. Mr. Yoshi and Deluxe Tours, did an outstanding job!
I went on the 13 day Anime Japan tour that ended in Hiroshima during Cherry Blossom season and had an amazing time! I was a little nervous solo traveling, but everyone on the tour made me feel less lonely and our tour guide Miho was also amazing. She was very informative and I learned a lot about the country with her. She also accommodated everyone the best she could and made sure that I got to see the things I wanted to. I'm really glad I went with Japan Deluxe Tours and recommended it to some friends who are also thinking of taking their own trip one day.
We booked a 9 day tour with Japan Deluxe Tours, and they did an outstanding job. Would definitely recommend this company. Our tour guide Ms. Mihoko went above and beyond to make our vacation the best experience ever, we were blessed to have her as our guide. All we had to do was wake up and be at the lobby every morning, from there everything was take care of for us. From the transportation to the tour sites to the tickets to go in. Exceptional experience.
Loved Japan! Our guide, Kazu was terrific. Tour days were packed with interesting activities, particularly enjoyed those where we made our own Japan themed meals. Would have given 5 star rating except for the advertised misnomer of “10 day guided tour”, which was really 7 day guided tour. Day 1 ride from airport to hotel, day 2 “see Tokyo on your own”, day 10 ride from hotel to airport.
This is the best trip I've ever been on. There were a few stops that I wish were a bit longer, but I'm glad we saw so much! The anime spots were amazing, but I also enjoyed the cultural parts of the tour. If you get Kazu as your guide, you're lucky, because he's the best.
What a wonderful time we had! We fully recommend this tour. We are SO impressed with Japan. Our guide Kazu was terrific!
The trip was amazing! From the places we went, to the people I met, every bit of it was so amazing and I would highly recommend. What made the trip even more memorable was our tour guide Kazu! He made it such an elevated experience and at the end, I was sad to part ways. He offered a look into Japan that I truly believe you can’t get anywhere else and created memories I won’t ever forget.
Our tour guide was great. He was friendly and knowledgeable. The trip was very well planned and we managed to visit every spot and extra places with plenty of time to hang around. We also got a good explanation of the historical background of the places we were visiting. Overall this has been a very enjoyable trip.
This was our first trip to Japan and I couldn't have been happier. We did the traditional and anime tour in early April 2025 which was the perfect time for cherry blossom season. We had an amazing time and we did so much. The hotels are all conveniently located to many restaurants, convenient stores, shopping centers etc. Yuki and Kana were our guides and made sure that we were safe and had a good time. They were the absolute best! I recommend JDT, they were very efficient and communicative with me throughout this whole experience. I will cherish this experience forever and I highly recommend this agency if you are traveling to Japan for the first time and it's great for the cost. My recommendation is to book pre and/or post stays so that way you can really spend time in areas you want to see. There is so much to do especially in Tokyo. Thank you JDT for making my dream come true❤️🙏
We can’t thank you enough for every part of this trip process. From the booking to the information and eventually the smooth easy days. We always knew where to go and what to do and our tour guide, Yuki, was phenomenal. We plan to come back and I’ve already been singing your praises online to my circles. It was truly the best experience of our lives. Thank you all!
This trip was my son’s dream trip - and it was exactly what we were looking for. Amazing sites, amazing food, and Yuki our guide made all of this possible. Thank you so much, Alison, Michael, and Joshua
It was great trip for a first time visit. The tour guide was very helpful on showing everyone around made a lot of good suggestions. I would have liked more time at certain places and areas. At least in Kyoto when the tour ended there was very little time to go to any shops that I wanted to. Other than that it was a great first experience in Japan.
Our tour guide was excellent. He was knowledgeable, interesting and entertaining. Kazu made our trip a wonderful experience full of favorable lifetime memories.
We were so pleased with the entire experience. Our guide, Hide, was excellent.! His knowledge and experience and energy inspired us. And overall, it was a true pleasure to visit Japan. An amazing experience of a lifetime, I hope to return someday in the future and my daughter hopes to study in Japan when she enters college.
The whole trip was planned accordingly per our request without any difficulties. Hotels are nice and in good walking distance to many places. Our tour guide, he is very knowledgeable, friendly, kind and helpful. This tour itinerary will take you to the most well known places of Japan. You will get to experience and enjoy the best time in Japan with JDT!
Truly had a great time visiting Japan and our tour operator took the time to explain the history and culture. Maximized each day of the tour .
We just returned from our 11 day tour of Japan. It was the our first time there and it was made much more enjoyable by our tour guide Miho. She was very knowledgeable and thorough. She looked after everyone and was very gracious throughout the tour. She learned everyone's names and spoke with everyone all the time. She was professional even when we were visiting Hiroshima even though it would have been painful for her, considering we were Americans. I will always remember her and would like to be with her again,if we ever have a chance to visit your lovely country. Mine and Ismet Ozkazanc
What an amazing time and an amazing trip. We had such a wonderful experience on our first trip to Japan. This trio was jam-packed with activities and things to do. Our tour guide Kana was absolutely wonderful. She taught us so much about Japan, the culture, and took great care to ensure we had an amazing time. I truly appreciate her knowledge, kindness, patience, and getting to know her. Our experience with JDT was great from beginning to end. We are truly grateful for the experience we had.
The Tour exceeded my expectations. It was well organized and we had competent tourists guides who were friendly and spoke English well. We visited several cities, many temples, museums, parks, tea ceremonies and other interesting places, giving us a glimpse of Japan"s culture.I enjoyed very much.
Exiting trip to Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima, and smaller cities in between. Hido , our English speaking guide provided excellent service. The hotels were clean and efficient. Exciting cultural and visionary sights. Bus trips between cities were comfortable. The bullet train ride between Tokyo and Kyoto was a once in a lifetime experience. The days were filled with touring beautiful gardens, temples, and historic sites. Fun learning how to make sushi and Udon. I would recommend for first time visitors to Japan. Lots of walking and touring.
We had a great time. All activities are wonderful. The timing for each activity is efficient. Kana san is super friendly and helpful.
It was everything I was hoping for. The tour guide was helpful and had lots of info if all the sits we want to. Two miner complaints is the time we had at animefest was too short and should have been most of the day as it took almost two hours to get in to the place and we only spend 2 hours there, and the joyopiles time needed to be at lest 3 or 4 hours there, only had 1 and a half.
We had a fabulous time. There was lots to do every day. The hotels were great. The food was good Hide our guide was awesome. We could never have seen everything that we saw on our own.
This tour was quite nice. The accomodations were tight and a couple were extraordinary (while 2 were just adequate). We had 2 guides. Kana kept us informed abt the places we were to visit but did not offer information re:any Japanese history after 1853. She was giggly and friendly. The 2nd half of the tour was guided by Miho who was very professional informative & responsive. I was still looking for Japanese history after 1853 & she had provided that background earlier during the tour. She added some info to us all & privately to me in an attempt to answer my questions. I felt the feudal history of Japan was well covered but anything after Commodor Perry was non existant unless I probed. The tour's itinerary was good & was completed well. We appreciated the many stops which we would not have seen on our own - golf leaf plate stenciling, noodle making, kimino museum, rickshaw ride, ninja museum along with the many temples & shrines. The botanical gardens were beautiful. We were pleased with the tour & with our visit to Japan. I only wish to learn more about Japan in the 20th & 21 century
My family took the 18 Days Takayama & Villages | Grand Tour - Cherry Blossom Seasonal Tour From Tokyo To Osaka latter part of March to early April 2025. It was our first time to use Japan Deluxe Tours. We are very pleased with JDT. Their staff, Mimoe and Yuki were very responsive and patient in providing us information and answering my questions. JDT is organized and kept us up-to-date from the reservation stage through the end of the trip. I will definitely use JDT again when we visit the northern part of Japan in the future and will recommend it to my friends who plan to travel to Japan in the future. The 18-days tour had a great itinerary. We had a great time with various places we visited, cooking classes, meeting a Geisha, Matsumoto Castle, fun experiences, gorge/waterfalls, hot springs, and many more. It was amazing how many fun, historic, educational, beautiful, and scenic places we were able to visit in 18 days. The places we visited were great examples of modern and traditional Japanese culture. The rickshaw ride through the bamboo forest was a highlight and the cooking classes, tea-dyeing activity were fun and enjoyable. The beautiful cherry blossoms were a delight to enjoy every day and accompanied by gorgeous weather. We couldn’t ask for more. We had two compassionate and well-organized tour guides. Our first tour guide was Kana. She is very knowledgeable about the cultural & historical places we visited. She is also very friendly, kind, patient with each guest and funny. She always prepared us in advance to get the most out of each visit. She was able to find a stationery store for me that sells washi paper and other paper supplies. She taught us the correct way to bow and clap at Shinto Shrines and Buddhist Temples. We were very fortunate to have her. Our second tour guide was Miho. She is extremely knowledgeable; provides a wealth of information; and goes out of her way to help us with questions. She made sure everyone had a good experience. She is very detailed about the sights and locations to visit, souvenir shops, the culture of the place, etc. She is very patient, friendly, good-natured, kind, personable, very professional and helpful to every one of our 30+ members. We were very lucky to have her as our guide. We were also fortunate to have with us--Amy, staff of JDT, Torrance, California office. She joined our tour as a JDT representative doing social media related job assignment. She is very friendly, personable and so willing to help. She assisted a lot in all the places we visited, providing answers to our questions. It was great to have an extra staff person in the tour. She was a wonderful person to be with. Thank you very much, Amy. Our drivers were exceptional; very skilled in maneuvering around curves and narrow mountain roads and navigating in busy city streets too. They drove us to our destinations safely. Overall, it was a delightful tour! This was well organized, with excellent stops, and the best tour guides-Kana and Miho. This is perfect for first time Japan visitors. You just need a lot of energy as there is a lot of fast-paced walking and some climbing up and down stairs. Plenty of very beautiful locations to visit per day, but you have to be able to keep up physically. Busy, never bored, but on a schedule. This 18-day tour was cherry blossom season so everywhere was very crowded. Expect crowds and long lines in shops, food stalls, restrooms, etc. A few suggestions for improvement: 1) Add in a little more free time, especially in the days in/around Kyoto, so we could explore (and take a break) on our own. 2) Remove from JDT hotel list the Dormy Inn in Osaka. Dark hallways and very cramped room especially making it a triple room. We were not very satisfied with this hotel. Very inconvenient in getting on and off the bus with big suitcases. We had to walk for 5 minutes rolling our big luggage to this hotel amidst crowds of people as we crossed the street to get to the hotel. 3) Suggest to the management of the Wasabi Farm to display a real live wasabi plant for visitors to see up close. We saw the wasabi but on a far distance.
Our Essence of Spring Tour was fantastic. It had just the right amount of travel and scenery and consisted of ensuring all attractions had adequate time allocated. Our tour guide, Hide-san, was extremely knowledgeable and provide a wealth of information. We would highly recommend this tour and would use Japan Deluxe Tours again in the future.
The staff of Japan Deluxe Tours were very helpful in answering my questions and the tour guide was experienced and prepared.