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Airport: Haneda
Airline: Delta Airlines (Direct flight from Seattle to Tokyo- 9.5 hrs going and 8.5 hrs. returning home

HOTELS:

4 nights Tokyo Asakusa - Gate Kaminarimon hotel (Scenic King room)
2 nights Hakone - Gora Byakudan Ryokan (Ken room)
3 nights Kyoto -Granvia Hotel (Superior twin room)
2 nights Kanazawa- Hyatt Centric (king room)
2 nights Takayama -(Shirakawago Village) (Superior Double)
1 night Matsumoto -Mercure hotel (Corner Deluxe Twin)

Background: We are in our 60’s and travel quite a bit (mostly Europe, Canada & South Pacific) and this was our first time to Japan. I am Japanese American and my grandparents immigrated from Japan so this journey was extra special to me. Japan has been on my bucket list for many years. We avoided going to some of the touristy sites due to the crowds.

I am a big fan of Fodors Travel Forum especially reading trip reports. I find them more helpful then any travel books. I like to thank Progol’s and Vickiebypass for their trip reports and photos. It helped me narrow down where I wanted to visit. I am very impressed when travelers who do their journey on their own in Japan. While in Japan, I was consciously thinking could we have done this on our own? No, it would not have been easy especially since we aren’t fluent in Japanese.

I decided after much research to go with a tour guide company and was looking for a small group tour. Everyone seems to be going to Japan. So far, 24 million tourists have visited Japan (through September) this year. It seemed all small tours were full for October when I started to research 6 months ago. We elected to do a private tour with Inside Japan Tours Company. I was impressed because their office in Colorado called me the next day after I sent an email inquiry. They also have an office in Nagano, Japan, who handles all the logistics.

I hope my trip report will be helpful to those who are thinking or planning to visit Japan. I must warn you that my report is very long.

We were fortunate that Delta Airlines has a direct flight from Seattle to Haneda airport. This airport is closer then Narita Airport. After going through Immigrations and Customs, you then go get your luggage. Carousel was identified and we found our luggage quickly.

Our tour company had someone meet us at the Haneda airport with our name on a sign so we immediately saw the person. He led us to where our private car was located right outside the airport door. It was about 35 min drive to our hotel in Northern Tokyo. There wasn’t much traffic which surprised me at 1:30pm.

The Gate Hotel-Kaminarimon is a modern boutique hotel in Tokyo’s Asukusa district, directly opposite form the famous Kaminarimon “Thunder God” gate which leads to Senso-Ji Temple. The lobby was on the 13th floor with amazing views. This location is in Northern Tokyo and consider less crowded then Central Tokyo. What was appealing to me is this hotel has a terrace bar which has views of the Tokyo Skytree and Senso-Ji Temple from the distance. Next door is a grocery market.

Our first day was on our own so we walked around the Asukusa district.

There were hundreds of tourists going through Thunder Gate and through the Nakamises-dori with many colorful rows of souvenir and food stalls leading you to the Senso-Ji temple. There were side alleys and covered passages with more shops and small food places. It was a perfect location for us.

We found most small restaurants do not take reservations and there were some lines of people waiting to go in. There are some places that had menus in English and we did find places for our dinner after walking around.

Second day
Our private guide was on time and met us in the lobby. He took us to the Senso-Ji Temple which is the oldest temple in the city.

We stopped at the wishing wall that was near the temple. So many people were there so I thought it would be fun to try my luck. For 100 yen you can follow the instruction (English available) and retrieve your paper fortune. If it was not good, then you needed to tie it on the string nearby.

Nearby is an impressive five story Pagoda containing the ashes of a Buddha.

I was impressed with all the women who were wearing their beautiful kimonos. Their hair was up and adorn with beautiful hair ornaments. I was told that many are tourists.

Our first week in Japan was very warm in the mid-70 and very humid and in Kyoto where the temperature went up to 84 one day. Our guide said this was unusual weather for October.

The Sumida river with only 5-10 minutes walk and we could see the Tokyo Skytree & famous Asahi Breweries main headquarters building. It was designed by French designer, Philippe Starck. Our guide said that the infamous “golden turd” was supposed to be positioned vertically to represent a beer drop but they did not receiving zoning approval.

We walked over to the Akususa subway station that was nearby and took the subway to see the Emperor’s Palace and East Garden. You could not really see the palace where the Emperor and his family lives. There are 100 police officers that protect the Emperor, wife and their daughter. You can see some ruins from the Edo Castle on the grounds. It was nice to stroll through this park and to see the moats that surrounds it. From the plaza you have amazing view of the Nijubashi double bridge with the white Fushimi-yagura watchtower in the background. Kokyo Gaien National Garden is nearby.

Stop at the Nezu Shrine before we walked over to Yanaka district and walked through this old residential neighborhood. What was interesting is how many shrines and temples were on the same street. In Japan, there are over 150,000 shrines and temples in Japan. From here we took another subway to Ueno Park. Ueno park were getting ready for the Autumn festival. This was most enjoyable as we could people watch and listened to music. An amazing 10 year old boy was masterfully playing a Japanese 3 string instrument called shamisen. Then later we sat down and enjoyed draft beer talking to other tourists. They were selling all kinds of food including small grilled fish on a stick.

Next day we took 12 subway trains throughout the day. I think yesterday we took about 10 trains but I started counting today. Not all lines go directly to tourist sites. For one of our sites, it took 4 lines to get to the destination. It was helpful that the guide led us through the terminal to find the right colored lines. Despite taking the subway, we still did a ton of walking each day.

Sites we visited:

Rikugien Garden - Small and pretty Edo—era garden. This was a pretty garden and as a birder I was happy to spot these birds: Azure Kingfisher,Japanese Robin, White Wagtail & Rose Ringed Parakeet.

Nezu Shrine- Tori shrine gates on a smaller scale.

Nishiki Fish and Meat Market - It was bustling and crowded. My husband got fooled by the fake food lying in the sun. There are many places that use fake food to show what type of food they serve.

Ginza district- It was the weekend so they had closed off some of the street. Mobs of people here and our guide said it would be even busier in the evening. Lots of high-rise buildings so we didn’t find this appealing. It is also has a Kabuki Theater here.

Ueno Park - We enjoyed this park very much so we went back to visit their Autumn Festival. Lots of Japanese lanterns filled the vendors booth and entertainers and musicians. This park was wonderful and it also has a zoo.

There were tons of people out since it was the weekend. It's a very pretty park and close to the Tokyo National Museum.


Gate Hotel Kaminarimon -

Scenic King Room

Hotel outside terrance

Tokyo Skytree

Thunder Gate late at night

Nijubashi double bridge with Fushimi-yagura watchtower

Rikugien Garden

Autumn Festival in Ueno Park

portobelloB

HAKONE

We had a driver pick us up at the hotel and take us to Hakone. There was terrible traffic and it was almost 3 1/2 hour drive. If you took a train it was only 75 min. from Tokyo. We learned later that we had traveled during a holiday called Sports Day commemorate the anniversary of the opening ceremony of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Everyone was going to the Fuji-Hakone National Park. Japan’s busiest National park.

The ryokan we stayed at was Gora Byakudan. It is a 16 room ryokan with each room has it’s private natural hot spring onsen bath. It is pretty isolated so you would need to check the buses or take taxis to get to the main attractions. It also has a public onsen and spa which we didn’t use.

Our room was called the Ken room and it’s our largest room of all the hotels we stayed at. The view from the lobby of the mountains was breathtaking. We were warmly greeted by the staff. There is slipper etiquette here so we left our shoes and wore slippers. When you get to the room, then there is room slippers. Before going out on your private deck, there are deck slippers. It was nice to relax before we went to dinner. They provide us with yukata (casual summer kimonos) to wear for our Kaiseiki dinners and breakfasts. It was optional but we saw all the guests wore them to dinner. It added to ambience of your private table in the restaurant. Wonderful service and food.

When we first decided to go to Japan 6 months ago, we had hope to do some hiking on Mt. Fuji. However, I learned later the hiking season is only from July to September. It is highly regulated and there were problems this year with trash left by tourists on Mt. Fuji. This was sad for me to hear about the trash.

Second day
After our breakfast, we met our guide in our lobby where he laid out the itinerary for the day. He explained that we arrived on a 3 day Japanese 1964 Olympics holiday. He wanted to start us off with lesser crowds first before heading for the Hakone Ropeway.

We took a crowded local bus where we had to stand for a 25 minute ride to Lake Ashi. Our guide took us around the path along the lake and we headed for the red Tori Gate in the water. There was a long line of people lined up to have their photos in front of the Tori Gate.

We headed up to the steps to go to a Hakone Shinto shrine nestled in the woods.

We walked along the Lake Ashi and saw a long line of people getting on the pirate ship. As we headed passed the pirate ship towards the Ancient Cedar Grove trail we had amazing view of Mt. Fuji. There was no snow on Mt. Fuji but it still was beautiful to see. Our guide said the day before Mt. Fuji was covered in clouds.

The Cedar Grove walkway built during the Edo period, where rows of trees were planted back in 1829. It was the main highway linking Edo (Tokyo) and Kyoto. I was imagining walking along with Samurai spirits. It was a nice sunny day so this walk was beautiful and I could see why the Japanese call this “Forest Bathing”. We walked across the footbridge over the Hwy 1. We had the wooded and shaded path pretty much to ourselves seeing only a handful of people. We went to see the Lakeside Exhibition Hall which used to be Hakone Imperial Villa. From the second floor of the museum we had a another nice view of Mt. Fuji.

We ended at the Hakone Checkpoint Ekiden Museum that was interesting. Enjoy some udon for lunch afterwards. There are a few places to eat and some souvenir shops.

After lunch, we walked back along Lake Ashi to take the Pirate ship and we were literally the last ones to hop on the ship. It was a nice calm ride and there were seats inside the ship. Surprisingly, it wasn’t windy or cold if you went outside to the deck. Mt. Fuji now was under clouds so we were lucky to see it in the morning. We got off the ship to take the cable cars to the Hakone Ropeway and the lines were unbelievable. We had 2 day Hakone Day pass and it is worth getting one. It covers certain buses, pirate ship but not the other ship, ropeway and museums. The line was about a 45 min wait and the cable ride was 30 minutes to reach the top. The sulfur gases were light and the wind was going the opposite direction in our favor. Our guide said if people have asthma it would not be good to go up.

Going back down the line had double so it was more like an 1 1/2 hrs. wait on our return.

View from Gora Byakudan Ryokan

Ken Room

Private hot springs onsen

Cedar Grove path

Hakone

Pirate ship on Lake Ashi

Mt. Fuji

Black sulfur cooked eggs at top of Hakone's Ropeway

Sulfur steam on top of Hakone's Ropeway

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KYOTO

We had a taxi take us to Odawara station. It was about 40 min. ride from Hakone. We had no problem getting on the bullet train to Kyoto. There are signs in Japanese but English would appear afterwards. Our bullet train was on time- 4 stops and took 2 hrs. 10 min. to arrive in Kyoto.

The Hotel Granvia was a little hard to find - even with using Goggle Maps. My DH figured we needed to get across the track. The hotel is huge and we couldn’t check in until 3 pm so we went to search for a place for lunch.

Normally, we wouldn’t have chosen this type of hotel but it was next to the train station so I understand why our tour company chose it for us.

We took a taxi to the meeting place for our 4pm guide. It was 1.5 hr tour with 12 other tourists and our guide'a walk was through Gion district. During this summer, some tourists were rude wanting pictures and kept the geishas and maikos delayed from their appointments. The city banned photos due to this shameful act. Our guide told us we could take photos only if it was the back of the Geisha/Maiko. We were lucky to see a Maiko (apprentice Geisha) who was “coming out” for a ceremony. Maikos are trained to perform songs, skilled dancers or musicians of Japanese instruments like the 3 string Shamisen. There are lots of restaurants along the river so we stopped for dinner and then grab a taxi back to our hotel.

Second day in Kyoto

Our guide met us in the lobby at 9am.

Our first destination was the Nija Castle. We took a bus to get there. It was built by the first shogun during the Endo period. The Shogun series this year was based on the Shogun Tokugawa Leyasu. This is a UNESCO site. Walking through the castle you hear creaking floor boards which alerted shogun of intruders. You must take shoes off when entering temples and so wise to wear socks or bring socks and shoes you can easily slip into.

We took a bus to the Kinaku-Ji (known as the Golden temple) which exterior is made with gold leaf surrounded by water. The garden was very pretty with the leaves just beginning to start turning a little color. It wasn’t too crowded until the school and tour buses came. Throughout the gardens there was these orange flowers called Kinmokusi. The locals feel Autumn is here when they smell this sweet flowers fragrance.

Nearby was the Ryoan-Ji Temple with its famous example of a rock garden. Our guide outlined the principles of Zen Buddhism in the garden’s 15 rock islands surrounded by raked gravel. Then we went to the Arashiyama district, home to gorgeous groves of towering bamboos. Locals were taking tourists around in rickshaws. It was a humid day and I felt sorry for them having to run with people in their rickshaw but I was told they are mostly students trying to earn some money. It is about $60 (US) for a 30 minute ride.

Next stop we took a train to next Saniusangendo, a temple hall filled with 1001 statues of the Goddess of Mercy. This was very interesting to see but no photos allowed inside the temple.

From here we we went to the picturesque backstreets of Sannenzaka. Beautiful shops and eateries. We went to Nishiki Market afterwards. This is where I wish I had more time to visit all the shops and souvenir stores. They closed down at 6pm so we only had maybe had 1 1/2 hrs. here. We walked through the food stalls and it was a colorful experience with the stalls nicely decorated. Lots of saki places, food, souvenirs & few breweries. Then we took the subway back to our hotel.

Third day
I always wanted to wear a kimono but it is extremely difficult for beginners to correctly put on a formal kimono. Our tour company arranged for us to be dressed in a kimono from members of the Women’s Association of Kyoto (WAK Japan). There was a private driver to pick us up at the hotel in the morning. I could choose the formal kimono and obi from their collection and they provided the tabi socks and zori sandals. The dresser also put my hair up with beautiful flowers pins. My husband had his choice of kimono but it was easier to dress him. For our photo op, we took the photos, she provide the fan and samurai sword to have fun with. She also put me in an elegant wedding kimono (this was over my formal kimono). The wedding kimono is luxurious and heavy. We could have walk over with the formal kimono to the shrine that is a block away but it was really hot on this day so we skipped that option. You have to take small steps to walk in a kimono so going down the stairs to have photos outside the shop you had to be careful. It was a fun event and I will treasure these photos. Our driver returned us to the hotel.

Our guide met us in the lobby in the afternoon and we took a local bus to visit Fushimi Inari shrine, a traditional Shinto shrine built 1300 years ago. Lots of red Tori gates to walk through. There are food stands nearby, so lots of treats to consider.
We took a taxi to a lunch place nearby and then afterwards caught a bus to the Golden Temple and to see the Ryoan-Ji Temple and rock garden. Afterwards we took a local tram to Arashiyama district, home to groves of towering bamboo forrest.



Hotel Granvia Superior Twin room

Scenic path in the movie "Memoirs of a Geisha"

Saki tasting at Nishiki Market

Lots of pretty shops along Sannenzaka street

Kinkaku-ji (known as Golden Temple)

Ryoan-ji Temple garden


Fushimi Inari Shrine


Rickshaws in Sannenzaka backstreets near river

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KANAZAWA



It was no problem catching the Thunderbird train from Kyoto train station. We just took the escalator down from our Granvia hotel to the “0” platform. If you are taking the local trains they are right below this hotel. If you come in on the bullet train then it arrives on another track outside the hotel. Announcements came in English after Japanese. We had no problems getting our mid-size luggage over the seats on the train.

We traveled for 30 min. and had a little wait to transferred to the Shinkansen train. There was a mob of people rushing to catch their train and suddenly there was no one left but us in the terminal. We had a good laugh.

We walked to our hotel as it was only 5 minutes away. It was fairly easy to find in Kanazawa since it was next to the train station.

We got to our hotel early before check in time so we walked over to the Omichi Market. It was more of a seafood market with real seafood on display. Not as nice as the Nishiki Market in Kyoto but interesting to walk through. There is not as many tourist here.

Our guide bought a one day pass at the hotel as we were taking local buses to get around. We caught a bus around the corner from our hotel to go to:

Gyokuseninmaru Garden (one of three top gardens in Japan
Kanazawa Castle
Kenrouken garden (next to castle)
Nagamchi Samurai district (ancient site of Samurai house Nomura family
Nishiki Chaya district (Geisha District)

It really poured rain after our lunch and we got soaking wet for the next 3 hours walking around. We went on to see the Samurai district and the Geisha district. Despite the rain it was worth seeing. These sites had some saki, sweet shops & souvenirs places. No geishas sightings as we were told they are out more in the evening for tea ceremonies and special events.

Afterwards we hop on a loop bus and went back to our hotel.


Hyatt Centric (King room)

Hotel's Five Grill restaurant

Our bathroom included shower and bath. Similar to all other hotels we stayed at except Matsumoto where it was shower only.

Gyokuesninmaru Garden (one of three top gardens in Japan)

Kanazawa Castle

Autumn leave starting to turn colors

Kenrouken Garden

Mobs of people hurried to catch their trains and then we were the only ones left.

Mara

Very nice report so far plus I like that your photos are smaller than the usual ones posted here!
Glad you finally got to Japan since your grandparents were born there!
I am older than you and have traveled to Japan on my own many times - it really is not that difficult imo....

portobelloB

SHIRAKAWA-GO on the way to TAKIYAMA

Our guide said there was a cold weather front that came in so it dropped to 60 degrees. She met us at the lobby and our driver was waiting down in front of the hotel. We were driven to see the Shirakawa-go village (1 hr drive). This is a UNESCO site and famous for its grasssho-zukuri style traditional farmhouses which are more than 250 years old. There are people who still live here. There was the Wanda-Ke House family that acts as a museum to give an insight of traditional daily life. Years ago, the families lived on the first floor. While the second and third floors were used for harvesting silk worms. It is amazing to see the thatch roofs made without nails. It takes about 100 people to help replace a roof every 20-30 years. Our guide says it takes 3 days to remove the roof and 1 day to replace it.

We spent 4 hours walking around the village admiring the area and rice paddies. We walked up a hill to Shiroyama viewpoint (about 20 min walk from village) to admire the views of the village and surrounding mountains. It was beautiful scenery.

There are few restaurants in the village and there was waiting line for each one. Our guide knew to go up and add the party size on the list and take a number that was outside the door. It was a 30 minute wait. We had a delicious bowl of Hida beef with rice, onions & pickles. The Hilda region is known for growing best tasting rice and beef.

We were happy we came in the morning as by afternoon when we were leaving the parking lot was filled with tourist buses and cars. Traffic waiting to get in.

It was an hour drive to Takayama from here. We went to see the Takayama Float Exhibition Hall where 4 of their 11 ornate floats are kept. Other floats are kept in tall storage rooms throughout the city.

The Sakurayama Hachimangu shrine was nearby so we went up the stairs to see it. Surprisingly, there weren’t too many tourists in late afternoon.

Second day - TAKIYAMA

Our guide took us to see the Hida Kokuunji Temple and then to the morning markets. The first one was only a 15 min. walk over the bridge. The Miyagmi Market was more lively with artisans and food vendors along the river. We went to the other market and it was closing up at noon. It was small and had local produce.

Hida Kokubunji Temple - next to a 1000 year old tall Ginko tree
Miyagawa Market (has more arts/crafts, produce, food & souvenirs)
Jinya mae morning Market (closed at noon- local produce)
Takiyama Jinya (remains of old government office in the Edo period)

Then the afternoon was filled with these sites.

Walk along the Miyagawa River (spotted white herons)
First Street (the busiest with shops and saki places)
Second Street (not so busy on 2nd or 3rd street)
Third Street
Hida Takayama Culture and Crafts Square
Takayama Betsuin Temple Treasure house
Old town (one long street) Souvenir Shopping
New town (one long street)
Cafe Ao - cool looking cafe for coffee or tea & sweets
One Big Shot (Japanese Archery)

Shirawago-go Village - UNESCO site



Shirawago field

Village and surrounding mountains

Harvested rice

Takayama

Takayama cute shops

Takayama shop

Cafe Ao

millie2112

love your trip report. thank you for posting. I am planning Japan for 2025.

portobelloB

MATSUMOTO

The bus station was next to the train station and was a 5 min walk from our Takiyama hotel. The Tour Co suggested we use a Luggage Forwarding Service but we did not have to as the Highway bus had space below the bus. The compartment easily had room to store all the passengers luggage.

It was a 2 1/2 hrs. drive to Matsumoto. The bus stopped after a hour for a bathroom break. We went through a park and the scenery was beautiful. The colors on trees were just turning a little color. The autumn colors were going to be late this year because of the warm weather this summer. Forecasted that prime colors would be on Dec. 1

We got to Matsumoto and took a taxi from train station to the hotel. Checkin wasn’t till 3 pm so we decided to drop our luggage and go to the Matsumoto castle. The Goodwill Ambassadors end their day at 3pm but we were good making it on our own. There was a 20 minute wait and the line was long to get in to the castle. Pictures were not allowed inside the castle.

The thing that I want to stress here is there are 6 flights of stairs and 2 of them really have large steps. It was super crowded and once you were in the queue you couldn’t turn around. We consider ourselves to be in good shape but if you have bad knees or aren’t active then this may not be for you. People were coming down as you were going up and the stairwell wasn’t that wide. We had backpacks on so this was sometimes not easy to walk in a narrow crowded stairwell. I’m sure if you went in the mornings and it isn’t crowded you would be fine.

The castle from outside is impressive and the grounds have a couple of Ninjas that you can take photos with.

We didn't have time to see the City of Museum of Art as the closed at 5pm. I should have been better to check on closing times.

After checking in to the hotel we walked over to the pedestrian street (I forgot the name) along the river. The vendors closed up at 6pm so we didn’t have too much time here. Afterwards, we were in the mood for some comfort food so we found a elegant French Restaurant for dinner.

BACK TO TOKYO

We took the Azusa Express train to Tokyo’s Shinjuku station which is located in Western Tokyo. Shijuku train station was super crowded as they were doing some construction. It was like in a movie where everyone is going every which way. I had arranged for a private car to take us back to the Gate Hotel in Asakusa district. It was a 30 minute drive back to our hotel on the north side of Tokyo. We arrived at 1pm and this time our room was ready so we could check in early. First time this happen in all the hotels we stayed at.

It was good to have our last day in Tokyo because we were familiar with getting around. I wanted to do some souvenir shopping.

Inside Japan Tours provided us with a Portable PuPuRu Mobile Wi-Fi device while traveling in Japan. It was waiting for us along with our bus and train tickets when we first arrived at our Tokyo hotel. It was pretty easy to set up and the WIFI signal was stronger than the hotel WiFi so we used it all through out the trip. A couple of times, I forgot it and my iPhone lost its WiFi connection in the city so we were at loss without the help of Goggle Maps. We wanted to buy one but they only sell to businesses in Japan. This was very helpful to have.

AFTER THOUGHTS & TIPS

Japan is such a beautiful country to visit. It is so clean and there was no graffiti that we saw. I had been prepared and always had a baggie in my backpack for any trash as you won’t find any trash cans walking around in Tokyo. The city removed them as a precaution after a cult group poured sarin gas in the subways back in 1995.

Have cash on you as many places don’t take credit cards. When you see something that you want to buy - get it then as you may not remember where or how to get back to that store.

It is safe country with a low crime rate. We walked around in the evenings without concern.

There was no homeless people we saw. I asked our guide in Kyoto about this and she said the city provides services to help them. I’m aware there are few homeless people in Japan but no one asked us for money or looked homeless during our visit. This was mind blowing since our country has a huge homelessness problem.

We did not have any problems with public restrooms. They are nice and clean and didn’t cost anything to use them. Only one public restroom was a squat version. They often don’t have paper towels so you should bring a small towel so you can wipe your hands.

Bottles of cold water or juices were in machines everywhere. Lots of Japanese people like drinking coffee so having coffee isn’t hard to find. We saw a few Starbucks and Tullys Coffee shops on our trip.

The trains are on time and often don’t stay long on the track so you need to make sure to not get on the wrong train. I found they came and maybe we had 5-10 minutes to get on the train. No steps on the trains so carrying your luggage was no problem. It’s important to stand in line where you assigned car is. They have marked signs for each car.

A few restaurants imposed a service fee (not more than 10%) and told us as soon as you enter their establishment. When I asked our tour company about gratuity for our guides, drivers and at our Ryokan they did offer a range if we were treated well. We tip in the US and when traveling to other countries so we had no issues in giving tips and presented it in an envelope. They were always very appreciative.



I made a mistake in the beginning on the hotel- we stay at Marunouchi Hotel. It was a great room and the only one that had a kitchenette if were were staying longer.

Corner Deluxe Twin room w/sitting area.

Matsusmoto Castle

Samurai armor

view of the grounds from one of the floors of Matsumoto Castle.

Pedestrian street not far from hotel

Yohashira Shrine
I am so happy we had the opportunity to see the beauty of Japan and it’s culture. It was an epic journey for us and will hold warm memories of a wonderful time.

portobelloB

Thank you Mara and Mille for your very nice responses.

Mille have a fantastic trip in 2025,

mrwunrfl

Wonderful TR and photos, thanks. Happy that you got to see the natural beauty of Japan.

The Three Great Gardens of Japan are Kenroku-en (in Kanazawa), Koraku-en (in Okayama), and Kairaku-en (in Mito). They were all created by daimyō (feudal lords) during the Edo period of 1603 to 1868.

>>A few restaurants imposed a service fee (not more than 10%) and told us as soon as you enter their establishment. When I asked our tour company about gratuity for our guides, drivers and at our Ryokan they did offer a range if we were treated well. We tip in the US and when traveling to other countries so we had no issues in giving tips and presented it in an envelope. They were always very appreciative.

Where was the service fee? I would guess it was in Kyoto. It is objectionable and probably something like a gaijin-annoyance fee. There is no tipping custom in Japan. It can be offensive or, at least, create an uncomfortable situation. The only exception would be at a very high-end traditional ryokan where a tip for the maid can be put in an envelope. Just ignore the envelope in APA Gion budget hotel or anywhere. Leave the change at a restaurant and the waitress might chase you down on the sidewalk to return it to you. Tip the guide?, oh ok.

Best to follow the local customs in other countries.

adlmllr

thanks so much for posting your trip report! we are starting to think about a trip next Fall, and have been considering Inside Japan, so it was helpful to read about your experiences.
my husband and I are independent travelers but have never traveled in Asia together, so it seems a bit daunting. also, we travel at a slower pace (by choice -- we are both active and fit mid 60's and mid 70's) and would not want to squeeze so much in every day, so we will have to think about our preferred itinerary carefully. did you find that Inside Japan was very responsive to your priorities?

portobelloB

mrwunflr: Thank you for pointing out that I did make an error in naming the garden in Kanazawa. The photo IS from the Kenrokuen garden and I see I got the names of the gardens mixed up. Sorry for that error.
The service fees was actually in Matsumoto in a high end French restaurant. The other place was in Tokyo. We were staying at an superior Ryokan and using a private touring service. Providing gratuity for service provided by our personal tour guides and drivers was mentioned by the company when I inquired about gratuity. They also said bringing a small gift was also acceptable. I did both. We did not leave tips in restaurants. I don't believe I was breaking any customs.

Adlmllr: I thought our travel consultant, Fiona, was very attentive and open to our suggestions and changes. In fact, we had a few hotel & transportation changes. Our itinerary was turned around as I thought leaving the Japanese Alps at the end of our trip was better for seeing maybe some Autumn colors. She was very accommodating when she sensed I preferred it this way if there wasn't too much logistical issues. Leaf peeping was late this year due to the warm summer but we did get a little color doing it this way. You may have already seen this TR but if not, there is another really great report from someone who used Inside Japan tours on the Rick Steves website. I didn't read it until we returned from Japan but I thought it was another helpful current trip report. Have a fabulous trip to Japan.

theatrelover

My husband and I, both in our early 70s, just returned from a month in Japan. We used InsideJapanTours to help finalize our itinerary, make our train reservations and make our hotel reservations. They also arranged private one-day guides for us in Tokyo, Kyoto, Nikko and Kanazawa. I found our tour consultant, Julie, to be very receptive to our needs and desires. I changed two accommodations, requested changes to two reserved train departures to allow us more time in Hiroshima and in Kurashiki. InsideJapanTours made our independent trip to Japan so easy and they provided us with so much information. I highly recommend them