Japan/Asia

Look at Road Scholar, Odysseys Unlimited and OAT.

No, not really unfortunately. I just got back from my trip to South Korea and I couldn't really find anything in the Rick Steves Style. Steve's personable, humanity based guidebooks are one of a kind, as most others follow more of the block lonely planet style... at least ones that that I have been able to find in English. The best I can recommend is "Simon ad Martina" on youtube. They are a Canadian Couple living in Japan and they have a bunch of great videos on some of the things there are to do, see, and eat in Japan and maybe there you can get an idea of what type of things you want to do most over there.

First question: Do you speak any Japanese.
Second: How long is your trip
Third: do you have any idea yet how much of japan you want to see? Japan is so, so dense of places to see and the transportation can be expensive so I really, really, really recommend not trying to see everything by overloading your schedule.

One of the best things about asian countries, especially the big cities, is sort of the assault on the senses of places to eat, drink coffee, shop, do karaoke.. street performers, etc. .. Streets are very very confusing and complicated so it can often be hard to find certain places outside of the train station adjacent landmarks as they tend to meander with non english signage. One of the most fun things about my time in Seoul was wandering through the labyrinth like backstreets and coming across all sorts of new types of places to eat.

I just returned from a trip to Japan which was organizaed by Audley Travel. They are mainly based in Britain but they now have a Boston office. I told them the cities and towns I wanted to see, and they arranged the hotels, rail pass, a few half-day tour guides, and a few other things. I was very happy with their attention to logistical detail and the tour guides they arranged were excellent. I would use them again.

FadtEddie, Did you take your luggage on the trains or use the luggage forwarding services?

Travel in Japan is very reasonable if you get a Japan Rail pass and use it accordingly.

I use to live in Japan and speak enough Japanese to get around. This past Summer we (my husband & 2 kids) spent 3 weeks in Japan and had a real blast. While I think a Eurail pass is a waste, the Japan Rail Pass is awesome. We really did save a lot but also it made traveling by rail (and train & subway in some cities) a lot easier.

In the past few years we have traveled quite a bit with our kids and this is a shocker. Travel in Japan was cheaper than New York City, Paris, London, and Washington DC. I'm comparing lodging, eating, the metro.

Japan is really clean. I noticed that just about every public restroom we went into even in parks was nice. When I came out of one public restroom I told my husband "I don't think I was dressed nice enough for that restroom."

Having lived in Japan I knew where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do pretty much. I think a lot of Americans are a little nervous about going to Japan because of the language. I can understand that. But Japanese people will bend over backwards to try and help you out. Also you don't have to worry about pick pockets or scam artists or getting short changed.

We travel with (4) 22 in carryon suitcases--one each. I still think that is a good idea. But I think we could have easily managed with (2) 25 in suitcases. All train isles except one local train were wide. And almost every station had escalators and elevators. That was not the case when I lived there years ago.

A few years ago we used Inside Japan Tours and really enjoyed their small group tour.

We've been on group tours to Japan twice once with Explore and again with KE Adventure holidays. Both were excellent. The KE one was a little more adventurous in terms of terrain covered. I think both companies still go to Japan, but I'm not sure that Explore still do The Nakasendo Trail trip we went on. Both companies have a website and I believe US agents/booking offices.

My husband & I did an outstanding two week Japan tour with Tauck. The guides (both our full time American guide & the two local Japanese guides), the tours & the quality of the experiences, overall, were similar to what we enjoyed on our many Rick Steves tours. However, there are a couple of major differences. First & foremost, the cost! Tauck is a high end company (i.e. very expensive). Hotels & many of the included meals are on a different level than on Rick Steves tours. For example, while we stayed, primarily, in family owned hotels & pensions on Rick Steven tours, our Tauck hotels ranged from international luxury brands such as Mandarin Oriental (where the gourmet shop sold gift boxed melons for $200 each) & the St. Regis (where each room has an assigned butler in formal attire) to more authentic Japanese hotels/resorts. We surmised the high cost was directly related to the top of the line hotels & the expensive meals (often with alcohol included). The local guides were used differently than in other tours we have even done. We had one local guide each week, traveling with us, rather than a different guide in each city. Although I have not done OAT tours, I have been on several Grand Circle tours (the same company). From what I have been told by loyal OAT travelers, OAT is probably the closest to a Rick Steves tour, in terms of experiences, smaller groups, accommodations & cost. One other option would be a cruise. I am a frequent Holland America passenger. They have several Asia cruises, including some that focus on Japan. If money is not a huge issue, I would suggest the Tauck tour as a special treat & a thorough introduction to Japan. Our tour ended in Tokyo, after which we spent several days in Tokyo on our own (moving from the very expensive Mandarin to a more reasonably priced Hilton). Having done that tour, we know we could go back to Japan on our own & feel very comfortable. However, for a first time visit, a good tour is the way to go. Regarding Roads Scholars, mentioned elsewhere: Although I have never done one of their tours, I know many lovely people who have. However, from what I have observed (being in the presence of Roads Scholars on cruise ships & in hotels etc.), their groups have a very academic focus, with frequent classroom lectures, lofty conversations etc, much like being in school. Roads Scholars are "older", rather than of diverse age groups. (The group used to be called Elder Hostel). As a bonus, when planning your trip, you might want to time your tour to correspond with cherry blossom season. It adds another dimension to an already beautiful experience. If you spend time in Tokyo on your own, a visit to Tokyo Disney is worth a day. It is very close to the city & easily reached on public transportation. There are two Disney Parks. We recommend Disney Sea. Have fun!

Thanks everyone!

I'm a teacher, so cost and timing are both constraints. (I can travel only during July/August.)

You've given me a few companies to research - so thanks again!

Take a look at Samurai Tours. They do only Japan tours. They seem to share the RS philosophy. I have not taken a tour with them yet, but worked with them when I was planning on going to Japan last year (unfortunately didn't work out). Very nice people.

I used PacSet tours on my last two trips to Japan. They tend to branch out to far-flung places in Japan, like Hokkaido (which remains my favorite area of Japan). They're a very small company based in Torrance, California but I thought their itineraries were some of the best.

We're also looking for a Japan tour. Nat Geo Tours look good, but expensive! Has anyone ever been on a Nat Geo tour?