Went with this agency after reading about them on Reddit. We purchased the Essence of Spring | Anime Pioneer tour. This was our first time going to Japan. The communication with the agency and myself was minimal. For example they didn't see that I updated my address and sent the tour information to my old address instead. They did do the right thing and resent it to my new address. As for the tour, the hotel was a business one which was a bit awkward since we are tourists. Sadly the check in time was not until 3pm and was not able to accommodate our super early arrival. The hotel itself wasn't too bad except for the tobacco smell on the floor. Thankfully they had air purifier machines in the room itself. The breakfast buffet was a mix of European and Japanese breakfast food, so no US style breakfast unless you walk over to Mc Donalds/Cocos a block away from the hotel. Now the tour itself, too much to do and so little time. The tour guides are awesome, knowledgeable and friendly. There were places I wished they had in the tour like Tokyo Tower, Tokyo Skytree, Shinjuku/Kubuki-cho, Ikibukuro, Diver City, etc. There wasn't much time to shop in Akibahara and Shibuya. There was less time to see the Ghibli Museum since we got there an hour before it was closing. Thankfully myself and my son was able to hit up most of the places that I listed that was not in the tour on our own. Suffice to say, the trains was confusing to navigate so be aware of that if you plan on using their system (google maps was a life saver for the train system). There is Uber in Tokyo, but that is going through the Taxi companies which is expensive ($50 one way). I hope in the future that they can tweak their offerings and have more locations to go to in Tokyo ( Tokyo Tower, Tokyo Skytree, Shinjuku/Kubuki-cho, Ikibukuro, Diver City, etc.). In the long run, a week isn't enough time to stay, 1 1/2 to 2 weeks would have been better. Overall it was a decent trip, we had good memories of our time in Tokyo. read more

We did the Anime + Traditional Japan tour in late December. The weather was above freezing and sunny. Our tour guide was great and answered every question. The sites are beautiful and the food was amazing. Lots of free time to explore each site. read more

Having a great experience during our 7 days Essence of spring tour. Each day is planned with highlights of Kyoto, Hakone and Tokyo! Our tour guide, Hiroko, is great! She is very knowledgeable, friendly, accommodating, and goes out of her way to even show us areas and share recommendations of places/restaurants for us to see and try during our free time. So hard to choose a favorite activity since they were all so memorable... we went to see the popular Nara deer park, the different shrines, bamboo forest, went to a tea ceremony, the hot springs, and many more! I guess the most unique so far is the rickshaw ride to see the arashiyama bamboo forest. Highly recommend this tour agency since everything was planned with careful detail and exceeded my expectations. Can't wait to go back to Japan again! read more

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We booked our summer vacation with JDT soon after Japan announced it will open up to foreign tourism post-Covid, and this was despite having no recent reviews on the tour company we could rely on. The JDT tour itinerary we selected was excellent and exceeded our expectations for our family, which included a college age student and a 12 year old. There was a wide array of sightseeing and activities covering every interest of our family, including anime sites and shopping, popular cultural sites, and entertainment activities (Universal Studios Japan, ninja demonstration, rickshaw tour, and geisha show). Some days included lunch or dinner, and this covered a good breadth of what Japanese cuisine has to offer. The driver was good and we can't say enough about our guide (Hiro) who was very friendly, informative and helped ensure that even our time to explore Japan outside the tour hours went smoothly. This was a group tour and we found all the other group members to be very friendly, many of whom shared our interests for anime and all of us were new visitors to Japan. This was our first trip to Japan and we can thank JDT for making the experience very memorable for our family. read more

Was our first time to Japan and had Kana as our guide (a very wonderful guide, anyone would be happy to have her!). The variety was good, the time to visit each thing was a little hurried (always wished to have a little more time), but thankful for the experiences we were able to enjoy. Very good experience as a first time visitor to Japan. read more

Used them for a tour back in 2017. Super nice staff and had a lot of fun on the trip. I'd recommend looking into the "day-by-day" though. Not everyone was expecting such long days and a lot of walking during the tour... I was pretty tired myself but the hotels in Tokyo were so nice and the food was so good, I didn't mind the tired feet. Fun times, can't wait to go back to Japan :) read more

This tour is a great value and packed with a ton of great sights and cultural experiences. Our tour guide Hiro took us to sights around Tokyo, an incredible open air art museum, many shrines and temples, a meeting with a maiko in Kyoto, a tea ceremony, Himeji castle, Kurashiki and Hiroshima. We hit all the good spots and had a wonderful guide with Hiro and driver, Kenji-San. The crowd on our tour skewed toward older married couples, but everyone was warm, welcoming and super interesting to talk to. Japan is incredible with all kinds of hidden gems. The tour hits them all. The value can't be beat and the hotels are perfectly nice accommodation. I would have liked a bit more free time to shop or just wander, but I can't complain too much. The company was super helpful planning my time in Japan and this tour was exactly what I needed to get comfortable traveling here. read more

I am currently on the 9 day Japan Anime Tour, during cherry blossoms season. So far our whole family is having an awesome time! We were hesitant to travel this far with our 7 and 5 year old, but this tour has been very accommodating. They were able to get us bigger rooms because we want all 4 of use to stay in one room instead of 2. The bus is clean, hotels are very nice, food is good. The iteniery is jammed packed so we are not able to spend a lot of time at each location, usually only one hour. But the positive is that we do get to visit a lot of the key tour sites. Our tour guide speaks very good English and always very helpful. I would definitely recommend this company and we would use them again for our next tour. read more

Being a schoolteacher with summers off, I am always looking for good travel deals and packages. Lucky for me, I stumbled upon Travel Oriented while looking for a tour to Japan. Like most people, I was never a huge fan of tours. After all, nobody likes a rushed itinerary crammed with too many activities, and being stuck on a small bus with 25 sleep-deprived travelers, with an annoying tour-guide who waves around a stupid flag and never shuts up!! Well, my experience with the Japan Deluxe Tours, organized by Travel Oriented, was nothing like what I just described. From the very beginning, the travel agent provided professional service and excellent package options. The representative who assisted me, Hiroko, (bless her heart!) was so helpful and patient with me despite my gazillion questions, and the nightmare we had trying to fax documents back and forth. She helped me find the perfect tour for my first trip to Japan, allowing me to enjoy a variety of experiences and sights which revealed the "dichotomy of Japan" that we often hear about. The tour-guide was great; humorous, knowledgeable, and not overly verbose. The tour group was a collectively fun and friendly bunch - I'm keeping in touch with nearly all 24 of them! The tour itinerary was well-balanced, providing a lot of free time for exploration and relaxation. It moved at a good pace, allowing for a full-fledged experience: wild night life, breath-taking scenery, ample shopping, bustling city life, quiet country relaxation, majestic Mt. Fuji, and subdued natural Hot Springs. The hotels we stayed at were all top-notch, and the meals provided were both authentic and palatable. Overall, I believe the price of the tour was slightly higher than other ones I came across. However, I am a firm believer of the phrase "you get what you paid for." And what I paid for was excellent service and a wonderful travel experience. In fact, this experience has completely changed my opinion about tours. I will definitely call Travel Oriented the next time I consider another trip to Japan. They offer tours to other locations, but I believe they specialize in their Japan tours. Hope you give it try! read more

Japan Deluxe Tours - Travel Services Near Me - Torrance, California

I travelled with Japan Deluxe Tours back in 2012 and it was an amazing experience that I will never forget! Long before the tour started I was communicating back and forth with the people working in the office. They were always available and cheerful when answering my questions, no matter how minor, and when my flight (which I booked myself) fell through I called them up and they found and booked me a new one. When I arrived in Japan and started the tour, it was all smooth sailing! We were greeted with some little Japan Deluxe Tours knick-knacks such as a bag, pens, maps, etc. Our guide, Hiroki, was funny, knowledgeable, and very flexible. We had a few people in our group with dietary restrictions they did not mention so he made sure to call ahead and make sure the meals would be ok at each place. When our plans fell through for one of the tour days we didn't miss a thing because they worked to swap the days to make sure we would still do everything in the itinerary. Our group had people from US, Russia, India, China and I was the only solo traveller (from Canada). I had no issues as a solo traveller because our group was amazing and Hiroki checked in often to make sure I was having a good time. I had a blast! The places we visited were all amazing and we were given plenty of free time at each to explore and/or shop. All of our meals were fantastic! The activities such as the tea ceremony were very fun and well planned. The bus was roomy and comfortable. Hotels were all really nice! Really there's not a single thing I could complain about! Also worth mentioning that they really made me feel like I was more than "just" a customer. They sent out thank you cards and I also received a Christmas card from them later that year. I would recommend Japan Deluxe Tours to anyone! read more

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I am sitting in the airport at the end of my highlights of Japan , anime and Hiroshima tour. It was fantastic we hit a nice balance of geeky/nerdy stuff, historical and cultural activities, and shopping. Everything ran smoothly from start to finish. Our tour guide , Hiroko, was amazing. So patient, prepared, and interesting. She did a great job at comparing and contrasting Japanese and western cultures. Her English and Japanese are superb. She made everything so easy for us as we knew no Japanese . Tour day generally ended around 6, so you had time to explore more on your own or rest of you wanted to. Hotels were nice and varied place to place. This was a trip of a lifetime and we are so happy we did it through this company. read more

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Just completed Japan Deluxe 8 day Golden Route with Anime tour with my wife and we are extremely satisfied. There was a ton of items on our itinerary and we actually were able to see them all. The first half of the tour was packed with amazing temples, shrines, and shopping. The 2nd half was full of the crazy anime stuff we had only been able to see on TV. The guide Hiroko was excellent and made the entire trip fun. She was organized, polite, and there was no language barrier at all. We tracked our distances and our average day required 6-7 miles of walking, so be prepared and bring good walking shoes! This was our first trip to Japan and we were scared from the horror stories we had heard but this company was well organized, made the tour process very painless, and provided all the documentation we requested. When we go back to Japan we will definitely use Japan Deluxe Tours again. The hotels were nice and clean, the bus they chose was comfortable and had good AC, and the food that the tour picked for us was great. read more

This company is refusing to refund my money saying it's still safe to travel to Japan. I repeatedly asked about bringing my child into this situation, and they answered they are not canceling the tour even though schools, museums and sporting events have been canceled in Japan. I am shocked. Their option- they will refund half of my money, or a one year credit. It is clear this company values profits over people's needs at a time like this. read more

Decided to go with this company for my first ever trip to Japan. Have to say I'm very glad I did, because I had an amazing time and saw so much I'm sure I wouldn't have been able to organize on my own as efficiently. I was able to get very reasonably priced nonstop tickets through the company when I booked the trip, and they arranged for pick up to and from the airport when you arrived and when you left (I was picked up by a shuttle when I arrived, got a taxi when I left). Our bus driver (Kenji) and tour guide (Hiro) were both incredibly friendly and knowledgeable about the areas we were in. The hotels we stayed in were pretty great and close to subway stations and shops (save for one that was kind of isolated but we went there pretty much only for its hot springs, but that fine as it was just for one night). The tour itinerary included one free day which you could spend as you pleased. I was very happy with my experience and would recommend them to anyone who wants to enjoy Japan. read more

I'm in the middle of the 8 day Anime tour and couldn't be more pleased with how the tour is going so far. Despite the large number of sites and activities, the pacing is perfect for our family of 4 with two teenage girls. Not too long at a site to become bored yet enough time to get a flavor of the culture and history of Japan. Our guide,Keigo, has been extremely patient, friendly and knowledgeable as he guides our group of 21. The highlight for the family was the On-sen, or hot mineral spring baths at Atami- a spatious hotel with gorgeous views! We've yet to hit the Anime part of the tour, but the cultural part of this tour has been outstanding. Looking forward to the rest of the trip! read more

Our first tour guide was very unorganized and not very helpful. Overall, the timing needs to be improved: too much time at some sites and not enough at others. The restaurants/ hotel buffets were pedestrian at best. read more

We just ended our "Highlights of Japan/Hiroshima" tour and absolutely loved it. Japan Deluxe Tours is the way to go for a land tour of Japan. Rocky was our tour guide and he did an excellent job. He spoke great English, was very knowledgeable and attentive. All the hotels were fantastic along with wonderful breakfast buffets with a variety for all tastes. Tour destinations were amazing. Perfectly paced and packed with experiences that will last a lifetime. The only tour we didn't care for was the Sake distillery. Although informative, we don't drink. But others liked it. We enjoyed the tea ceremony. Food, well it's really about taste. We enjoyed most of it. The rest was an experience lol. Tokyo, Shibuya Scramble, all the shrines and temples, museums, Mount Fuji, Kyoto, lunch with a Maiko, Nara deer park, Himeji Castle, Hiroshima (must see!), all the history we learned about. All the beautiful places we saw and lots of time to shop as well. It was all a great experience! Definitely would recommend. read more

8 day Cherry Blossoms/Anime tour. This tour is jam packed with many major landmarks. We definitely got a taste of everything amazing about Japan. We need to go back and spend more time in Kyoto. The bamboo forest was surreal. The rickshaw ride was so fun! Hotels were nice, clean, and in convenient locations next to major shopping and train stations. Our guide was very helpful in helping us find specific places we wanted to go to...World's first tatami style STARBUCKS in Kyoto! We recommend this tour company with high marks! read more

We enjoyed our 12 day tour with Hiroko O our tour guide. She is very people oriented and goes out of her way to make sure everyone has a good time. She know all about the different stops and attractions on our trip. Her insights about the history of the sights and experiences are wonderful. Everything was taken care for us and all the hotels were excellent and clean and food was great. The stops were all very interesting and informative. I highly recommend Japan Deluxe Tours with Hiroko O. read more

This has been my second time in Japan, but first time that I've travelled with this particular company. I'm about halfway towards my trip (the tour ends today, but I have an extended stay) and everything has been amazing. One of the major highlights of my trip (other than the food) has been the rickshaw ride through the bamboo forest. Definitely recommend finding a tour package with it. I'm also thankful to have such a wonderful and accommodating tour guide like Hiroko for this particular tour, she definitely is a "hero". read more

If you are looking for a tour that hits the main tourist areas, this is for you. Of course, there are areas I wished to stay longer at and some places not so much but that's subjective. My husband and I plan to come back to Japan to visit the places we wanted to stay longer and places we haven't yet. Currently on tour now. I'll update again for final thoughts. read more

Great tour. Very comprehensive and you get to see a lot of things! Highly recommended!

Hiroko was the best tour guide, I was so glad that I chose Japan Deluxe Tour. The driver, the assistant guides, lodging, food, tours, were wonderful. read more

Excellent well organized tour. Hiroko our tour guide was very help and well knowable made every effort to accommodate our needs

My wife and I had an incredible time. We went on the Golden Route Tour during for the last week and half of December 2017. Our guide was Hiroko. She did an absolutely outstanding job. Being able to provide a detailed history of each site while simultaneously being attentive to everyone's individual needs is a rare talent. Just one example was being provided (without asking on our end) a card that said in Japanese "I am a vegetarian and can not eat meat, could you recommend some items." for when we went to our non-tour organized dinners . This was very useful since many restaurants do not have English menus. The days were on average packed with 4 to 6 different sites. We typically like to hack vacation ourselves, but hiring Japan Deluxe Tours allowed us to see more than we would typically see. Also, our group wasn't very big; there were about twenty of us (including three families with kids) and they were all very punctual and polite. The hotels we stayed at were high end modern. Jet lag wasn't too bad; the bus ride between sites provided an opportunity to catch up. Breakfast was the hotel buffet and lunches were authentic Japanese cuisine included in the tour. Some dinners were also included. The tour was well organized before arrival, and it was apparent that the staff went out of their way to find good deals on our behalf. I saw some negative reviews so my guess is that each person has a different experience depending on the tour guide. (Also, perhaps the company tried to address the previous negative responses. That is a good thing.) read more

If you're going to Japan, this is the tour to use! Our guide, Hiro, was so amazing. I can't say enough good things about her. She treated us like family. We always felt safe and secure...our bus driver was fantastic. It is amazing how many fun, historic, educational, beautiful, and scenic places we were able to visit in just 10 days. Hiro is a master at handling all of the logistics. And when one of the spots was unexpectedly closed for the day in Hakone, she was able to secure a visit to the Open Air museum instead...which turned out to be one of my favorite stops. This is an especially good tour for first-timers to Japan. I now feel like I could return on my own and have a basic handle on how to get around. read more

I am so impressed with the people at JDT, who were extremely responsive and accommodating, although we could not go on the tour due to COVID-19. We are looking forward to trying again with them next year, because their itinerary looks awesome. read more

My family of 4 took the Essence of Spring Anime Tour. Pre-tour travel instructions were very thorough. The tour guide was accommodating and knowledgable. The office staff in the US answered all of my questions and were extremely helpful. No issues with traveling with this company again. read more

Our family trip (Essence of spring-Anime tour) was AWESOME !!! This truly was a once in a lifetime trip. Our guide (Hiro) was very helpful, accommodating and even funny. We loved everything about our trip. Very well organized from the moment we were picked up at the airport to when we were dropped off on the last day. read more

Pros: Skilled, safe driver Hotels/sightseeing booked -- convenient Comfortable hotels Free wifi on bus Translator incorporated Transportation to/from airport, planned sites, and hotels Tokyo fish market auction option Wide assortment of foods provided for breakfast Tatami hotel experience Cons: Guide's time management skills could be better Wifi on bus unreliable Guide inaudible and difficult to track at times Untimely and/or inadequate information provided about logistics (wear walking shoes, hotel distance from downtown, inability to access bus/belongings between sites, cost of food near hotel, etc.) Lots of fried foods incorporated into meals provided I've been on several group tours, and this one has been the most unorganized. But what the guide lacks in organizational skills is made up for in fervor and willingness to assist. read more

Extremely pleasant and one of the most organized trips that we have taken. Guide was incredible, and made the trip seamless. We were on the 7 day Osaka to Tokyo anime spots tour, which had a little old world Japanese culture blended with modern day pop culture. We are a family of four with two teenage daughters, taking this trip this past June. I would highly recommend this tour company. Accommodations were excellent and in some instances unique but enjoyable. read more

We booked the 8 day Cherry Blossom tour with Hiroshima. Pre Tour customer service was very responsive but more informative travel documents would have done the job too. The Good: Once we got to Japan we were fortunate to be put in a smaller group of 20 people which was a nice manageable sized and we could spread out in the nice, big, clean bus. Groups are assigned by Japan Deluxe and I know I would not have been happy in one of their larger groups. Way too hectic and hard to manage large groups at the crowded sites visited. Our guide "Rocky" was excellent, very good english and lots of information about Japan and the sites. Bus driver was very good too. Very thankful for the audio headsets we used to hear the guide at the many sites we visited and also the wifi provided by the guide on the bus and train. The tours themselves and the sites visited were great. There is no other way we could have seen as much as we did in the short week we had for spring break. The Bad: Hotels were super outdated and way out of the city centers which was very disappointing. After a long day of touring it was hard to figure out how to get to a decent place for dinner and nothing was within walking distance. Huge downside to the tour. Meals provided were AWFUL and in some cases we were in a sterile cafeteria style location. We had hamburgers TWICE for lunch and the japanese version of a burger is more like meatloaf. We did not travel to Japan for a western style lunch that tasted horrible. We enjoyed 2 of the meals provided (Hiroshima style Okonomiyaki was the best!). Breakfasts were buffet style in the hotels and were pretty good but very crowded with loads of tour groups using the same hotel. Had to get to breakfast early to avoid the crowds and make it to the bus on time. Recommendations: Although our guide was very good, it would have been nice to spend a few minutes introducing our group to each other in the beginning and maybe even having an orientation of some sort with all of the Japan Deluxe group since we ran into each other every day. A meeting spot or plan needs to be made for each stop since it is very easy to get separated from your group with the large crowds of tourists. Not fun waiting for lost group members or being the one separated from the group! Highly recommend visiting Japan and if you are lucky enough to go during cherry blossom season, go!!! Just book through another company!! read more

We are into day 5 of our trip and we have been having such a wonderful time! Ms. Hiro sincerely wants each and every one of her tourists to have the best experience! She remembers what our interests are from conversations and goes out of her way to help us experience those things. :) Thank you Ms. Hiro! I would definitely highly recommend taking a tour to Japan w Japan Deluxe Tours! read more

The tour was a lot more interesting than I thought. Packed with a lot of stops and information. Plenty of time to experience Japanese culture and food. Bring your walking shoes since when they say it is a walking tour, it really involved a lot of walking. read more

I booked a twelve day tour of highlights of Japan and our tour guide Hiroko Ozaki was very nice and brought the whole tour group snacks to try. She is also very informative. For example, at Hakone, the location has a special black egg, and our tour guide told the group that the egg is black because of the reaction of sulfur gas from the volcano. Our tour guide had bought each of the group members the black egg to try and according to the story, the egg also allows for seven years longer of life. I also had an opportunity to try the hot spring at a old fashioned hotel which was a memorable experience. read more

We were excited to travel with this company and then the earthquake and tsunami hit Japan. We have family in Fukishima that were heavily impacted and we could no longer visit. We wanted to cancel our trip to send money to them and the money we would get back from the tour would allow us to do so. We contacted Japan Deluxe Tour to explain the situation, and they initially showed compassion and said they would personally look into our situation and get us a refund. We gave them a couple days to sort it out even though we were leaving in 5 days. Instead of giving us a refund they emailed us friday evening immediately before their office closed to ask us to fill out some paperwork for a 25% cancellation fee. I am sorry, but for a trip to japan 25% is several thousands. We called them to talk and they are ignoring us and have all of our money. The flights have been cancelled and we havent seen a dime of our money even though we are supposed to leave tomorrow morning. We called again today and they said we cant talk to you today, please let us call you monday. What? Our flight was Sunday morning. The company is cowardly and at this point in time dishonest and taking our money! read more

It is a great pleasure to share my wonderful experience with Japan Deluxe tour date May 2,2015 Japan highlights tour from Tokyo to Osaka. There were 8 of us in the group and it was all positive praises, good vibes and awesome experience. Our tour guide Ms. Sachicko .,and the two assigned bus drivers were superb in making us comfortable and well looked after during the entire tour. The hotels choices were excellent. First the Prince Park Tower Hotels are just walk away from the famous Tokyo Tower. Not to be outdone is the Japanese style hotel was beautiful, so as the famous hot spring bath. The food choices were good too, so as the hotel breakfast buffet, they were all good and satisfying. In general the tour's places to go to were all worth it, they were all rich in history and great importance . Some other places like Harajuku have the basics of Japan's pop/modern era. From the bullet train to temples,shrines, Geion District, food trips, shopping trips, Geisha/Maiko lookouts, vending machines it was dream come true for me to visit this wonderful country. For how amazing Mt. Fuji is , so are the people of Japan. Kudos! In summary, all I could say this tour is awesome. Just bring lots of extra battery charge for cellphones and cameras for picture taking. Don't worry they provide very good wifi in the shuttle bus. Again special thank you to the team of Japan Deluxe Tour and our tour guide Ms. Chiko . I am defintely looking forward to doing another tour with you guys. God bless:)!!! read more

I just got off from an itinerary with Japan Deluxe Tours, Inc May 4th-9th and it was incredible. I've been to Japan twice but this was my very 1st organized tour. Ms Sachiko Tanaka was filled with professionalism, diligence and exemplified in customer service. She has shown us the culture and beauty of her country with extreme passion. The accommodations and food were topnotch! I cannot complain a tiny bit. A portable wifi was on each time we were on the coach; hence, we were connected to the world all the time. The staffs at their headquarters in Torrance, CA were as professional and the tour kit was very sufficient to get us a concise overview of the tour ahead of us. I look forward getting into the other theme tours of this company and would definitely refer them to future travelers.. Domo arigato gosaimasu! Golda & Marvin read more

FIND ANOTHER TOUR. Notice the old dates of most previous reviews. Disorganized. Hotels in big cities were very far away from town center/action. Included meals (which tour guide referred to as "free"-HA) were pedestrian. We had "Addie" (Atsuko), who, although a woman in her 50s, acted like a child and apparently knows very little about the sites in her country. She would READ a brief summary of each site, and then drop us off, (not GUIDED, as the brochure states) to give ourselves a tour. She always walked fast and in front of the LARGE group, never checking to see who got stuck on a cross light, or other delay. Even when this was brought to her attention, nothing changed. On a gondola (i.e. ski lift type) she went in to the FIRST of 3 cars containing her tour group members, never waiting to check that all got on safely. Too many lapses. confusion, disorganization. No free time in areas worth exploring (she considered free time 1 hour in a department store). Such a disappointment to not get the full breadth of knowledge and history of this beautiful country. We have been on many tours and the tour leaders and individual guides (which this company doesn't provide!) have provided us such a beautiful depth of background, history, etc, not to mention individual care and concern for their clients--the travelers. At best these are travel agents, not tour guides. There are many other better choices. read more

We just came back from the Grand Takayama tour and were VERY dissatisfied with the tour. The rating should be a ----*. Our cousin had gone on a tour with Japan Deluxe in 2009 and was very happy so we decided to join this tour group. First of all they have too many people in a tour group. We had 32 in our group. Out of the 32 there were 12 kids. They ranged in age from 1 1/2 - teens. If you look at the itinerary this tour was not for kids. They should limit the number of kids per tour group. Half way through the tour we were told that we would be merged with another tour group. The tour group was going to be 47 people !!! The Japan Deluxe tour web page says there is a maximum of 40 !!! We complained to the tour guide who was not going on with us that it was way too many for a group. The tour was like a hop on and off tour. We would merge with other tour groups and had 4 different tour guides throughout the 12 days. All other tours we went on you have one tour guide throughout your trip. I would never recommend this tour group to any of my friends or relatives. Go use another tour group which is cheaper and probably run better. The only good thing about the tour was the tour guides were very good. I felt sorry for them to have to deal with all these people read more