We spent our first half a day in Japan with Yumi. She was very attentive and thoughtful of our needs. She taught us a lot about Japanese customs and culture, and took us to special places that are not on the regular tour guide. She enquired in advance about our interests and made sure to adjust the tour to our taste.
Haruo was a great guide - took us to do and see what we asked for and more - explained points of interest on the way - would do another tour with him
Tim showed us how to find great spots to eat and drink and explained so much about the Shinjuku/Shibuya areas as well as life in Tokyo that you can’t pick up from just walking around yourself. He also provided helpful suggestions for sightseeing on our own, as well as restaurant and bar recommendations. Tim is personable and easy to talk to, and adapted the itinerary as we went to make sure it fit exactly what we wanted to do. Would recommend to anyone hoping to get the most out of their trip.
For our first time in Japan, an awesome orientation and introduction to Osaka was provided by the wonderful Shuji, who is an extremely knowledgeable historian. He planned a fun and well-paced half-day customized tour for just the two of us. We HIGHLY recommend him to be your guide! Our day began with meeting him in our hotel lobby where we reviewed an Osaka map and discussed in general our itinerary for the day. From there Shuji provided practical tips for navigating our Umeda hotel location, the local metro and train stations, and introduced us to the Namba area, including the Dotombori district and markets, where many options are available for dining. We chose to enjoy lunch at one of his favorite restaurants for an authentic sit-down meal. From there we visited Osaka Castle park and grounds where Shuji presented an interesting and historic overview as well as showing us great photo opportunities. Then, per our request, we had reservations for a ride on the Aqualiner for city views from the water. We disembarked for a lovely waterfront stroll along the embankment of the Daini Neya River, followed by ending our lovely day with Golden Hour drinks at one of Shuji’s hidden gems overlooking a gorgeous rose garden. Shuji is such a kind and generous gentleman and professor. We thoroughly enjoyed our discussions and afternoon with him as he provided the “master key” for fantastic inside tips, traditions and suggestions for making the most of our travels in Japan.
Thank you for the fabulous review! You are such excellent travelers, even without my guide. There is a Japanese saying that one hears one and knows ten, which is exactly what you did. We had a wonderful afternoon. It will be a good memory for me. Thank you so much!
With a real local of your choice
Just contact your favorite local
So no group tours with strangers