InsideJapan ToursReviews 

Last week, I returned from a two-week guided tour of Japan put on by InsideJapan, and it was truly an amazing experience. The tour took me and 10 other travelers across several unforgettable places, including Tokyo, Kanazawa, Kinosaki Onsen in Hyogo, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Hakone, Nara, and Miyajima Island. The hotel accommodations throughout the trip were top notch.

Each day was jam-packed with things to see and experience, from temples, shrines, gardens, and castles to incredible meals, tea ceremonies, and many other cultural experiences. We also got to interact with locals in ways I never would have expected or been able to arrange on my own, such as joking around with students and feeding/petting the deer in Nara. And of course, we got to taste so much of Japan’s delicious food, which was probably my favorite part of the whole trip, especially the okonomiyaki. Thank goodness we did so much walking.

That said, any review of this trip would be woefully incomplete if I did not mention our tour leader, Hanan. She is extremely knowledgeable about Japan’s culture and history, but what really stood out was how much passion she brought to everything we saw. As she guided us through Japan’s shrines, temples, gardens, castles, and other historical landmarks, she made these places come alive in a way I never would have managed on my own.

She also helped us navigate Japan’s restaurants and day-to-day experiences like a true insider, knowing great places to eat and visit, and helping us understand how to approach situations that might otherwise have felt intimidating or confusing because of the language barrier. Hanan and InsideJapan were also very thoughtful and helpful in accommodating several people’s special dietary needs, and very efficient in organizing all of the trains, taxis, ferries, and other logistics that helped us see so much of Japan.

This was a truly memorable first visit to Japan, and I came away with a much deeper appreciation for Japan than I would have had traveling by myself. I would highly recommend InsideJapan to anyone considering a guided tour of Japan, and I feel very lucky that Hanan was the person leading our group.

Our planner stuck to meeting our objectives, granting priority to gardens, learning about religion and cultural history. No mishaps ever. The guides were superb, fun and most knowledgeable.

Some little improvements could make the experience even better. For instance, the food tour in Osaka was substandard and the proposed schedule should have allotted an extra day there. Our Takayama visit was just one day before the major annual festival where they have the floats parading around town and we wish we had been able to stan an extra day. The background reading materials on each city were unoriginal and not tailored to our interests. And the day in Naoshima could have been enjoyed at its fullest if we had received more information on all the museums available for us to visit.

This was our first international family holiday and Jayesh made the whole trip seamless with quite a few fantastic surprises along the way, notably (for me at least) was our stay at the Grand Nikko on Awaji Island!
Every connection was spot on an we only made one small timetable change for a Shinkansen trip and the 24hr help line was flawless! Great service!
5 ⭐️ When asked about our trip I will always mention Jayesh from Inside Japan and will recommend your services!
Thank you for making this holiday a lifetime experience!

Tour guide was excellent and visit to sites off the typical tourist attractions very interesting

Amazing tour guide who was knowledgeable about all aspects of Japan - history, culture, Buddhism, Shinto, gardens and the arts - and who ensured a safe and hassle free experience. A varied and well planned tour with great hotels and many highlights meeting all my expectations - I loved every minute of it! An experience of a life time!

This was an amazing experience with a small group, highly knowledgeable guide and visits to places off the beaten track. Absolutely top tier service from beginning to end.

able to split our trip into two separate portions-one self guided and one set by inside Japan; worked out perfectly; Joseph was fantastic to work with and gave us helpful insights on areas he had lived in that really worked. Hit Sakura at peak in many areas; required 2 phone consults while in country and got quick results--one was our car rental when we didn't have the needed voucher. I would definitely use again

We have just come back from "Majestic Japan'. We are a 70ish year old couple. Our guide was Hanan. There are few words to adequately describe her guiding skills. She was fun, organised, informative and we all loved her. On her watch, no one was late, no-one felt that they had missed out. She had a very mixed age group 20-75 and all of us were appropriately entertained!! Her linguistic skills are immense.
Japan, itself, was a great country to visit. There were sights a plenty, but it was seeing the lovely people, kind, polite and sooo tidy (no litter or graffiti)that lifted the experience.
If we had any gripes, it might be that there was too much time leeway for reaching stations etc and too much time allocated to lunch. We had such splendid breakfasts!
Hotels were very comfortable and , mostly, well placed. Tokyo Shangri-la is the most sumptuous hotel that I have ever visited, with amazing artwork and glass chandeliers.

We just returned from Majestic Japan (May 2026). The choice of hotels, transportation, restaurants and itinerary stops were everything we hoped for and more. Our group had 9 wonderful people ranging in age from 20 to 74 - all melding together under the care of our wonderful and caring guide Hanna. The trip advertises as a Superior experience and totally delivers on the promise in terms of hospitality, Japanese experience and Guide quality. Hanna is extraordinary and special. Thank you Hanna and Inside Japan for memories of a lifetime. Steve S

Very well organised

Outstanding organisation of our trip, with the itinerary providing all the information we needed to get to the places we wanted to get to. Very helpful staff answered all our questions we had before the trip, so we were well prepared. We had an amazing time - thank you Inside Japan for all your help and superb Customer Service!

Excellent service from start to finish

Outstanding tour guide and accommodations. Lots of history and sights seen.

Everything was done well. The accommodations were great. Fergal our guide was fantastic. The food was great transportation was easy. We felt like we saw many of Japan’s greatest highlights.

The logistics worked smoothly, the site suggestions were spot on. We never could have arranged this visit on our own. And the level of service was high: a sweater with sentimental value was retrieved and shipped back to us in the states. Above and beyond

We had a wonderful experience with Inside Japan Tours for our first trip to Japan. We chose a self guided tour and everything was fantastically organised.
Fully recommended.

Top to bottom this tour company delivers. Amazing customer service. Steve Parker was an amazing guide giving us culturally appropriate suggestions as well as eco-friendly. See Japan from an insiders lens. I cannot wait to book another trip with them.

We did the Majestic tour. The tour guide was absolutely fabulous and the quality of the tour excellent. We would thoroughly recommend Inside Japan.

It was so well organised. All our requests were taken into account. Accommodation was perfect. All our train tickets were in a packet on our arrival. There was so much supporting information. Everything was detailed and exact. We had the perfect trip without any hitches. Perfectly planned. Would definitely recommend

Airport arrival/transportation was a rather iffy.Due to 3rd party - Green Tomato transport Co taking on unscheduled customers who made late minute arrangements then arrived late. - Shame on Green Tomato Co . Every other part of our trip was excellent and exactly as planned without any undue pressure We were a small international group of 5 couples + 2 solo travellers plus our guide. Although we had a tight 14 day schedule there was plenty of flexibility within that schedule for time off to individual activates. Inside Japan Co provided first class arrangements for a fair price from the very beginning of the booking process to final departure at NRT airport.