Best of Japan: Tokyo to Osaka (Private Guided)

Customer Reviews

• A

  Anonymous

  · May 20th, 2025
  Such a disaster from beginning to end. Extra expenses out of pocket. Tour delayed by a day - and just overall bad information!
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  Odynovo commented on this review

  Dear customer, Thank you so much for taking the time to share your feedback. We're truly sorry for any inconvenience you've experienced. We've already shared your comments with our travel consultant team and customer service team, and they are... Show more
  Trip date: May 2025
• TD

  Terry

  · April 10th, 2025
  We have had the trip of a lifetime. Thanks to a superb itinerary crafted to our wishes by Wanda. Nothing was too much trouble and everything went like clockwork. We are now experts on Shinkansen trains!! The guides we had during the trip were prompt knowledgeable and obviously they enjoy sharing the delights of Japan. Thank you everyone for all your hard work.
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  Odynovo commented on this review

  Dear Terry Deakin, Thanks for your positive feedback and your recognition of Wanda! We are so glad to know that you enjoyed a great time during your trip to Japan and were satisfied with our private tour service. Your recognition of our service is the... Show more
  Trip date: April 2025
• GM

  Greg

  · November 13th, 2024
  Guides were very friendly and helpful
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  Odynovo commented on this review

  Dear Greg Muir, Thank you for choosing Odynovo as your tour operator! We are so glad to know that you have a memorable journey to Japan. Your kind words towards our service are the power that motivates us to move on. Looking forward to traveling with... Show more
  Trip date: November 2024
• MM

  Mark

  · July 16th, 2024
  The tour was well organized and the tour guides were excellent. This was our first visit to Japan and this tour/itinerary was a perfect introduction to the many facets of Japanese culture!
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  Odynovo commented on this review

  Dear Mark McGowan, We are so glad to hear that you had a memorable journey to Japan! We are so proud to have been able to provide you with a hassle-free travel experience. Your recognition of our service is the power that moves us on! Looking forward... Show more
  Trip date: July 2024
• MB

  Myriam

  · July 13th, 2024
  Japan is an amazing country to visit. We enjoyed exploring the different cities and discovering the diversity of food in each one. We spent a couple of days in Tokyo on our own before the tour started, and those were the best days of our trip. Our first day with our guide in Tokyo, we visited Senso-Ji temple and the Meiji Jingu. We did not visit the exterior of the imperial palace as was originally planned. Our guide Marty barely spoke the entire time. We didn’t learn anything from him. He just got the free pamphlet at the temple or shrine and would just tell us to read it. We stopped for lunch and since we got the bill, we ended up feeling obligated to pay for our guide’s lunch. He didn’t even try to pay for his meal. The next day, Marty met us with a driver to take us to Arakurayama Sengen shrine, which was 2 hours away. He slept the entire time instead of showing us things on the way. Once we arrived, we had a beautiful view of Mount Fuji. We then took a boat ride on a lake and had other beautiful views of the volcano. We continued our journey for another hour and a half (another very quiet trip) where we were dropped off at our hotel in Hakone. The hotel in Hakone was nice but the breakfast area was packed with other tourists, and it was impossible to move comfortably. It’s supposed to be a relaxing hotel in the mountains with hot springs, but it ended up being pretty stressful. Our first major expense was the next day, finding our way to Odawara station where we were to take the bullet train to Kyoto. The train was pre-paid with the tour, but not the transportation to the train station. Since the hotel in Hakone is in the mountains, there is no other way to get to the station other than by taxi. It was about a 30 min drive, and cost about $55 out of pocket. Once we arrived in Kyoto, we took another taxi to our hotel (also out of pocket). That was about $15. The next day, we met our new guide in Kyoto. Maasaki was sweet older gentleman with so much energy and so much passion. He was the best guide! He loves his city and spent so much time with us going over the history of Kyoto and was engaged with us the entire day. He took us to Nijo Castle and Kinkaku-ji Temple where he spent a lot of time walking us through the castle and then explaining the history of the temple. We then went to the Fushimi-Inari where we hiked through the several beautiful Tori gates, before going to Gion and seeing Geishas in the Geisha district. Maasaki was an incredible guide! The next day we were on our own and decided to walk around Kyoto. The following day, we took another taxi that we also had to pay for (another $15) to go back to the train station to take the bullet train to Osaka. Once in Osaka, we walked to our hotel. That was our favorite hotel. The room was comfortable and spacious. The hotel location was also excellent. It was close to a lot of shopping and restaurants one street over. That evening, we met another guide, Mike, on a foodie tour. Mike was very good and was fun to be around. We tried 3 different dishes at 3 different restaurants with him, and Mike also shared a lot of interesting information about Osaka along the way going from one place to another. We stopped at a shrine at the beginning of our tour, and he talked to us about expected customs, which our first guide Marty never told us about. We did have to pay our way however on the train to go from the first food location to the second (it was not expensive, but it should still have been included in our opinion). We finally took the train back (out of pocket) to go back to our hotel at the end of the tour. The last day we were on our own and walked around the shops and restaurants in Osaka. Finally, on our last day, we took a taxi to the airport and had to also pay that out of pocket (another $55). All in all, the tour was just ok. We would not go again with a tour. We had originally booked another tour that was canceled, and had bought insurance for it. When we found this tour that was significantly less expensive, we expected our insurance to be prorated and to be partially refunded for it, but we did not get anything back for it. We highly recommend going to Japan. As a matter of fact, we are considering going back there soon. However, we do not recommend going with a tour, or at least not this one. The only guide that was really good was the one in Kyoto. You can book a foodie tour (including the food) for $80 and book your own hotels and bullet train tickets. You would save a lot of money.
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  Odynovo commented on this review

  Dear Myriam Braun, Thank you for sharing your detailed travel experiences and valuable advice. We're glad to hear you enjoyed your time in Kyoto with Masaaki and in Osaka with Mike. However, we're truly sorry to learn about the inadequate service from... Show more
  Trip date: May 2024
• 

  Alex

  · June 17th, 2024
  Christal assisted me planning a great trip to Japan just last month (May 2024), she is very responsive every time I revised her proposed itinerary, she also offered ideas and alternatives every step of the way. My trip had a good mix of historical, fun and kick back activities. I personally liked the days when I have a private tour guide much better than when I joined a large group, and I enjoyed the small cities (Kyoto, Hakone, Hiroshima and Kobe) a lot more than the large ones like Tokyo and Osaka. But overall, it was an awesome trip. Alex R
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  Odynovo commented on this review

  Dear Alex Rivas, Thank you for taking the time to write a positive review and for your recognition of Christal! We are so glad to know that you enjoyed a great time during your trip to Japan, and were satisfied with our private tour service. Your... Show more
  
  Trip date: May 2024
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  florence

  · May 17th, 2024
  Overall is actually 4.5 stars. The biggest disappointment was having to navigate our own luggage from hotel to hotel. Our tour guides were awesome, especially Toru. He went the extra mile with writing train numbers and platforms and best way to navigate with luggage.
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  Odynovo commented on this review

  Dear florence tiscornia, Thank you for sharing your feedback! We're delighted to hear that you enjoyed your trip to Japan, and were satisfied with our private tour service. Your comments are invaluable. We understand that navigating luggage between... Show more
  
  Trip date: May 2024
• 

  Anil

  · April 15th, 2024
  We took the Japan Essentials: From Tokyo to Osaka (Customized Private) tour with Odynovo during the first week of April, 2024. The tour was perfectly organized. Allison, who arranged it for us was very responsive and answered all our questions in a timely manner during the booking. Also, changed our Shinkansen ticket during the trip when we realized we would like to spend more time in Hakone. The itinerary was perfectly planned with a free day at each place for us to explore the other places we wanted to see or take rest if we needed to. Our tour guides Yuko and Sayu were the best! They were knowledgable, friendly and it was a pleasure to go around with them. They were also very fluent in English. When the weather didn’t cooperate during our Tokyo to Hakone day trip, Yuko found us alternate things to do that were more enjoyable on a rainy day. They both gave us valuable advice on what to do on our free days and detailed instructions on how to go about doing it. All the hotel accommodations were high quality with extensive breakfast buffets. Overall, we had a great experience and would recommend Odynovo and this tour to anyone.
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  Odynovo commented on this review

  Dear Anil Thomas, Thank you for choosing Odynovo as your tour operator, thank you for your kind feedback and recognition of all staff on the trip! We are so glad to know that you have a memorable journey to Japan. Your kind words towards our service... Show more
  Trip date: April 2024
• A

  Anonymous

  · March 23rd, 2024
  We arranged three tours, all were excellent!
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  Trip date: March 2024
• L

  Lisa

  · March 11th, 2024
  Tom is a fantastic agent. This is the third time we have used him at Odynovo and each trip was been really enjoyable. The local guides for our Japan tout were so helpful and fun, and all transportation between cities was well organised. We look forward to using Tom again in the future.
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  Trip date: March 2024