Reviews

Just what I wanted it to be.

This is the shortest of the Wendy Wu offerings and I was pleased I took advantage of the Hiroshima extension.

Wendy Wu are very well established in the in the Australian & UK tourist markets. They provide a very organised itinerary, where everything is all in (except drinks). As one of only 2 singletons on the tour I was pleased about that, but in a very busy schedule, understandably there isn't a massive amount of free time. Their pretour reading is very detailed.

One thing it didn't appreciate was the 20 hour journey via a 3 hour stopover in Abu Dhabi from Manchester. I might have sought a direct flight from London.

As another traveller said to me beforehand, there is nothing to dislike about Japan. She was right. From waking up to see Mount Fugi, the Tea Ceremony, the Calligraphy lesson, the beautiful shrines to ,the amazingly poignant experience in Hiroshima.

It is hot and it is humid for a Brit, never below 31 degrees in Sept. Even the Aussies said they wouldn't be out in this heat.

I'd use these people again in the Far East certainly.

Great credit to Wendy Wu for a superb guided tour of Japan. Beginning in Osaka (good), Kyoto (better), Hiroshima (excellent), Kanazawa (excellent), Nagano (excellent) and Tokyo (super), the tour offered a fine variety of interesting vista and experiences.
They managed to pack a huge amount into each days sightseeing without putting undue pressure on any member of the group. Kudos here to a truly outstanding guide Taichi, whose English was faultless, attention to the group unwavering, had a great sense of humour and was a fountain of knowledge.
When travelling to Japan, you need to maintain an open mind about food. The dining experience is vastly different to our Western tastes, but the quality was very good at all times, even if our taste buds didn’t necessarily appreciate all that was put before us. My wife is coeliac, a condition unknown in Japan, yet her dietary needs were catered to better than any other trip we have done.
Is it worth the cost and jet lag?
A resounding YES.

This tour is superb. The pace is very easy, so suitable for slower walkers! The food is very varied, a few western cuisine meals but more Japanese ( local) meals, a lot of variety. I love Japanese food, so was very happy. Visiting Kyushu ( the southern island) is a rare destination on most Japanese tours and indeed we did not see any foreign tourist there. When we crossed to Hiroshima and headed to Kyoto and Tokyo, we saw other foreign tourist groups. The sights are both inspiring and even awesome and I would highly recommend this tour.

Very good holiday. It was usually a bit of a walk to wherever the evening meal was-if we were told it was a ten minute walk,it would be twenty minutes. One of our group couldn't keep up and, leader wouldn't wait. Last evening meal, which we hoped would be a nice occasion, was us all in different parts of a crowded bar with slow service.We had to wait for tables and sit wherever there were spaces and couldn't all sit together to have a proper goodbye.

I had two rides on the bullet train, saw Mount Fuji, ate a load of Japanese food, including okonomiyaki, which we cooked, assisted in noodle making, made origami, saw Hiroshima Peace Museum, monument and tower, saw and climbed to the top of Humeji castle, went up Skytree and sent postcards from it and went in an onsen (communal baths) and on Miyajima Island.

Brilliant content of tour but some of the food was awful. Mainly pleasant Japanese restaurants at lunchtime but sometimes in the evenings cheap cafe standards. The occasional non Japanese food was not a success as it was often cold and on the table before we were seated. It was good in the evenings if we ate in the hotels we stayed in, Hiroshima and Takayama come to mind. I must admit I am not overfond of Japanese food especially tofu and sushi and not mad about saki. Hotels fine and I love Japanese loos found everywhere! In spite of getting all the required documents getting through the airport at Osaka was a nightmare. I regret to say that first time customers may be put off Wendy Wu because of the food. You do a grand job in China but not in Japan.
Highlights nearly everything but in particular the snow monkeys and Mount Fuji on a lovely day.