Essential Japan

Customer Reviews

• JR

  Javier

  · April 29th, 2025
  Our recent trip to Japan was an unforgettable experience. We enjoyed our stay at the hotels that were comfortable and clean, and the staff were friendly and helpful. We visited many beautiful places, from historic temples to bustling cities full of culture and energy.
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  Trip date: April 2025
• AD

  ALEXANDRE AUGUSTO

  · April 19th, 2025
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  Very interesting Many places to visit and my last stage of the cherry trees. Definitely the best was the day at Mount Fuji and surroundings.
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  Trip date: April 2025
• 

  Bridget

  · April 7th, 2025
  The entire trip was AMAZING. The hotels were gorgeous, the breakfast and included meals delicious, the coach buses beautiful and clean, and the itinerary hit everything I wanted to do. 10/10!
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  Europamundo commented on this review

  Hi Bridget, Thank you so much for your feedback! We can't wait to have you back. Europamundo team:D ❤
  
  Trip date: March 2025
• LC

  Leonida

  · March 28th, 2025
  I don’t usually care to leave reviews on these trips unless they are absolutely incredible or terribly awful HOWEVER I feel it is needed in this case. Of the many tours available to book across many companies, we picked this one in particular because it was among the FEW that did not include some kind of warning about being able bodied. A lot of tours state in their itinerary something along the lines of “there will be x amount of walking and you must be able to walk far distances”. We avoided those on purpose. This one is listed for ages 3-85 and our group had a good many people who were looking to enjoy Japan at a reasonable pace. Of the 38 in our group, we had about 10 individuals who were well into retirement age who had some kind of mobility challenge (which should be okay! They worked hard and deserve a good vacation just like anyone else!). I found it incredibly disrespectful to our older population that they seemed to be punished for wanting to enjoy this beautiful country as well. When such a large age gap is listed, I feel like a little consideration for age range in future tours would be very much appreciated. If this tour is not meant for people who are slower with mobility, maybe label it as such as many other tours are. Please consider those who have had total hip or knee replacements (or, even worse, bilateral total knee or hip replacements!) when listing hotels as well. I think something as simple as allotting more time for things may help with this, though I do understand the challenge of wanting to hit certain beats per day. Quite a few of our older adventurers absolutely struggled in the Ryokan when they were expected to sleep on the floor (trying to get ON to the floor is a challenge in itself- not to mention trying to get UP). I think many of them were led to believe they would have a choice between the traditional sleeping arrangements and more Western arrangements- maybe include that there will be no choice so no one is confused! Another thing: listed in the itinerary it states “Includes arrival transfer Evening transfer: Shinjuku, Traditional quarter of Gion , Dotonbori in Osaka”. For Gion specifically it states "19.00hrs- At night, a transfer to GION will be included, a busy traditional quarter famous for its Geisha. Free time. The return to the hotel will be free, we suggest you take a taxi. The guide will explain how." From Gion we were expected to pay for and find our own way back, where I believe the misunderstanding is in the description. When it states "return to the hotel will be free", that does not usually mean "you will be free to figure it out", it usually means "you will not have to pay". While it was not expensive, it is still false advertising to state we will have something and then not get what we paid for. A good many members of the tour expressed surprise when we were told to find our own way back to our hotels following these excursions. Furthermore, when included transfers are also listed alongside ones we DID have to pay for (ie. transfer from the airport to the hotel, Shinjuku VS. Gion and Osaka) it is incredibly confusing to then expect the remainder of the listing to be not included! Furthermore, please encourage your guides to not treat mobility issues as an inconvenience! Of course it is challenging to juggle a large group, especially with a wide age range, but as I previously mentioned we should not be punishing our retired adventurers! We pay good money to be guided through these areas. If I wanted to be treated like a nuisance, and in a condescending tone, we would have gone elsewhere. Nadia, Akane, and Laura were all absolutely incredible and managed our large age range beautifully and to the best of their abilities. For the few hours we had them, Pablo and Miku were excellent as well. My heart simply goes out to all the lovely retired individuals who were not expecting to do significant walks up stairs and hills (especially in areas with snow or slush!). Thank you for the lovely guidance, but please also change how things are worded to minimize suffering and confusion in the future!
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  Europamundo commented on this review

  Thank you for your feedback, and we regret that the organization of the tour didn’t meet your expectations. Your experience with the pace of the trip is important to us, and we will take your comments into account to improve future tours. We value your... Show more
  Trip date: March 2025
• FM

  Fiona

  · March 15th, 2025
  Well organised tour with good hotel accomodation. Unfortunately too much chatter talk from the guides. Would not recommend this tour for English speaking people as Spanish speakers were favoured and far too much Spanish. Bilingual tour does not really work well.
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  Europamundo commented on this review

  Dear Fiona, Thank you for sharing your feedback with us. We are pleased to hear that you found the tour well-organized and that the quality of the hotels met your expectations. Regarding your concerns, we would like to kindly highlight that, as... Show more
  Trip date: March 2025
• 

  Aubrey

  · January 19th, 2025
  Speaker needed when guide is talking because you can not hear at the back of bus. Maybe a couple less temples and have a few different sites/attractions.
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  Europamundo commented on this review

  Thank you for your feedback! We appreciate your suggestion about adding a speaker system for better sound clarity, especially for those seated at the back of the bus. We’ll definitely look into that. We also understand your point about the number of... Show more
  Trip date: January 2025
• BG

  Barbara

  · January 11th, 2025
  Nice. But too many temples.
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  Europamundo commented on this review

  Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us, we really appreciate hearing from our guests. Exploring so many captivating destinations in a snapshot of time can be quite an adventure, and we always strive to include the perfect amount of time at each... Show more
  Trip date: January 2025
• FE

  frauke

  · December 18th, 2024
  Great tour with locations you like to see on the way south to Osaka. Unfortunately the guides changed three times but nevertheless.. they all were amazing with great background knowledge. If you wanna have an overview about a part of japan, that's a great tour to book. Maybe I wished the last day would have finished after a bit more in Osaka but maybe others had a flight to catch. Thank you to the great guides I had!!!!
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  Europamundo commented on this review

  Thank you for your feedback, and we regret that the organization of the tour didn’t meet your expectations. Your experience with the pace of the trip is important to us, and we will take your comments into account to improve future tours. We value your... Show more
  Trip date: November 2024
• OK

  Olga

  · November 11th, 2024
  As it was mentioned by many reviewers - the tour is bilingual, with Spanish as priority. The guides made their best to provide the translation, but you must understand this is not their native language so this limits the amount of information provided. The switching back and forth btw languages is quite frustrating so you just swithch off from listening. The itinerary was well plannned and this is a good chance to see the most of Japan. The tolels were of the level of Holiday Inn. But not always in the central location.
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  Europamundo commented on this review

  Thank you for your feedback. We’re pleased to hear that you appreciated the itinerary and had the opportunity to explore Japan. As noted prior to booking, our tours are bilingual to accommodate a diverse group of travelers. Our guides work diligently to... Show more
  Trip date: November 2024
• DP

  David

  · November 6th, 2024
  Excelente tour. Loved the hotels and the coutry!!!
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  Europamundo commented on this review

  We extend our gratitude for your review and eagerly anticipate the opportunity to have you in your future journeys. Europamundo team :)❤
  Trip date: October 2024