Japan travel with either Inside Japan or Inspiring Vacations

I took one of Inside Japan’s guided tours (Classic Japan) and also spent an extra week on my own (extra days in Tokyo and a trip to Kanazawa). Inside Japan also made the arrangements for my independent time. They booked hotel, train tickets, and a half-day private guide in Kanazawa. I was very happy with all the arrangements that Inside Japan made and would use them again. My small group tour had 14 participants (4 from the UK and 10 from the US). Our guide was an American who has been living in Japan for more than 10 years. We primarily used public transportation (trains and buses) to get between locations. My only criticism was there were a couple of places where it would have been nice to have a local guide, but I enjoyed the mix of locations that we visited.

I’m not familiar with Inspiring Japan. I wouldn’t worry about the fact that they are based in Australia; rather I’d focus on the reviews from people who have toured with them. Inside Japan is based in the U.K. but they have a U.S. office. I mostly corresponded with my consultant via email so it would not have mattered if they had been based in another country. If you search this forum, you will find comments from a number of people who have used Inside Japan for travel arrangements.

I am also traveling solo to Japan in late November. I am doing a week solo in Tokyo and then joining a tour. I looked at a lot of tours but picked a Road Scholar one that went to some more unusual areas. However, I looked at Inside Japan and read lots of reviews...both online in general and here on the RS site and they seem like a solid company. I have never looked at Inspiring Vacations (yet)...but you can bet I'll check them out for future ideas:)

I was nervous about Japan due to the language and it being my first trip to an asian country. I just didn't know what I didn't know and that was intimidating. But in retrospect, I was worrying about nothing. Japan is really tourist-friendly and with a little bit of preparation & research, is much less confusing and more rewarding.

Feel free to take a tour. A lot of people do. But it absolutely isn't necessary. And I personally really liked being able to enjoy some of the temples, shrines and parks on our own pace rather than on the schedule of the group. And honestly, with google translate being so much better than when we traveled, you'll have an easy time reading signs and navigating.

I think Tokyo is easily worth 4 days. We also stayed at a ryokan hotel in Kyoto which was a fun experience but got a bit old after a couple of days. You could easily spend a week in Kyoto visiting shrines and temples but 2 full days (3 nights) is a minimum in my book. We also visited Nara to see the temple complex and the deer and spent a night in Hakone (Fuji area) visiting a bonkers Onsen theme park. My son did the "maple syrup bath" there which caused him to smell like maple for days.

All in all, Japan was amazing and really rewarding. It was the furthest culture from mine that I had ever visited and I often felt like a stranger in a strange strange land. But even that was ultimately a good thing. Japanese people were always really gracious hosts. We made every effort to be quiet and respectful visitors but they expect westerners to kinda be clampers so they cut us way more slack for minor cultural faux pas. Also, the trip caused me to buy a Japanese toilet so I will forever be indebted to my friend for suggesting we go to Japan.