I've traveled all over Asia during the past 20 years and so far had the best experience with Air &…read moreSea Travel. Compared to other travel agencies I've tried... Air & Sea Travel seemed to always give me the best "bang for the buck". They manage to find the best hotels and restaurants one can find at a fair price. So far the Air & Sea Tour Leaders who accompany the group on the tour have been courteous, organized, and careful. They look out after everyone in the group and always give helpful "heads up" suggestions about the place we are visiting next... and sometimes suggest what items are good to buy and bring home. I've done some Air & Sea tour packages going to Japan and China. I just recently came back from the Silk Road Xinjiang Tour and had a blast. For this tour, we had IMO the best local guide, her name is Risa. She spoke passionately about Uyghur culture and was one of the few local guides that I did not notice anyone falling asleep to on the bus (at least from where I was sitting in the back of the bus). In contrast with other different tours... the local guide will speak in a monotone voice and give text-book like lectures on the bus. People will then start to tune out and fall asleep. The company tour leader would then have to interrupt and tell a joke to wake everyone up. Pleasantly... this was not the case with Risa and this Air & Sea Xinjiang tour. The group also found Risa fun to hang out with on this tour. The Air & Sea Tour leader for this particular Silk Road Xinjiang tour, Derrick K., was outstanding and organized. He kept everything together like super glue and made things go as smoothly as possible. Having great local guides and tour leaders are what help make any tour successful. Actually... all of the other Air & Sea Tour leaders on my previous trips (Ryan, Mike, Derick S.) were outstanding as well. What I like about Air & Sea overall is that their tour itineraries are carefully thought out. They don't try to cram too much stuff into one day like other companies do as that can be tiring. Air & Sea tours give one the experience to try foods that are not usually found in Honolulu. I've been on their Tibet, Kyushu, Hokkaido, Harbin, Niigata, and lately Xinjiang tours. All were great. These Air & Sea tours have been a culturally educational and fun experience for me.

My family and I got our China "L" Visa through Air and Sea Travel without all the hassle to go to…read morethe nearest consulate in person, which is in California. So that means no need to spend more money to fly out there if you live in Hawaii!!! The process was fast and easy. It took about a month to receive our visa. We worked with Ina Lin. She was very helpful and answered all of our questions. I highly recommend them if you need to apply for a Chinese visa! And eventually will book a travel package in the near future!!

We've traveled with Non-Stop Travel to both Europe and Japan. Both trips were great. Well planned…read moreand executed. Their Tour Managers do an excellent job of keeping everything and everyone safe and on track. They do a great job of booking everything for your trip. From Airfare to Hotel and Land Travel accommodations to the wonderful meals that are also included. Special shouts out to Nelani our Travel Consultant and our Tour Leaders Naomi and Steve Lee and Marie Kanealii-Ortiz. They are all amazing people . Thank you for everything you all do. Very much appreciated

We had a very disappointing and frustrating experience with Non-Stop Travel (NS). From the start,…read morewe told NS we wanted to travel with friends, and we also wanted to upgrade our flights. We booked our Oceania Transoceanic cruise about 18 months in advance - plenty of time to coordinate - but none of our request were handled properly. NS blamed Oceania for the travel arrangements, yet Oceania only comunicates through the travel agent leaving us stuck with NS and no real help. To make matters worse, we (friends and us) were assigned different travel advisors at NS who did not communicate with each other. Our friends and us ended up with cabins on opposite ends of the ship. We both paid for Business Class upgrades; we were booked on different airlines with different itineraries. Wrong information given to us. Communication was poor - excuses, delays and no accountability or taking responsibility. Based on our experience, we would not recommend Non-Stop Travel. If you want clear communication and a company that actually listens, look elsewhere. If you are considering an Oceania cruise, book directly with Oceania.

Not just tour packages…read more.. Those days when we used to rely on travel agents to arrange our flights and/or hotels for our trips now has pivoted quite a bit with the growth of internet and having the airlines taking a great command of it all it does make things quite easy yet sometimes we do need help with several items especially when it's in a foreign country. JTB or more known as Japan Travel Bureau is a small office in Ala Moana Center Street Level all the way at the very end near Nordstrom side you'll notice the more prominent Olioli section which is the greeting desk for visitors just go right beside that is where you need to be. I've asked about wifi by calling and was told that reservation was done online and that I'm able to pick it up in store on date that you'd reserve but had a difficult time finding it all online only pick up in Japan which was discouraging for me as I'm going to multiple cities decided on just purchasing the Rail Pass. Rail Pass are very easy and are able to purchase up to 90 before you need to redeem for use I would suggest checking weekly as rates will reflect on yen rates so being patient and lucky would be in your favor as well. Ordering it online was a bit different from the other location that I usually go to but is a convenience if it's a method you'd refer. Once paid you get a email notice and ready for pick up anytime I found out that they do have wifi rental as well that you're able to pick up at the Honolulu Office but the staff here is very nice and fluent in both English and Japanese which was very helpful for both me and mom making it a cool place to get what you need. Thank you!

Thinking about traveling to Japan. I stopped by JTB to look at some of the offered tours. Today…read more(11/9/23) the yen is at 151.2730! The sign said it opened at 9 a.m. I couldn't see anyone inside and it was past 9 a.m. I knocked on the door. To my surprise a lady came out from behind a closed area and opened the door. She was polite and informative. She wanted to know when I would like to travel and stated when it's the busiest times and slower times. After our talk she gave me pointers on which areas to visit and asked for my email so she could send me JTB information and special tours. The place was neat, well lit and provided a variety of handout flyers for all different tours, cruises and multiple locations to visit. JTB is located on the street level, Ala Moana Center, past Nijiya Market and before Spectrum store. There is a down elevator on the mall level to take you down to the street level near JTB.

Just back from Japan after a tour with Handmade Tours. I got sick on the last 2 days but I still…read moreconsidered the trip a great experience. Our group consisted of 7 friends who are even closer as friends after the trip. The max amount of vacationers are capped at 12. I love going on tour with small groups. The driver, Masa, met us at the airport and escorted us to the first hotel. He is very efficient and speaks fluent English, plus he is a great driver. Our guide, Marie, was super attentive to our needs. She did a fantastic job considering this was her very first tour. When we signed up we noticed that on this tour we would be on our own for 4 dinners. I was happy because this gave us a chance to experience Japanese cuisine on our own. It is so cheap and, like everyone tells you, the food is so good. I highly recommend going on this tour (they have various packages) because the logistics are so much easier with a small group. We are going to see if they have a tour going toHokkaido next. Also, we had just toured Korea and during that tour us seniors got to the hotel every night at between 8-8:30. It was exhausting. We had plenty of time everyday to have a few cocktails before dinner or do a little browsing in the shops that are walking distance from our hotel.

Although I have traveled to Japan for business over the years, this was my first leisure trip…read morewithout someone else taking care of all the details. On top of this, it was a family vacation and the first time to Japan for some. With a 3-generation group, we wanted to make sure to make it fun for everyone with a mix of interests. Using Omakase Travels was such a time-saver and made the entire trip enjoyable and less stressful with a detailed daily itinerary created for us by owner Ayaka. We were pleasantly surprised at the details she provided which helped us navigate through the train stations and places with links to maps and schedules. We chose our own 4 hotels and she worked the itinerary around the areas we would be in. We were provided with restaurant recommendations as well which were very helpful. With two Vegans in our group, it was a must as Japan which is easy for Vegetarians but not so with Vegans. We had a list of must do activities which required advance reservations and ticketing and also added some activities recommended by Ayaka. In 10 days, we were able to visit museums, parks and shopping while scheduling in a visit to Ghibli Museum (hard to get tickets without advance planning!), Harry Potter, TeamLab Borderless and more. We also really enjoyed our mochi and taiko drumming lessons. I would highly recommend using Omakase to help you get the most of a trip to vibrant Japan!

We can't thank Omakase travels enough. We planned a last-minute trip to Japan and then suddenly…read morewere beset by big work deadlines and family emergencies. In a pinch, we turned to Omakase Travels to help us plan, make reservations, and book tickets for our trip. We can safely say that our trip would not have happened without Ayaka's personal help. She chatted with us virtually a couple of times to discuss our budget and interests. We had a fun and responsive back and forth about itinerary before locking it down. We had a lot of concerns because we have younger children and we were worried how they would fair with jet lag and the summer heat. Because of Ayaka's thorough itinerary we managed to avoid those points in a trip where you are stuck without a ticket or a ride and far from any food or hotel. We had zero child meltdowns and our children loved all the activities she suggested. It was an epic trip with 6 hotels in 13 days, traveling all over the country. We visited cultural sites, onsens, animal cafes and Universal Studios Japan. We packed two months of life experience into two weeks. We would highly recommend Omakase Travels to anyone traveling to Japan for the first time and look forward to booking our next trip with them. We usually forgo travel agents to save money but the expense was really worth it. At so many points in our trip we said to ourselves, "I'm so glad we had Ayaka." Thanks again!

Obtained pocket WiFi. Second time using HIS for our Japan trip. Attentive. They explained…read moreeverything in detail and seemed genuinely interested in hearing about our trip upon returning. Thanks!

Great local, convenient option for portable wifi if you don't want to rent wifi at Haneda or…read moreNarita. It's definitely more pricy to rent here at their Ala Moana location (~$50 for 5 days) than what the Japan-based airport firms offer (using the current favorable Yen rate of Y145.7271 per $1 US) but you have the added benefit of picking up and returning the device here on Oahu. You do have to fight the H-1/Nimitz traffic which is absent in Japan, so that element also should be considered. Definitely worth doing a cost/benefit comparison and then decide for yourself. Staff here is very helpful although I wish the hours were more expansive. Solid 3, all things considered, but the fast transaction processing and kind employees earn them a fourth star. Mahalo.

If you are thinking of traveling to South Korea, take the first step and contact David Lim of KJ…read moreInternational Tours (808-591-2000)! He can set you up with one of the multitude of tours that they offer, pretty much tailored to what you want to see and do ... no matter if it's your first trip to the Land of the Morning Calm or if you're a repeat traveler. You will experience not only the historical sites of South Korea, but also the newest attractions that the country develops. Also ... the FOOD! I still dream about the army stew (budaejjigae) I had one night at a little obscure shop near Namdaemun. That same shop also has the best mandoo ever! David is very knowledgeable about each item on his itinerary. He is very personable, easily approachable and wholeheartedly dedicated to making your trip one that you will remember always. I'll be booking another tour to South Korea with KJ International Tours next year!

David Lim of KJ International Tours provided a great experience for me and my friends on a tour to…read moreSouth Korea. Growing up in Korea he provided his personal experiences and historical perspective of the country. His enthusiasm and love of Korea was infectious. I encourage anyone going to Korea go with David/KJ Tours. Best tour ever!!!

April did an AMAZING job planning my honeymoon in Kauai. My husband and I got married on Oahu and…read morethen flew over to Kauai a few days after the wedding. April took care of everything from helping take care of flights, rental cars, and fun activities. She not only got us a great deal with one of the hotels that included a helicopter tour and a bus tour taking us to the Waimea Canon and Fern Grotto, but she was also able to upgrade our room to ocean view and get us complimentary breakfast each morning! When we first arrived at our hotel we were greeted with champagne, cake and a letter from April! She also curated a beautiful itinerary for us that we could reference throughout the trip so there was very little thinking required once we got there!! Will definitely use April and TravelChic World in the future with any trips/vacations. Thanks April!

It took me a while to write this but better late than never! April helped my husband and me book a…read more4 night stay for both our families at the Four Seasons Ko'olina in May 2022. She was extremely helpful in getting us and our families the rooms we wanted. She also took care of all the extra stuff we needed for our wedding weekend, including pool cabanas reservations, arranging for the hotel to store our wedding cakes, and organizing Sunday brunch! It was so easy and stress-free. Our families really enjoyed the stay and it added to the weekend's relaxing experience. She made it super easy for us and I would recommend her services to anyone. I'll definitely use her services again for future stays or trips.