Review

We saw a lot of things which was great but it was often too rushed and we really didn’t get to spend much time on interesting things. For example, Osaka was a waste of time. We arrived there in the evening and were left to find a meal by ourselves. Then off the next morning, I really liked the more intimate events — tea ceremony, meeting the maiko. More events like this would have make it more enjoyable. More guidance on restaurants when we had to purchase our own meals would have been really valuable.

The lodgings were good. I like the larger rooms in the locations outside of the cities.

The food for the most part was good. There were two exceptionally GREAT meals in Kyoto set up by Ken. The farewell meal was a disappointment. There was a REAL problem with how food allergies were handled. Very often these requirements were ignored. This was for multiple people on the tour. The organizers of the tour should note the requirements and locate safe restaurants or meals ahead of time. I\'m not sure if this was left up to each individual guide but more support is needed. Also, there were traditional Japanese meals where the tour members were just left to ourselves. No one explained what we were being served or how to eat it properly. Some of the meals were held in solitary rooms which were rather stark. It would have been better to be in restaurants with a more lively atmosphere.

There was a lot of variability in the tour guides. Masa and Ken were excellent and really made the trip enjoyable. William was good but walked quickly and didn\'t keep the group together so what he said was lost to many of the members. Mariko was a nice lady but would often just take us places and not give us information. She too would often not keep the group together. She also did not use the microphone. You need to discuss the main function of a tour guide with some of the guides: Keep the group together, keep them safe, provide them with interesting commentary about what they are seeing and experiencing, and help them have fun. Several of the guides didn’t seem to understand this (with the exception of Masa and Ken). I found that when the guide was not organized and informative they were really more of a nuisance than an asset.

The pre-tour documentation was comprehensive and interesting but for some of the more anxious members it was overwhelming. I think you need to find a better balance and don\'t make some of the content so ominous — yes, the Japanese has some strict cultural norms but generally Westerners are excused from them. Here is a random example — the was info on which side to stand on on an escalator -- people figure this out giving all the detail just makes people worry.

We had challenges right from the start in finding our ride to the hotel in Tokyo. He was nowhere to be found. We followed the instructions in the guide about where to meet him and when to go to the designated meeting points he evidently did not. The airport is so crowded that this is an area that needs to be improved. Have a more clearly designated spot to meet. Perhaps provide people with a pouch like this: https://www.thedurkincompany.com/id-badge-holder-w-convention-neck-pouch-horizontal-4-x-2-1-4-black-12-pack--4 Put \"Samurai Tours\" on it (free advertising for you) so they can be easily identified. Also, have people put their train and bus tickets in the pouch and they move around — lost and misplaced tickets were a frequent problem. Having them in one spot around your neck can help. we saw a lot of Japan but the number of destinations could have be scaled back a bit and more time spent in some spots. There was a LOT of moving around.

The transportation was good. There was a lot of modes of transportation to give us a taste of traveling in Japan. I LOVE the bullet trains. Some of the subway rides were at rush hour and the group almost was separated. Taxi rides were set up well. The subway/train ticket system was often a problem and more explanation around that would have been helpful, especially when you have to exit with two tickets.