Reviews

A wonderful trip to Japan, This was a great way to experience Japan. The food, iconic places, culture. It was a busy agenda with so many new experiences. An open mind and good fitness is required to get the most from this holiday.

Fantastic experience. This tour had a variety of activities and covered a lot of places. There was a mix of local and western meals and the hotels used were of a good standard. Our guide (Michiko Doi) was excellent. She was knowledgable, spoke very good english, had a sense of humour and was passionate about Japan. She worked extremly hard to meet everyone's needs and made our trip. I would recommend this tour.

We have just returned from an excellent trip, Japan Uncovered. Blessed by outstanding weather, and in cherry blossom season this trip covered all the major sites that we most wanted to see in Japan. Our guide, Mina, was fabulous. Patient, knowledgeable and with a great sense of humour. Her English was excellent. Our group of 27 included English, Irish and Australian participants. A few of us had food requests and allergies which Mina took time to understand and to ensure that the restaurants were aware of.
Before embarking on a trip such as this though, I would urge people to do their homework. This is a trip designed to cover as many peoples interests as possible. Therefore, there will be occasions when you like certain activities more than others. This is not a personalised trip. This also applies to the food. Sometimes you will eat at fairly high end restaurants and sometimes the equivalent of a cafe. The food is predominantly Japanese because that is what people eat in Japan! I am not a huge fan of Japanese food but I tried everything and I was never hungry. The days are long and there is often quite a bit of walking. So when it is stated that a good level of fitness is required, that is what they mean. On the first day we walked over 20,000 steps as well as travelling by coach and boat; and recovering from jet lag. English is not widely spoken but with a smile and a sense of humour most things can be communicated. We were happy with all of the hotels that we stayed in but Japanese hotel rooms tend to be small and rather warm. There often isn’t a bar to relax in, in the evenings but the vending machines are excellent.
We will definitely be keeping our eyes peeled for other Wendy Wu tours but I think that this one will be hard to beat both in terms of cost and the amount of Japan that we were able to see. Just a couple of thousand photos to go through now.

Poor value. The guide had never travelled with a group and he had no idea what he was doing. Often he was lost at large historical sites and so a lot of time was wasted. We often did not have enough time to queue up to see the sites we were visiting.
The hotels were very good, however the lunch and dinner venues were often very cheap, rather nasty places. We often arrived late for lunches and the food was sitting waiting for us so cold. Not pleasant.
Lack of information in a daily basis. Such as where we were going, meal times etc.
The coach transport was of a very high standard with plenty of room. Great drivers.
In general I could not recommend this company. I feel the holiday was very overpriced for the service we received.

Enjoyed the tour!! Food was a little disappointing…..whilst there was plenty- it was very repetitive and the locations not as a I would like.

Fully packed itinerary with an excellent guide Matchy. Over the 16 days we got a real feel for all the Japan highlights. Mealtimes gave us a great selection of either Japanese or western menus. Interesting to eat out at different venues. Matchy on occasion took us on the subway and through the crowded streets downtown - gave a real feel for the city. Some hotel rooms a bit on the cramped side but you're not in them long.
Good group with 26 of us: 12 Brits; 10 Aussies; 4 Kiwis. All very manageable with this size of group.

re Japan Uncovered #16 27 March - 11 April 24

Having toured Vietnam, Laos & Cambodia with Wendy Wu a few years ago we were confident in booking this tour with Wendy Wu and we were not disappointed.
The tour is a busy one and a lot of walking is involved. In some of the castles we visited stairways were steep and slippery due to having to take our shoes off. We would say that the physical rating of 1 is misleading. During the 14 days that we toured we walked 141 kms (87.5 miles) about 10 kms (6 miles) per day which is tough on someone who is not very mobile and indeed some of our party missed out seeing some places as they could not manage the distance.
Hotels were all very good. some with lovely views over the coast and Mount Fuji. Only the 2 European chain hotels had bars (Sheraton & Mercure) but there were vending machines everywhere to purchase drinks when required.
The food was Japanese apart from a few buffets which included more European dishes. I will say that we found the meals very samey. On occasions we had the same for lunch and evening meal but there was always plenty of it and a selection of different items so you could pick out what you liked.
We enjoyed the Castles, Temples, Gardens, Bullet Train, Snow Monkeys and of course the cherry blossoms.
Our guides English was a little slow and he had the habit of repeating instructions over and over making it longer to get anywhere ie into our hotel rooms but was flexible when he needed to be.
Not a lot of free time on the tour. We were lucky to arrive at lunchtime in Osaka and so had free time until the evening meal so we took the train to Osaka Castle where we wandered the gardens. We were glad that we did as we saw more than when we returned the following day. At the end of the tour we had 2 free afternoons which again enabled us to take the train back into Tokyo Centre to wander around.
All in all a great time seeing everything that you should when visiting Japan.

My first call with Hannah have me all the information I needed, unfortunately the date I wanted was sold out. I reassessed the situation and rang back, Hannah was busy but my number was passed on to her and she rang me back within a few minutes. I was then able to book the new date. Helpful, pleasant and patient..thanks Hannah.😊

While Japan itself was wonderful, the mechanics of the tour left a lot to be desired. Fine if you are prepared to walk over 70 miles during the course of the tour, fine if you are prepared for a mix of good and mediocre hotels, many without bars, OK if you are prepared to accept repetitive meals, and be prepared to be rushed at the end of the day prior to the evening meal. Considering how much we paid, I would have expected consistently good hotels and food above average. Having said that Japan is a wonderful country and worth visiting.

A great trip maybe a bit rushed for a keen photographer in some places, otherwise a 5 star

We were expecting welcome meeting on the first evening, This didn't happen! we went straight to a restaurant for a meal after waiting for stragglers to arrive the only advice given was on the bus to our first visit.

Advice on Japan Pass should warn about including more than one passenger on the Japan Pass. QR code Generated by the App on PAPER is not Read by the Airport Scanners, even the QR on Phone is a trial to get in the right spot while holding passport with the other hand.

Breakfast was sometimes too close for lunch at noon some of our party skipped early lunches wasting food prep and products.
However occasionally we had a 7.00am start, lunch at 2.30pm then dinner 6.00pm. We had plenty of stopovers on the longer road trips but a Coffee Break mid morning built into local trips would be delightfully received.
Thanks to the efficiency of the Japanese VENDING MACHINES we got by on the Run!

Excellent mix of visits and activities well lead by guide free time came towards the end of the trip so souvenir purchases were possible.

The advice on quantity of cash to take was way over the top CC are taken in touristy places only food outlets where cash only but our trip was inclusive of all meals so cash only needed for vending machines and drinks with meals.

Excellent quality hotels some variation in room sizes sometimes difficult to find space to open suitcases. Busy times in the Hotels at Breakfast due to the number of Tourist Groups using the same hotels and leaving at the same time in the morning.

Our Shuttle Bus from our hotel to Tokyo Airport was arranged 2 hours before we needed to leave for our Flight. Therefore we had and 2 hour wait before our check-in DESK OPENED. The Transfer Ticket arrange by the TOKYO OFFICE was not transferable, we were told, so a shame to end an excellent trip with a disappointing wait before we could relax in the Business Lounge.

The group size of 25 was a good mix the programme relied on tight timings so as mentioned before the photographers were often last on the bus. The guide made rapid progress through crowded streets and locations with the group trailing behind, however time to regroup while collecting tickets before we could gain entry to the Location.

I would recommend this trip to any ambulant person there are many Changes of Altitude which taken at a steady pace is not an issue, even Snow underfoot was negotiated with care however Matsumoto Castle has Very Steep Wooden Stars and a challenge worth taking a rain check if it's crowded with other tourist but you would miss an excellent display of Black powder Musket's and Shot Manufacturing tools.

We are either side of 80 years old and enjoyed every aspect of the tour and made travelling friends on the way.

Well done Wendy Wu

Great all inclusive trip with full itinerary, good accommodation, interesting places.

I was disappointed as a solo traveller that my flight into Osaka was the last to arrive and I missed the evening meal on the first day
I was surprised that everyone had travelled by different routes
I was also one of the first to leave Tokyo at 6:30am, so missed breakfast and final goodbye’s
Our guide Emiku Honda was brilliant and knowledgeable
The group was friendly and a good mix of ages
The tour was ‘full on’ some days, evening meal 60mins after being dropped off from the day’s activities
I loved the places we visited and feel that I saw the highlights of Japan
I really miss the warm toilet seats!

I've travelled in two Wendy Wu small group tours. Vietnam in 2016 and most recently India in April 2024. The itineraries were comprehensive, the hotels and meals of a very good standard and the guides - National and local - superb. I travelled in a group of 28 people to India - a great mix of Brits, Irish, Aussies and Kiwis which really made the trip extra special. Everything is arranged - the only extras you need are money for any drinks, for shopping and some of the optional extras offered like shows or additional excursions. You don't have to do the add-ons as the standard tour is already very comprehensive including excursions but eg in the India tour - the night tour of Jaipur by Jeep and the show at Agra about the the origins of the Taj Mahal were both great and worth the small extra. Any small issues were quickly resolved by the excellent National guide - for India our National Guide was the ever smiling Vishal. A fair number of long bus rides in India but I loved that as it gave me plenty of opportunity to observe the real India as we drove through. I dont think I'll ever quite get over the sight of cows casually strolling everywhere even down the middle of busy roads or how Indian girls manage to sit side saddle on a moped in a sari and not fall off! Coaches were all of an excellent standard as were the drivers - especially the cool, calm Mr Singh who navigated us safely through the Indian road system and some tight parking spots to get us right to the hotel door. Booking was easy, getting visa simple and the itinerary produced by Wendy Wu was very comprehensive. All I had to do was enjoy the trip and the spectacle of India, take literally 100's of photos and not have to worry about getting from A-Z . Thoroughly recommend Wendy Wu as I've two absolutely fantastic and memorable group tours to Vietnam and India now - and Ive just booked a Japan group tour for March 2025. Cannot wait to Wu again!

Generally, a great and extensive tour. Our guide, Miyuki was excellent. Main problem was the huge crowds at the tourist sites which detracted from the enjoyment of them.
Hotels and transport were good. Itinerary stated an onsen at one hotel which wasn’t there! One day we did not check in until 8.30pm which was too late and one meal was at a school type canteen which was awful with about 200 children there.
Group size of 26 seemed quite large at times. Max of 20 would be better.