Japan Travel

We are booked on Japan tour offered by Odyssey’s Unlimited this fall. We have taken 10 Rick Steves tours and one Odyssey’s tour in the past and think they are very similar. Odysseys stays in larger and nicer hotels, has a few less travelers on tour (max 24) and will book your flights and provide airport transfer if you want. We booked our own travel like with Rick Steves.

I took the Odysseys Unlimited tour during my first trip to Japan. It's a very good tour. Think of it like a Rick Steves tour with extras such as nicer hotels, bellman service, and smaller groups.

I suggest taking the optional trip to Hiroshima. Well worth it.

We did a Japan and South Korea tour last November with EF Go Ahead tours. They have several Japan trips. Group size was 15 and hotels were good. I would travel with them again if I liked the itinerary.

Inspiring vacations offers more budget friendly choices. I would not say they are on par with Rick Steves, but cost quite a bit less and go to basically the same places. Gate one discovery tours would match up with a Rick Steves tour.

With only 3.5 days, just stay and enjoy Tokyo. There is enough stuff to see, do or eat in Tokyo for 3.5 weeks.

Taking the Shinkansen to and back from Kyoto burns up a total day of travel. The train is boringly fast. Trying to view My Fuji from the bullet train is a hit or miss. You have about a 5 minute window to take a blurry shot. And your opportunity depends totally on the weather.

Thank you to the replies thus far. I look forward to additional suggestions.