Essence of Japan 8 Days 7 Nights

Customer Reviews

• A

  Anonymous

  · December 23rd, 2024
  Don't ever use UTOVacations! They are a scam! We went to Japans tour that they advertise to have 4 star hotels but only the last day when we protested! The tour guide's English was so poor! A China tour was canceled due to Covid but refuse the refund! Always over charge/force tips! I would give negative star if I could!
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  Trip date: October 2020
• A

  Anonymous

  · November 8th, 2024
  We booked spledid japan 9days and utovacation did not deliver what it said in the itinerary. They want to squize more money from you on everything. As itinerary said we should fly to osaka and be greeted by the tour guide but we were left in tokyo without flight to osaka so we have to buy flight to osaka and paid taxi with our own money. The hotels were bad and offered no breakfast and we also had to pay tax on these hotels too. Tour guide ana treated us badly. Dont fall in their bait. Stay away from utovacation.
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  Trip date: October 2024
• AP

  Arthur

  · October 21st, 2024
  We just returned from Japan with UTO Vacations. Our guide in Tokyo took us to the highlights where we spent 20 to 30 minutes at each location - nothing in depth. While we were driving he fell asleep and snored loudly for about 30 minutes (he was not the driver)! After waking up to make a short comment he was back to sleep. We both felt this was highly unprofessional. Additionally, we paid for airport to hotel transfers for both of us and no one met us. We had to arrange our own transfers after waiting for an hour for a representative to show up. We called the emergency number provided and receive message in Japanese (which we don't speak). We had the same thing happen with airport transfers both ways on our Central Europe tour in February. This will be our last tour with UTO Vacations. Several of our fellow travelers in Japan felt the same way. Poor communication with customers is not professional!
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  Trip date: October 2024
• M

  Mutiarawidya

  · September 24th, 2024
  Utovacation is a practicing *Homo homini lupus* I put deposit $1600 in 2021 for China tour 2022 which was canceled by them. They gave the money as travel credit for a limited time( 18 months ) but their tour became way too expensive. For the same itinerary, it costs $10.000. Once they refunded $600 but they took it back from my credit card. Very unethical and unfair conduct, they do whatever they like to keep customer's money in their possession.
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  Trip date: October 2022
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  Clyde

  · September 13th, 2024
  My wife and I traveled to Italy with UTO Vacations. The first indication that something was wrong was when we were left stranded at the airport in Rome, after having prepaid for a ride to our hotel. The contact person told us to take a taxi and UTO would reimburse us. After that, UTO kept canceling excursions that we had already paid for. The cost of the taxi plus the canceled excursions came up to $442.00. They refused to reimburse anything and ended up giving us a $50 credit, which we can't use. My advice to travelers is stay away from UTO Vacations. They will ruin your trip.
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  Trip date: February 2024
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  Luba

  · September 8th, 2024
  No travel! They just took my money and left! They must be in jail by now for what they done to others too!
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  Trip date: September 2024
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  PuiMan

  · August 19th, 2024
  I would give zero if I could. I booked a tour back in 2022 to Japan and was cancelled by UTO citing Covid restriction. Wouldn't provide a full refund and only provide travel credit with an expire date. However, the I was told I could request extension if I can't book a tour I want before the credit expired. Fast forward to 2024, I contacted UTO for extension a day before my credit expire and they told me travel credit cannot be extended. I checked online and found out there are customers who booked in 2020 who was able to extended twice. So I am not sure why they told me no. I guess they can just do whatever they want whenever they want with no repercussion. They refused to talk to me on phone and only asked me to chat or email which doesn't help. Scammed me $1400 cash without having to provide any services. How is this even legal? With so many people being scammed online, is there a way we can all come together and file a class action? But right now, just DON'T book with them!
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  Trip date: August 2024
• KV

  kerstin

  · December 14th, 2023
  We organized and paid for a trip to China and Japan one year in advance. We paid in full. Three weeks before the trip you to vacations called us and canceled the trip. After this they were impossible to reach by phone or email. Many hours were wasted trying. Finally on the chat Internet someone said they would give us a refund in 6 to 8 weeks. Of course this did not materialize. Never did we receive any written communication about the cancellation or refund. Luckily my credit card reimbursed me after they made their own inquiries and UTO did not respond to them.
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  Trip date: October 2023
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  Catharine

  · September 15th, 2023
  I can't emphasize enough how bad my experience with UTO has been. They've let me down at every step. I booked a trip with excitement, but it turned into a complete mess of broken promises, no communication, and a total disregard for customers like me. First, they suddenly canceled my trip without telling me. I was left feeling frustrated and stuck. But then they told me they'd find me a similar trip if I took down my negative review. I agreed, but they didn't keep their word. Instead, they stopped talking to me altogether. I had no idea what was happening with my trip or if there were any other options. When I asked for a refund, they ignored me. I had no choice but to dispute the charges with my credit card company. Oddly enough, UTO brought back my trip, but only long enough to win the dispute. After that, they canceled my trip again, without warning. What's even more troubling is that UTO lost its accreditation with the Canadian BBB, which means they're not trustworthy. I'm not the only one who's gone through this nightmare. This whole ordeal has been a huge disappointment, and I wouldn't recommend UTO to anyone. They've shown they can't be trusted, and other people have had similar bad experiences. Be cautious and look for better travel options.
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  Trip date: September 2023
• P

  Pol

  · September 14th, 2023
  Company is a fraud . Fully paid for my November 2023 vacation in January 2023. Uploaded all required docs on company’s website months ago just to learn that they cancelled it due to missing docs without any notification. Money non refundable but can be used as a credit toward your further vacations. Credit never issues, other travel deals are much more expensive and scam as well. Now I see other reviewers just like mine. SCAM!!!!
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  Trip date: August 2023