Inside Japan?

Posted by Jess on 04/08/26 10:33 PM

Hello!

My husband and I are planning to go to Japan for 14 days this fall. We have booked flights, and we have started working with Inside Japan on a custom itinerary, but their pricing is significantly higher than planning on our own. There also seems to be a lot of open time that I will still need to plan on my own. I've planned many trips to Europe myself, but Japan is entirely foreign to us, and two weeks is longer than our usual trip, and frankly, we are busy.

For those of you who have used Inside Japan for a custom trip, please tell me about your experience. Was it worth the additional expense to use their services? Were you pleased with the itinerary, bookings, and overall support?

Posted by CL

Salem, Oregon, USA

04/09/26 03:10 PM

3942 posts

You might PM some of the people who have commented on prior threads about Inside Japan, just in case they don't check the forum regularly. Here are posts from the last two years: https://search.ricksteves.com/?button=&date_range=2y&filter=Travel+Forum&query=inside+japan

Posted by Laura

Virginia, USA

04/09/26 03:40 PM

6593 posts

I thought Inside Japan was great and I would absolutely use them again if I wanted help planning a trip to Japan. I used them for one of their group tours (Classic Japan) along with a week of independent travel in November 2025. Everything went smoothly for me. They send (via their portal) you written guides for each city you visit and some helpful info on traveling in Japan. My train tickets and an IC card were delivered to my first hotel.

Their pricing will be higher than if you plan and do everything on your own; you are paying for them to do all the legwork. That is the tradeoff. Whether the higher price is worth it is an individual decision.

Posted by Laura

Virginia, USA

04/09/26 03:42 PM

6593 posts

p.s. I posted some additional info here:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/beyond-europe/japan-travel-54fabd14-62d7-4d21-b84d-188dff93f940

Posted by Tammy (aka Diveloonie) 🤿

Palm Springs area, CA. USA (winters)🌴☀️ Nomadic (Spring thru Fall)

04/09/26 04:21 PM

3925 posts

Of course it costs more! They literally saved me massive hours of research. You can either do the research yourself and save a few bucks or rely on them to do the work, which they need to be paid for.

Posted by NYCMOM

NYC

04/09/26 07:47 PM

149 posts

I did not use Inside Japan. I would have been lost, literally and figuratively, if I had not had someone plan and guide me in Japan!

The subways and bullet trains were manageable. And airports and airlines.

I do not speak or read Japanese and taxi drivers did not speak or read English.

Restaurants were doable but I frankly got most meals at 7/11. And I like to start the day with hotel breakfast which is my main meal.

Some experiences through Airbnb experiences might be fun, or other add ons you devise with Get Your Guide etc.

I also find Europe doable but Asia was a different beast for me. Why not avail yourself of some expertise to make your trip better and easier?

Posted by Barbara

Brooklyn, NY

04/09/26 08:21 PM

4966 posts

We also used Inside Japan in March 2025. They were great. Yes, there was free time, but in the booklet they give you is detailed info about things to do or sites to see with transportation instructions with pictures.
They also gave us a device to carry around for internet connectivity which was priceless.
Also, I left my iPad on the flight over. I emailed them as soon as I realized it (Friday, first night). I sent them a photo of my boarding pass and a description of the iPad (color of the cover and color of the iPad). They got it back for me and had it delivered to our hotel for a fee of under $10.00 (Sunday morning). That help alone was invaluable.
Every activity we booked through them was fun, but you could probably book some yourself to save a few dollars. We booked our own cooking class.