Essential Japan and Hakone (9 destinations)

Customer Reviews

• CY

  Carl

  · November 25th, 2025
  Overall I enjoyed the trip. The hotels were mainly high quality although the last hotel, MYSTAYS MIDOSUJI HONMACHI, seemed to be of a lower quality than the other locations. The room wasn't as good and the breakfast was basic. The Fuji View Hotel in Kawaguchiko was fantastic. I had one of the traditional rooms, I tried the onsen and the views of Mt Fuji were amazing. MIYAKO KIOTO HACHIJYO hotel was a bit chaotic. There were too many coaches arriving at the same time for check-in meaning long queues for the lifts. Then too many coaches leaving at the same time so long queues for breakfast, even at 6.30am, which added to the stress of early departures. The included meals were generally of a good quality. Breakfast in most of the hotels were generally high quality. The Shabu Shabu dinner at MO MO Paradise in Tokyo was disappointing. It was all you can eat in an hour but the hot pot took a long time to heat up and was slow at cooking the food. It was slow replenishing the meat, rice, veg, dumplings and the layout of the restaurant made it even slower as we had to queue to get to the stations. The guides were generally good. People need to be aware that the coaches and guides will be bilingual with predominantly Spanish and then English. I would say that on the first full day with Jesus/ Davide, on the way into Kyoto, the balance between Spanish and English was not good with most of the talk being given in Spanish. This was adjusted the next day based on feedback. Communication could have been improved, e.g. the meet up time and location that we were given for the first two days was incorrect so we had the coach waiting for people. The best communication that we had was on the two days on the way and in and around to Kyoto. Using WhatsApp to pass on notes and timings helped a lot. I was disappointed in the size of the group (full coach for half the trip) and also having to change coaches and guides every couple of days. This made the passengers feel like a piece of luggage on an airport conveyor belt. It made it difficult to build up a good rapport with the guides and also other passengers since the groups kept on being merged and split up. However, I suppose it maintains a better work/ life balance for the guides and means better local knowledge, I suppose. However, I would not have booked the tour had I been aware of this. The tour description should make passengers aware of the physical demands of the tour. On a number of days were walked over 20,000 steps with some of it going up and down steps. We had a number of elderly passengers who struggled and held the group up at first before they eventually gave up on the longer walks (and missed out) later on. I don't think this kind of your is suitable for young families. The long coach rides frustrates/ bores the young passengers who then annoy the other passengers. Again I would not have booked this trip had I known that there would be young families on board. Would help if Europamundo provided guidance on giving tips to the guides/ drivers. It was uncertain. I think the holiday was good value overall and I had a good time. We were very lucky with the views of Mount Fuji and the Autumn colours of the trees and gardens were beautiful:-)
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  Trip date: November 2025
• MB

  Mark

  · October 5th, 2025
  The tour was good. There was plenty of English commentary experienced. Was nice to have one of the 2 guides dedicated to English only. Both Davids and Akane were excellent in particular.
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  Europamundo commented on this review

  Thank you for your feedback! We’re glad you enjoyed the tour and the dedicated English commentary. We’ll be sure to share your kind words with Davids and Akane — they’ll be thrilled to hear it! Europamundo team
  Trip date: September 2025
• TJ

  Tammy

  · October 20th, 2024
  Hello, we finished our tour and we thought it was terrific. Special thanks to wonderful guides Akane, David, Vanessa, Ken and Luis. David, Vanessa and Ken were especially terrific and really enhanced our enjoyment tremendously. Javier and Saul, although nice, lacked interest and energy and provided minimal commentary. Please note that the micro-rooms in Holiday Inn Express in Osaka City Center are NOT suitable for more than one person to a room. There is no space for suitcases for 2 people and besides being uncomfortable, this presents a fire danger. You have to block your door with your suitcases because there is no space in the room to put them. That is my only concern. Trip was great. Thank you so much. Tammy DeJesus
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  Europamundo commented on this review

  Dear Tammy, Thank you very much for taking the time to send us your feedback about the trip. We are delighted to know that our guides’ service was to your liking, this is incredibly motivating for them, as we know they put in great effort in their... Show more
  Trip date: October 2024
• BH

  Basma

  · July 2nd, 2024
  It was a fantastic tour. We had an awesome time and our guide was excellent. A great way to see Japan in the short time that we had! Thank you so much for a great experience!
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  Europamundo commented on this review

  Thank you so much for your kind words! We are thrilled to hear that you enjoyed your trip and that our team could make it so special. Our guides are delighted to have contributed to such a memorable experience. We look forward to seeing you again soon... Show more
  Trip date: June 2024
• 

  Alan

  · June 24th, 2024
  Really good itinerary, hotels were good; however, we had four different guides and one of them really did not speak English or give us any information about what we were doing.
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  Europamundo commented on this review

  Thanks for the amazing review Alan, we are so happy you enjoyed your time with us in Essential Japan and Hakone! . Europamundo team :)❤
  Trip date: June 2024