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07-23-2011, 10:57 PM
I used Inside Japan tours in 2008 and I am using them again this year. I love everything about them. I do the self guided tours, which are the best I think. They talk with you through the entire process, and if the price seems high they work with you to help lower the cost. You basically tell them where you are interested in going and they send you an info packet 1 month before your trip with all the different ways to get to where you want to go laid out.
If you have problems they have a Japanese office you can call while you are there and they help fix any problem you might have. I would highly recommend Inside Japan Tours  
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07-25-2011, 07:05 PM
Yeah so far I am having a good experience with InsideJapan. I put in a brochure request and sent them an email in within 20 mins they gave me a call on the phone and answered all my questions!
Yeah One of my concerns is the price point... That's good they will work with you on price, maybe I can haggle them down to a reasonable price. But almost 7000$ for two people for two weeks seems a little over priced? I looked up all the hotels they book online and did the math on the cost of that and the JR pass totaled about 3000$. I know they also offer their services on top of that, but 50%+ profit seems a little high. Is that still a good value you think?
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07-26-2011, 09:56 AM
That is very strange that price. My wife and I went back in 2008 for 16days\15nights and the price was just under $5,000.
This time we are going in November with the same people and they quoted just above $4,000 for basically the same amount. So I would tell them your budget and they can work around that.
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recommendation for Samurai Tours -
07-27-2011, 02:10 PM
Our family (15 year old daughter and parents) just returned from Samurai Tours' "Best of Japan" tour. We highly recommend using them if you are going to Japan for the first time, as we did.
Because of they way Samurai Tours handles things (all public transportation, all ryokan, etc.), we feel that we not only got to see the sites in Japan, but also really got to know the people and the culture of this fascinating country. There were a few things we worried about before the trip that turned out not to be problems at all. In case you are worrying about the same things, let me reassure you. At the moment, of course, many people are cancelling their trips to Japan because of the recent disasters there (earthquake, tsunami and nuclear plant failure). Believe me, it did not feel like we were visiting a disaster zone. We always felt safe. Aside from a few minor inconveniences (air conditioners were set a bit higher to save electricity, our trip to Nikko was replaced with a different excursion) we would not have been aware of it at all. And, these are more than outweighed by the fact that now is a GOOD time to go because there are no crowds at the main tourist sites. We agree with other reviews that the two Japanese tour guides we had were really knowledgeable and easy to get along with. Some of the reviews we read complained that Mike Roberts (the top guy at Samurai Tours) was not a good tour guide himself. It is true that he knows less about Japan than the native Japanese guides. However, his laid-back personality and knowledge of America and American culture make up for this. (I mean, even though he knows less about Japan than the other guides, he knows more about what we will find unusual or interesting.) We did not mind at all when Mike was our guide. Some other reviews we read complained about the lodging and/or food. We think those people just didn't want to go to Japan! All of the food we ate was DELICIOUS. Samurai Tours handles most of the meals and what they got us was GREAT. It is true that by the end of the tour we were craving some Western cuisine, but we were able to handle that with the meals we purchased on our own, and Samurai Tours even took us out for one Italian meal. Yes, hotels in Japan have tiny bathrooms, and if you elect to go with the Japanese style room then you'll be sleeping on a futon laying on tatami flooring, but that's the Japanese experience we wanted! (Bathrooms: expect the entire bathroom to seem like an oversized shower stall, with unfamiliar controls and electronic toilet seats. Lodging: we really liked the "no shoes" policy and found the futons very comfortable, but some people do complain.) We spent an extra night in a hotel on our own at the end of the tour and ate out a bunch of times during the tour, so we have an idea of how much things cost. We really feel as if we got our money's worth out of the price of the tour. To stay in such nice hotels and eat so many great meals must be expensive. It was convenient and cost effective to have Samurai Tours handle all of that for us. We could complain about a few tiny things. (Although it had a very nice public bath, the lodging in Hakkone was noticeably less nice than the others, which were otherwise excellent. The stay at a mountaintop monastery was less impressive than we had expected because it was a lot more commercial and developed up there than we thought it would be.) But, we really are very glad we decided to use Samurai Tours, and that we decided to go now. We would never have been able to have as many great experiences in such a short time on our own, and we feel that they really taught us how to get around and do things so that if we went back we probably COULD do it ourselves. Even so, if we ever do go to Japan again we would probably use Samurai Tours again. Three thumbs up for Samurai Tours from the Kasmans of South Carolina.
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07-27-2011, 08:51 PM
thanks kasman for that review... That's good to hear about Saumrai tours. I assume you took the fully guided tour then? I am looking into them for the self guided tour. Emailing with Mike Roberts now. They definitely are a lot cheaper then the Inside Japan tours.. but I have heard good things about InsideJpan tours too.
That interesting what you said about koya-san temple stay. I am a little leery of doing that myself. For one I don't want to wake up early for prayer!  Did you stay in Shirakowago in one of the old farm houses? If so, how was it? Mike suggested that to me...
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07-31-2011, 09:11 AM
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I guess their website prices are just 'suggestions'. Can I ask what your itinerary was? I am still fine tuning mine and I'm still having a hard time figuring it out!
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08-01-2011, 12:59 PM
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Day 1 (Monday 14 April 2008)): Tokyo Meet & Greet + Ltd Express to Shinjuku station Kadoya Hotel Four Nights DAY 2 (Tuesday 15 April 2008): Tokyo Trip To Sanrio Pure Land Day 3 (Wednesday 16 April 2008) 8 Hours Private Guide Service In Tokyo Day 4 (Thursday 17 April 2008) Studio Ghibli Tickets Day 5 (Friday 18 April 2008) Train from Shinjuku to Matsumoto Matsumoto Richmond Hotel Matsumoto Day 6 - 7 (Saturday 19 April 2008) Highway Bus Matsumoto To Takayama Takayama Tanabe Ryokan Day 8 (Monday 21 April 2008) Train from Takayama to Toyama Train from Toyama to Kanazawa Kanazawa Kanazawa Castle Inn Day 9 (Tuesday 22 April 2008) Train from Kanazawa to Kyoto Kyoto Aranvert Hotel Kyoto Day 10 (Wednesday 23 April 2008) 8 Hours Private Guide Service In Kyoto Day 11 (Thursday 24 April 2008) Day Trip To Himeji And Okayama Day 12 (Friday 25 April 2008) Day Trip To Nara And Osaka Day 13 (Saturday 26 April 2008) Train from Kyoto to Nagoya Nagoya Westin Castle Hotel Day 14 (Sunday 27 April 2008) Train from Nagoya to Yokohama Yokohama Pan Pacific Baseball Game (Yokohama Baystars vs Hiroshima Carp) Day 15 (Monday 28 April 2008) Train from Yokohama to Narita Airport Our next trip we are just going to stay 13 nights in Kyoto and 3 nights in Tokyo. Figure now it would be better to be centralized and then travel to places... it was hard moving from place to place during the trip.
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08-01-2011, 05:21 PM
Looks like a good itinerary.
How was Sanrio Land? Is that something worth taking a look at? I hadn't heard of till now, but it sounds pretty cool. Yeah I'm a little concerned about the amount of travel to city to city too. But it looks like it didn't ruin your time or anything right? Ah I can't wait.
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08-02-2011, 11:43 AM
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Did I enjoy it, nah, but it was tollarable. My wife on the other hand loved this place.The traveling wasn't bad, just tiring, and trying to lug all our baggage was a chore until we found out about baggage forwarding. So I wouldn't say that the travel ruined our time, it just made us feel just a little rushed at times.
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