Into Japan Specialist Tours

We contacted Into Japan and spoke to Lucy about our travels plans originally in 2019, however, we reconnected in 2022 and finally travelled in June 2023.Lucy is a friendly, informative and meticulous travel advisor that we could discuss our plans with. She clearly took our interests on board, especially our desire to see rural Japan and places off the beaten track and planned the most amazing 3 weeks trip to the Land of the Rising Sun. Other companies we found didn't take our requirements on board and gave us a pre-baked itinerary that ignored the brief. This definitely wasn't the case with Into Japan.We were hesitant about travelling in June and whether covid restrictions would still be in place. We needn't have worried as we only had 1.5 days of rain and restrictions were removed by the time of our journey.Our action packed journey started in Tokyo before heading to Hakone, Nagano prefecture, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Onomichi before ending in Osaka.We started our adventure in Tokyo with a city tour with a knowledgeable guide as well as a great ramen tour which even the rain couldn't dampen. We stayed in the fabulous Palace Hotel.We then headed to Hakone, which was a lovely scenic place for anyone who wanted to contrast the bustling metropolis of Tokyo. We had a pleasant stay at the Indigo hotel and sampled the best beef we've had at Itoh Dining by Nobu.We loved our time in Nagano, spending 5 nights to do some hiking, cycling and paddleboarding and loved staying at the Kura - Into Japan's own house as well joining the locals for karaoke in a small town bar - not another tourist in sight. We also did some hiking in Kamikochi and Norikura.The only criticism of our entire tour was the ryokan in Kamikochi. It served us the exact same kaiseki dinner for 3 nights. We felt they should have changed the courses each night so would prefer to stay elsewhere.We thought Kyoto was amazing, spiritual and historic, made all the more so by our lovely guide Ms Yumi who also showed us around Nara and Osaka. She was a funny, knowledgeable and friendly guide and she really enhanced our stay there and on our trip to Nara. We also made some sushi which was great fun but I doubt I'd get hired by any restaurant! We stayed at the Four Seasons which was stunning in all ways.We had a very moving visit to the Atomic Peace Park in Hiroshima before staying on Miyajima Island where we hiked Mount Misen and stayed at another Ryokan which offered delicious kaiseki dinners each evening.We then headed to Onomichi to cycle through the islands nearby staying the the quirky U2 Hotel. We liked the vibe here and enjoyed drinking with locals in various izakayas.We ended in Osaka with a city tour with our previous guide Yumi who was again excellent company. This was followed by a delicious street food tour by Kaori whose personality and knowledge of Osaka and the wider world having spent time in the USA was a unforgettable experience - we were stuffed by the time we arrived at the Conrad where we enjoyed a treat from the Into Japan team whilst watching the 'sim city' metropololis night lights from our breathtaking hotel room view.We were provided with a WiFi device, luggage forwarding service, JRPass and Pasmo card which helped us travel around the country using the very efficient rail network and metro lines.We also had an emergency contact, Haley, in Japan and she was great and prompt at dealing with any issues or questions we had - especially when one of our trains was cancelled due to a typhoon.Travelling around Japan is incredibly easy, even with all of the platform changes. The trains and signage are excellent.Our hotels that Lucy selected were excellent, in good locations and provided the luxury we requested and priced accordingly.We loved our journey through Japan and wouldn't hesitate to recommend Into Japan for anyone interested in visiting these magical islands.Our only regret is that 3 weeks wasn't enough- but that means we need to return and we know who we'll be contacting to arrange it all.Thank You!