THIS is THE place to go for traveling to JAPAN.
I booked a trip to Japan in the middle of my summer back at home in the SF Bay Area. Luckily, i found a round trip ticket for just under three weeks to Tokyo from SF for under a grand. Still, I wanted to backpack through Japan, visit at least 4-5 cities, and fit everything into a modest budget. After some research online (and Japanese tourism has awesome research available), I stumbled upon IACE travel.
The staff is SO nice. Honestly, I had no idea what I was doing, and the girl that helped me out Ritsuko, sat with me for about 40 mins going through various sample trips and agendas, despite the fact that I had not bought a single thing! She walked me through where to eat, where to stay, how long to be there....just awesome.
I walked in needing a JR Rail Pass, and when I got down to it, she was so efficient and helpful in getting me one. And I walked out with it. Even after, I emailed her my ideas and she helped me plan my trip around them.
After the trip, my 17 days visiting Tokyo, Hiroshima, Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, Sendai, Yokohama, Nara, and Mt. Fuji were amazing. And even though I could have gotten the JR pass somewhere else, I don't think I could have gotten better advice and trip planning help than here. read more