Japan customer reviews

The food was great, we particularly loved the Omikase restaurant in Tokyo and the wagyu beef place in Kyoto.

We had a wonderful guide for the Nakasendo trail (Teddy) who was so nice any just lovely, helpful and informative. Our guide in Kyoto was really fun and got the balance just right for our family. The cycle guide was so sweet and you see his real passion for the nature and place that he lives. In Osaka our food guide took us to some great places and made it feel like we were just out with a friend.

Great organisation with the package at the start of the holiday. The tickets and trains and all the details were really easy to follow.

We have recommended you to quite a number of people since we’ve been back – as they were keen to know how we organised it.

All of the bullet train tickets being pre-booked was another big win – it meant I didn’t need to think or plan in the moment, which was a real luxury with so much travelling over the three weeks.

The information pack was clear, easy to follow and genuinely helpful – not overwhelming, just exactly what we needed. The hotels were well chosen, mostly within easy reach of stations, which again made everything feel simple. They were all really lovely: spacious, quiet, and welcoming and each with their own style, from traditional in Hakone to more modern in other cities. We really liked the balance of being able to explore independently, with the option of having guides in certain places. The fact that all tours were one-to-one was perfect for us – the girls aren’t keen on group tours, so this worked brilliantly.

All of the guides were fantastic: friendly, relaxed, and really good at tailoring the day. They struck a great balance between cultural highlights and things the girls would enjoy: for example, Kyoto temples alongside a mini pig café and some shopping. They also took us to more local, less touristy restaurants, which we loved.

Japan itself was incredible: so welcoming, friendly, and we felt completely safe travelling as just the three of us. The transport system is so efficient and easy to navigate, which made moving around really straightforward. Overall, it was an amazing trip, so well organised, easy to navigate, and a brilliant mix of structure and flexibility.

The app was fantastic, running through details of each day – hotels, how to get there, travel details which trains, details of a guide, numbers to call if any problems – all really clear, practical and easy to use. I used it every day on the trip and super impressed with it.

On the ground team were super kind and responsive to any query. Japan country notes very useful – particularly what to expect, culture notes. Thank you also for advising re getting the QR codes for each family member via Visit Japan website, saved us a lot of time at the airport. I am a detail person and can be quite particular about what I want, so very much appreciate that you took the time to make sure the details that I wanted were part of the trip!🤩

Loved Nagoya, it was not at all touristy, a fantastic hotel, amazing castle and science museum and just great to walk around. Our son liked the shopping areas you advised. Hakone open air museum – great and our teenage son also enjoyed this. Having European style hotels appreciated for the more European style breakfasts!

Toykyo – liked apartment hotel, simple but relaxing and well organised to stay in. Lab planets good for kids. Useful to have a guide at beginning of stay in Tokyo. Sumo restaurant was great, son and husband loved it! Loved running circuit around gardens and by the river and seeing the cherry blossom there. Tech area v popular with family. Nakasendo trail – really good and excellent guide.

Kyoto – Samurai experience very good. E bikes a lot of fun, maybe would have enjoyed for longer, but realise we wanted to do everything and did not have time! E bikes were a great way of seeing Arashiyama around the quieter streets/areas and some amazing temples shrines. Temples everywhere amazing.

Hiroshima – very worthwhile for all the family. Good to walk around, museum very thought provoking and useful for us all to see. Loved the hotel in Hiroshima and its breakfast in particular. Kayaking great, particularly seeing the quieter side of Miyjima island. We really loved finishing about 6pm and staying the evening with less people and taking in the beauty of the island and the shrine.

We really did have an amazing trip and many thanks to you for all the fantastic planning. All travel arrangements well organised and very smooth.

A few highlights and things that we loved in particular…

All the hotels were great and very well chosen. The Mimarus were all really family-friendly and in good locations. We loved the free pyjamas and bingo lists of recommendations they gave us. The hotel in Hakone had lovely little extras like a snack table and ice lollies near the onsens – a big hit with everyone. We also enjoyed wearing yukatas to breakfast and dinner! The hotel in Nagoya was also brilliant (amazing breakfast) and we wished we’d been there slightly longer. For future families travelling in spring, the castle had the most amazing cherry blossom on the street outside. We also went to the gyoza restaurant in the city guide and can confirm it’s still as good!

We all loved the little house in Takayama. It felt like a lovely change from hotels and breakfast at the cafe down the road worked really well too. Having topped-up IC cards made such a difference and we actually had the perfect amount to last the trip. And the envelope with all the bullet train tickets so beautifully ordered made everything very relaxing as we travelled around. The wifi kit was very useful too.

Team lab planets in Tokyo was fab. Our guides in Tokyo and on the Nakasendo trail were brilliant and very knowledgeable. (Jay in Tokyo made a particular impression – I think it was the Pokemon cards he gave our children and the fact we ended the tour in an arcade!)

As expected, it was super hot and humid throughout our stay so the handheld fans and water bottles were a great tip, but we also loved that you were never far from a cold drinks vending machine… anywhere!

Things we loved in particular:
– All the SM organised transfers and transport were very efficient. We felt well-equipped to tackle all of the intra and inter-city transport journeys.

– The Mimaru in Tokyo was perfect for us. Plenty of space where we could all be together in one room/studio. Good location in Shinjuku with helpful/friendly staff too.

– The guides in Tokyo (Sam) and Kyoto (Henrik) were really excellent – lots of knowledge and very flexible in how we spent the day, and at a pace that suited us.

– The Sumo Lunch in Asakusa was really fun, as was the Samurai Experience in Kyoto

– Hakone was beautiful and the hotel was fantastic – particularly the food. Really enjoyed the Open-Air Museum.

– The ryokan in Takayama was a fantastic experience and the food was amazing. We also really loved the cycle experience in Hida Fukuyama, a stunning little town that didn’t seem overly touristy and with a guide (Nanami) who was brilliant with the kids.

– Really nice to come back to the Mimaru in Tokyo for the final night – a sense of the familiar in the megacity.

– 7Elevens!!

I wanted to say a big thank you for helping to create a wonderful trip with experiences that have given us lifelong memories.

Hotels were good. The hotel in Tokyo was exactly what we needed. Ryokan in Takayama was good, although I think we probably ended up deciding we didn’t like all the rules etc. really liked trying all the different food at the ryokan. The Hiroshima hotel was actually great. Osaka less so – oddly at universal city which hadn’t quite figured out – as it happens you have to go in a specific gate at expo (east) which is only available on green Chou Line which you can’t get to from Universal even though it’s very close (you basically have to go into Osaka and out again ) – bit odd but who knew.

No gyms, so we struggled a bit on exercise, but then 25,000 steps a day was enough.

Bullets trains are very good indeed, although Nate said too short to get stuck into A level revision.

On guides – Tokyo the guy was good, actually and took us to lots of things we wouldn’t have gone to (vintage markets and Godzilla) and was very knowledgeable. The Kyoto guide was on their second-ever tour and didn’t really know much and used ChatGPT to tell us about the Palace. The food tour in Osaka was cool, actually, as he took us to lots of places that he knew were good. Bike tour / a little confusion as we thought we were doing a e-bike tour that was reasonably long. It was good and interesting but we could have done longer – we are keen cyclists.

The IC cards were good and useful, and we topped them up a lot – using them for drinks from the machines was very useful.The 

WiFi machine is a nice touch. N had got a SIM he didn’t really need. 

ANA business class flights we loved. Amazingly huge seats and great service. N loved being told the Japanese food might be a bit exotic and then clearing all that came his way. Lufthansa in comparison, was fine, but Ana was just great.

Nara was good and the temple there was one of the highlights. It’s the largest wooden building in the world, and we learned that the wooden walkway at Expo is the largest wooden structure in the world.

Kyoto – the 10000 Torii Gate Temple was amazing – we almost didn’t go, and it was a highlight (although during a thunderstorm). We hadn’t realised it’s probably a 2-hour climb and back if you go all the way to the top of the mountain. I would recommend going either in the morning or evening, when less busy and for us it would’ve been good to get to the top and have enough time to do so.

Sushi making was great – we liked it – for some reason, I thought it was in the fish market (which was a bit touristy when we went) – the lady who ran it was really welcoming, and we really enjoyed it.

The weather was hot and humid, and 3 days of huge rain, but it just added to the fun. We got fans and neck cloths and umbrella etc.

It was fantastic to have everything sorted so we didn’t have to stress, and the mobile wifi router was absolutely indispensable, so thanks for that! And the information pack was really thorough and well thought out – covering pretty much every question that occurred to us.

Thanks for everything!

Having all the bullet train tickets booked in advance, knowing that a private transfer to the hotel in Hakone would be what our slightly jet-lagged children (and us) would need for day three, picking hotels that were in the perfect locations, I could go on. And providing such detailed trip notes so we knew exactly what each day entailed as well as the city guides with lots of useful notes about what to see and do. We loved our days with our guides, especially on the first day in Tokyo when having someone else essentially take charge of the day meant we could ease ourselves into the trip. The food tour in Osaka was also a particular highlight – in fact the food in general everywhere we went was fantastic, especially the hotel breakfasts which the kids were big fans of!

Highlights were Hakone – the hotel was just so lovely with an amazing view. And the buffet dinner was out of this world! It’s also a highlight as we got to see Mt Fuji clearly in the few hours the clouds cleared and felt very lucky to have done so.

We also all loved the trek along the Nakasenda Way – such a contrast to the busy cities we visited and a glimpse of a different Japan. Kyoto felt rather hectic as there was just so much to try and see and do in a short space of time, and some places could get very crowded. But our guide took us to the Nanzen-ji Temple which was magical – the vast wooden buildings and the beautiful Japanese gardens up in the hills with hardly anyone there. It will stand out in our memories for a long time. 

The team on the ground was great too – letting us know when our bullet train was delayed and keeping us up to date with that, and then changing our hotel bookings halfway through when I realised having all four of us in a room was too much (for me anyway!). The hotel in Tokyo was in a great location. Great for shopping and getting to the metro (we even walked to Tokyo station with our bags when we checked out).

I’ve already recommended you guys to a few others and we’ll definitely use you again for our next big trip. Big thanks to Jess for all her help in getting everything organised. 

Huge thanks also to you and Liddy for all your support with our booking and for making everything run so smoothly. This is the second trip we’ve booked via Stubborn Mule and your insightful country knowledge and attentive, high-quality customer service means that we’re very likely to be back again in future. For busy people who love to travel well, this is such a winning combination 🙂

… taking in the Peace Museum in Hiroshima with groups of Japanese school children, Miyajima and its friendly deer and the Osaka aquarium. The airport taxis were so comfortable with kind drivers. The bullet trains were exceptional, the girls loved collecting the stamps, the kindness and hospitality of the people, the ramen and sushi…We loved it all!

We would go back in a heartbeat (even though the return journey approx. 27 hours door-to-door was quite exhausting!)

Many thanks to you both.

Your ground agents were fantastic and called me about the first typhoon even before we heard the news. We left Tokyo as the city was getting soaked by the tail end of the most recent typhoon. They also helped me book a lovely teppanyaki restaurant for our last night and a spa to use before dinner.

The only bit we didn’t really enjoy was the excursion in Hakone over the mountain to the lake – we had to queue for ages at each of the chairlift points and when we eventually got to the lake, the only option was to go on a pirate-themed cruise ship for which there was another queue. However, we really enjoyed all of the art museums and gardens in Hakone, in particular the Hakone Open Air Museum which was stunning and maybe something you should flag to other customers – great for young kids, reluctant teenagers and adults.

Team Labs Planets in Tokyo was brilliant and we also visited their Borderless exhibition in Tokyo. There is one in Osaka which we didn’t have time for.

Hotels all good but we absolutely loved the house in Kyoto. It was good staying in two different locations in Tokyo so that we could explore different areas.

Many thanks.

We had three guides – Shinjin, Ted and Tom, who were excellent and really helped us to gain an in-depth understanding of the particular area. Tom (who took us on a hike) also helped with repairs for my shoe which collapsed in the heat.

I would, without hesitation, recommend this trip. We were surprised how easy it was for us to navigate subways, busses, ferries and trains. Google translate is your friend. The Japanese are incredibly kind and willing to help. It was a privilege to visit this wonderful country.

My boys loved the Kyoto hotel breakfast (matcha ice cream and the cat robot). They both loved the Ghibli Museum, I think for anyone with a family it’s a must-see.

We were recommended a cat cafe in Tokyo. I know they exist here, but we have a cat, so we have never been to one. It was a great way to unwind after walking so much, and my youngest kept begging me to do another one, so we did one in Kyoto also.

Special shout out to the tour guide who took us on the Nakasendo trail, she was amazing, she had a wealth of knowledge and she explained so much to us about Japanese culture and history, and she even played “I Spy” with us.

Again thank you very much, it was a great trip, and we had a wonderful time.

The tour guides in Tokyo and Kyoto were particularly good; friendly, knowledgeable & really bent over backwards to help us get the most out of our visit. Mikki spent a few hours on our second day in Tokyo getting our train trips organised and it really got us prepared and confident to stick to the itinerary.

Top of the list of things we did were: TeamLabs Planets & Tokyo Skytree. We also found a pop-up Studio Ghibli exhibition which was really interesting for the boys. Surprisingly, we all enjoyed the Nakasendo trail in the rain. It’s such a beautiful route. Although a lot of the lower section of the trail towards Tsumago was closed due to landslips and we had to walk on the road for about a mile – which wasn’t great.

My favourite place was Kyoto – we had a wonderful guide for a day and really enjoyed the mix of temples and restaurants. We found an amazing basement place run by a husband/wife team that seated about 10 people and offered an incredible tasting menu which they cooked in front of you.  We didn’t go to Nara as we were enjoying Kyoto so much.  

We also left Hiroshima early on Sunday morning to give us more time in Osaka. Hiroshima was understandably quite heavy going and we were keen to end our last day in Osaka on more of a high. We did get to the Memorial Museum in Hiroshima and it was harrowing, to say the least. It would definitely be worth warning families with young children that its a very graphic/disturbing experience – although the city is worth visiting and has a vibrant food scene.

We loved the supporting documentation you provided – particularly the ‘Best of Japan’ overview which became our hand bible for the trip! 

We felt safe, well-fed, culturally enriched throughout our whole trip. Thanks for your superb organisation & we all can’t wait to return to Japan!

We loved team borderless and the sky tree. Girls were v pleased to go to Studio Ghibli (altho I was a bit underwhelmed tbh).

I think we were a bit unprepared for the weather ie v.v hot and humid esp for sightseeing. So taking a few breaks to cool down was essential especially in Kyoto. Our guide here was lovely, but keen to stick to a schedule. I think she felt she might let us down if she didn’t do everything on her mental list. In the end we asked for more breaks and it was all fine. Highlight was Nijo Castle. She recommended we go to the Inari shrine on our way back from Nara which was a great suggestion.

The Takayama leg was amazing. The ryokan, the food, bike ride through Furakawa and the lovely guide there were all spot on. Just one thought. Is it possible to have just had dinner on 1 night at the ryokan? There were so many places to try in Takayama was a shame we didn’t have a chance.

Hiroshima was emotional and we happened to be there on the 74th anniversary of the A bomb so saw the river flowing with lamps that evening and thousands of people lining the river banks. The day in Miyajima was slightly disappointing as the scaffolding was all over the gate (which we knew of course) but the weather forecast had closed the cable car too. There was a typhoon expected but it didn’t come. I did try to persuade D to swap Miyajima for the castle on the way to Osaka (as suggested by a friend) but in the end we stuck with our itinerary and enjoyed the deep-fried cakes in Miyajima!

Finally the hotel in Osaka was amazing just for the views and the food tour was brilliant. We had 2 guides. A young Japanese guy and a middle-aged Welsh punk rock star! They were both fantastic and gave us a real insight to Shinsekai. In hindsight wish we’d had 2 nights in Osaka but not sure what we would have ditched.

All in all a very memorable trip. We loved it. The hot-spot was a lifeline altho the downside was the greater temptation with teens to be on the phone!!! Swings and roundabout…

Really appreciate all your great advice. Have passed on Stubborn Mule to a friend planning to go to Japan next year!

The trains are great and super easy to use – especially if you are used to London tubes.  It seems a bit intimidating but once you get to grips with it they are very straightforward and there are often English speaking information desks or helpers at some of the larger stations.

The main thing I would have changed/added was on arrival in Tokyo – arriving in Japan at 10.00am neither of us having slept on the plane we got to our hotel exhausted.  We were told that we couldn’t check in until 3.00pm.  Not ideal with kids. We went off and managed to do a few things around the city but were completely ready for meltdown at any moment.  For next time I think an early check in is required, even at an extra cost.

Everything in Japan ran like clockwork, as you would expect there.  All transfers and tours were super reliable.

We were disappointed that we couldn’t go to the Studio Ghibli Museum. Apparently it gets very booked up and we should have done this months in advance. It was in one of our information packs early on saying this was an option, so future travellers may need to be warned of this.

The snow monkey day was amazing and hugely recommended.  We were told by our guide that due to the summer weather we may not see any monkeys but they were everywhere and this is a great thing for families and children to do.  Such beautiful countryside as well.

The day tour of Tokyo was ideal as we saw so much in one day.

The Mori Digital Art Museum was astonishing.  Never seen anything like it.  Hard to explain but everyone would love it.  It felt like a luxury being collected and taken there in a car having dealt with public transport up until then.  Especially as the driver had white gloves and offered us water :). When we arrived at the museum there was hardly anyone there and then it got packed later in the day (as it was the Japanese school holidays) so worth noting that its best to go here as early in the day as possible.  Some of the digital rooms are far for effective and awe-inspiring if there are not many other people while you are viewing.

The dinner with the Maiko (Geisha) was amazing and there were Japanese craft shops there for us to look around first.  She did a show for us while we had dinner and then chatted to us for ages answering questions and playing games. Such an unforgettable experience.  The Maiko was so lovely and beautiful.

Future travellers might be interested to know that there are shops at most of the places on the itinerary so for example at temples and the Geisha dinner and at Miyajima there is plenty to buy so not much time is needed for extra shopping in Japan.

The notes said we had a day tour of Kyoto, but then said we had the afternoon free.  So we were kind of expecting a half-day tour.  The full day would have been fine in cooler weather but it was sooooo hot that in fact we gave up half way through.  The tour was lovely but after going around the Kyoto Imperial Palace at midday in the full heat we couldn’t do any more and excused ourselves. Would be fine for anyone at other times of year.

Hiroshima was very interesting and we learnt a lot.  The museum is very interesting but quite graphic and might not be suitable for younger children… Fine for us though and important to see the horrors.

Nara was one of my favourite.  The temple there was amazing and the deer so cute.

Loved Naoshima too.  Great for older children, especially if it had been cooler weather.  Quite hard to get to but worth recommended if people like art.

In Kyoto when we checked out of our hotel we had to pay tax.  It wasn’t a big deal as it was a small amount.  When I questioned this I was told that it is only something that Kyoto do (not the rest of the country) and is some sort of tourist tax.  Again you might want to warn your customers of this.

All in all we had an amazing life changing trip.  Loved everything and my son is already talking about going back again.

We loved Takayama and it was a great respite from the crazy cities; we hadn’t realised quite how mad Tokyo would be, so it was lovely to get to somewhere a bit quieter.

Hiroshima was just as thought-provoking / distressing / amazing as you had warned us. We are really glad that we took the children but they were quite shell-shocked to realise the extent of the disaster. But it was well worth visiting.

And Kyoto was amazing! I could have stayed for weeks here but the children probably thought that we had long enough. They had got a little temple / palaced out by the end of it, but J and I loved every minute. The kids loved seeing the geishas though.

All in all an amazing trip, thank you.