Reviews

The Experience Japan tour was a great introduction to Japan for a first time visitor.
The pace of the itinerary was fairly full-on and the group I travelled with were interesting people who seemed very open to enjoying the tour. There were occasions when I wondered if anyone from Wendy Wu had actually attempted to visit everything in the time allocated as we didn't have enough time to properly explore some of the sites (for example, the queues at Matsumoto castle meant we didn't all get chance to see inside). Our wonderful guide, Yu, was exceptional and as flexible as the itinerary allowed. He managed to get us all where we needed to be within the time allocated - not an easy task, but he accomplished it with tenacity and good humour.
Quite a lot of the travel was by coach, which was comfortable and spacious. There was a moderate amount of walking involved as we toured the various sites, but none of it was strenuous. The train journeys were very good and well organised. Yu's English was excellent and I really appreciated his knowledge of the areas we visited and his enthusiasm for sharing information about the Japanese language and culture, including providing tastes of local delicacies.
The hotels were quite varied and all were comfortable. Food options were mainly buffets. I did expect more Japanese menus, but on a group tour all tastes need to be accommodated and a buffet is probably the easiest way to do this.
Highlights for me were the train rides, beautiful clear views of Mt Fuji (we were so lucky with the weather these two days!), vending machines, the lovely mountain scenery, the onsen, and getting a small insight into a different culture to my own.
I could have happily dispensed with the river cruise in Osaka (underwhelming), the origami and fan painting. I realise these activities are optional and if I visited again I would prefer more free time to explore and immerse myself in the places we visited. The shrines were really interesting, but towards the end of the tour I did feel as though I'd probably seen enough for the time being.
The trip felt a bit like a whistle-stop tour of Japan at times, but it has provided me with a very good idea of what I'd like to do next time I visit - and I do think there will be a next time.