Tourist Japan Reviews 

Fantastic personalized tour with great guide and driver!

Had a wonderful tour with Elena. She was a wealth of information and a good conversationalist. The tour was a good overview of the Tokyo area and the proper way to respect their culture as we visited the temples and shrines.

Daniel is great! He was so patient and flexible with our crew. It was so incredibly hot. Foreigners do NOT understand a Tokyo summer. He found many places for us to stop and cool off, and we toured parts of Tokyo we wouldn’t have gone to on our own. I lost the group a couple of times (I’m a talker and a wanderer…) and kept in touch with him the entire time via WhatsApp. So easy and would recommend for anyone!

changed itinerary and paid twice for a bus trip. Sent a change via e mail 2 days ahead but was already in Japan and was not able to access the email. No phone or text notification of the changes. some meeting sites were difficult to find and a lot of walking to reach the start of the tours.

This company is a complete scam

The company is not located in Japan, and you cannot get a hold of them when you are in the middle of the trip, as they do not have a 24/7 help desk. They subcontract all the services, which might be fine, but they send you expats who have no real idea of the culture or the history. In one instance, the guide did not arrive, in another, the guide had not even been to the sights and was completely useless. Do not waste your money. It is probably better to contact someone locally directly, this people do not add value.

It’s been months since my Japan trip but I put off writing this review because life became hectic. I now finally have the time and energy to play catch up and share my thoughts. I'm convinced the 4 and 5 star ratings are fake.

We booked the 8 day Best of Japan Tour in Sept 2024. Japan was lovely but I would never use this company again and I do not recommend anyone use Tourist Japan either if you like having a frustration free trip.

1. Difficult communication. Their (858) 544-6442 customer service line and what's app numbers are useless. I called several times during what would be normal pacific standard time business hours because after all 858 is a California area code. Despite that I could never reach a human being even with attempts on different days and times. The only option available is to email them and if you’re lucky someone might answer you in 2-3 days which is no help if you need immediate assistance.

2. The inaccurate, confusing and unclear information on the itinerary. It seems Tourist Japan outsources a lot of the daily tours to other operators. Not a big issue but given this companies lack of communication it made for a lot of frustrating experiences mid-tour.



One example is the Tokyo Tsukiji Fish Market & Food tour which was listed on our itinerary with a 9:55 am meet up time just outside of a train station exit. My friend and I arrived 15 min early and over the next several minutes other people started arriving and we all confirmed we were there for the same thing. When guide arrives and is doing check in, my friend and I plus another couple waiting were informed our names were not on the list. Those on the list went on their tour while the rest of us got left standing in the heat. I made multiple attempts calling every number listed with no response as usual. It’s only because of a sweet Japanese lady who worked for another unaffiliated tour company that saw us worried and offered to assist that we were able to get any help. She was familiar with the vendor doing the tour and was able to call and track down someone who could assist us. In the end it turns out that Tourist Japan booked us for the 11:30am tour and not the 9:55 one provided on the itinerary.

Another major issue was airport transportation. You’re given vouchers to exchange for physical tickets for the airport express buses upon arrival at Tokyo with Airport Limousine bus and KATE BUS for departing home via Osaka airport. Tokyo arrival was fine but Osaka Kansai departure was an issue. Despite specific instructions stating we had to exchange voucher for physical ticket at the bus company ticketing office in Kyoto station we were unable to do so. According to the lady at the ticket office you can only exchange those vouchers at their airport based ticket office. We had no choice but to purchase new ones for like 2800 yen to get to airport otherwise get left stuck in Kyoto. According to her this is an ongoing issue with this tour company giving travelers incorrect info regarding ticket voucher redemption.

Explain how with the limited time we had due to tours would we have had extra time in advance to pay for travel all the way to Kansai airport (which isn't close) a day before departure just to redeem voucher for a physical bus ticket we'd be using the very next day to go back to that very same airport on the bus. Make it make sense? I should have pursued a refund for the cost of buying a new ticket but I doubt the company will make things right or even respond.

There were other multiple annoyances and inaccuracies regarding itinerary instructions and meet up areas and I could type forever but this review is long enough. My suggestion is to avoid tourist Japan and just book your own hotels, tours and transportation for more control over your experience. If you must do a package tour research a more reputable company that has actual customer service staff you can easily communicate with in the event issues arise.

Aki was a very nice tour guide and super knowledgeable!!

I don't know why I forgot to do this. My Asakusa tour with Yuki was really great and very informative! She was very engaging with the questions I had and was really helpful with taking photos! Our tour was a bit longer, but I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Our guide Vicente demonstrated great knowledge of the areas visited in Kyoto and Nara and provided very useful background information also, which very much helped with the context of the sights. A very enjoyable learning experience!

Fantastic guide (Vicente), even though it was raining we had a great time, and he was incredibly knowledgeable. Nara was the favorite!

It was a great pleasure to spend a fun day with all of these clients. I am very happy to have had the opportunity to work with

Kosei is fabulous! He gave great information and guidance during our tour. Picked a delicious restaurant for lunch and provided recommendations for our meal.

SHIRAKAWA-GO & GOKAYAMA are awe inspiring sites. Beautiful gardens, and flowing streams throughout the village. The thickness of the thatch of the roofs took us by surprise/ g great craftsmanship We were there in the summer and hope to one day go back to see Shirakawa-Go in the winter.

Today’s trip to Shirakawa-go and Gokayama was great. We went on a weekday and both of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites were quiet which allowed us lots of opportunity to explore. The lunch was delicious and our guide Kosei was excellent and very friendly and helpful.

We had a wonderful walking tour of the Tsukiji Fish Market and lunch. Our guide was Kaori and she made it so interesting and fun. She told us about a lot of the different shops, and kinds of food. The sushi lunch was excellent! She communicated very well throughout the day, and helped us see things that we wanted to see. Highly recommend this tour and tour guide. The fish market is awesome, and the food was so delicious.

Honestly, my family and I didn't know what to expect from Japan and the tour guide. But overall it was perfect! Tourist Japan took really good care of us, from the transportation, the hotels, some meals and the tour guide itself. They definitely exceeded expectations!

We had Aki Wakabayashi as our Tokyo walking tour guide. He was amazing, even the teenager was impressed. We visited many iconic places such as Asakusa, Takeshita shopping street and the Meiji Shrine taking us through the labyrinth of Tokyo subways that would otherwise taken us ages to figure out. He was patient and flexible allowing us time to stop, shop, eat and explore what took our interest instead of sticking to a rigid schedule. Most valuable was his deep knowledge of the city, its history, cultures and traditions as a Tokyo native. One of the best tour guides we had the opportunity to know. Highly recommended.

Horrible experience, will not use service again.

Felt like we were scammed after company did not provide services promised.

Our tour guide, Elena, was friendly, personable and accommodating. It was a very hot day and our guide often checked to make sure we were comfortable as we visited the sights in Tokyo. The tour included different parts of the city and history we would not have learned without a guide.

Elena was very friendly and knowledgeable about the different places and customs. She’ll make your tour one to remember

Mark was highly informative, engaging, and took time to really interact with us in a way that made it fun and challenging, especially with both of my teenagers, answering all of their inquisitive questions. Gives encouraging and positive reinforcements that kept their interest.