All Reviews for Japan Autumn Tours 2024

It was a superb trip. Everything went on as planned with right time pickup. The guide was excellent. All places were visited as per the brochure. Lunch was very good. OnlY the weather was very bad.

Our driver was very courteous and accommodating. We originally started with a 4 hour tour but gradually extended to 6 hours. We covered all that we wanted to : Fushimi Inari shrine, Nijo castle, bamboo grove, and a couple of others. He walked along with us and took great photos of us. He explained the history and significance of all the sites. We had a great time. The colors of Red and yellow of the leaves was also picturesque. Would not hesitate to strongly recommend veltra tours. Keep up the good work!

Ticked off all the major sights in one day in a nice, clean and easy to get to bus.

Guide George was great, managed us well and had a strong passion for Japan.

I liked the pace of the tour as it meant we could maximise our day.

In Kyoto for a short or long time I would recommend.

Our guide George was excellent. Provided insightful knowledge of Japan and ran the group very well.

Nice clean bus, great weather and interesting sights. Would recommend.

I liked the pace of the tour, we spent the right amount of time at each sight making sure we made the most of the day.

I participated at the end of October. I entered Kanazawa the day before from Tokyo and planned to visit Shirakawa-go and Gokayama the next day, then return by Shinkansen that night. I was worried that it might be difficult by train and local bus when I found this tour. It was efficient to visit both places, and the guide was great. The White Road was also beautiful with autumn leaves.

10月末に参加しました。都内から前日金沢に入り翌日白川郷と五箇山を廻ってその夜新幹線で帰る予定で考えましたが、電車や路線バスでは無理かと悩んでいた時にこのツアーを見つけました。
効率的に2ヶ所を巡れてガイドさんも良かったです。ホワイトロードも紅葉が綺麗でした。

Our visit to Kyoto was planned at the height of fall foliage season, on a national holiday, and a Saturday. That meant lots of traffic and big crowds. Kyoto is a beautiful city but the important sites are spread out. If you only have 1 or 2 days a tour is a must. This tour made it possible for us to go to sites that were remote from the Kyoto station, to enjoy a full hot pot lunch mid day, and get an overview of the history of each site as well as the city and region from the extremely engaging guide.

The tour is a really full day, wear good walking shoes (we got out 20,000 steps in) and pack snacks and water. When they say to be back at the bus at a certain time, they mean it! Several guests were left behind at one temple because they were late. The rules are the rules! It’s the only way you can see every place promised.

Our guide, Jorge, did an extremely good job weaving together practical advice for tourists in Japan, history of each location, interesting tips for enjoying our stay and many insights into Japanese culture. Plus, he was funny, which made waiting due to the holiday crowds far more bearable.

Ken and Ishi made our day very special.  We appreciate their efforts very much and would highly recommend them for their knowledge and professionalism.
Ishi was a most excellent driver in heavy traffic.
Ken answered our questions about the tour sights, as well as many about Japanese culture. He also amused us with a Japanese lesson during the long drive. When weather prevented us from seeing Mt. Fuji, they substituted other sights to compensate. The Hoto restaurant they chose for lunch was also excellent. We could not have had better, more attentive guides.
We give them the highest recommendation.

Awesome tour for those who want to see the main sights and not have to fuss with arrangements and trying to find how to get to places. Highly recommended. The balance of sights was good with enough time to see what was needed and just enough insights from the guide to give one the needed overview.

If you add up the costs of all the entry tickets to the temples and gardens, plus a yummy lunch, the tour is okay for the cost. However we thought it was odd to have a tour guide but most of the talking was done by an automated voice over the bus speakers. Sitting near the back, we couldn't hear the voice clearly and it kept pausing and lagging. If the tour guide is knowledgable about the area, they should be able to deliver the information themselves.

We had an issue with the lunch as there weren't enough meals cooked, so we waited as they made more. Didnt get time to look in the shops surrounding the restaurant like the other participants did, but made up for it at the following stop.
Make sure you get back to the tour bus on time or they will leave you behind! But one of the staff went and retrieved the two lost guests and caught up with us later on in the tour.
There were lots of other tours at each of the stops, as to be expected it was crowded, but still some beautiful sights and great for souvenier shopping! If you only have a day in Kyoto, this is good to see it all.

5 stops one day, busy but we could only spare 1 day for Kyoto, so this was just what I wanted.
Late November was a great season for autumn leaves.
Our tour guide Sami, was just as nice as the way we wanted. Not too much nor too less explanation about Kyoto. Just comfortable to listen to.
I had a very nice day in Kyoto with Sami.

We booked an 8h tour for the 16. November and were very happy with it.

Thanks to the car, we could explore much more sites than otherwise possible when using public transportation or walking. Our guide was very knowledgeable and adjusted the tour to our preferences. We recommend!

Our guide (Lanny) was very helpful to give us specific detail and great advice during the tour. We had the opportunity to see those beautiful temple and shrine with beautiful weather. All time were respected. Great experience overall, definitly recommend! Beautiful Kiyomizo dera temple, great neighborhood and an original japan style Starbucks:)
Golden temple at the end is awsome.

It was a satisfying one-day bus tour. The guide was kind and the explanations were easy to understand. The lunch was delicious! I'm really glad I participated! Thank you very much. For those worried about restrooms, there was absolutely no problem.

満足な1日バスツアーでした。
ガイドさんも親切で説明も分かりやすかったです。
昼食も美味しかった！
参加して本当に良かったです！
ありがとうございました。
トイレが心配な方。全然、問題ありません。

It was a wonderful tour! I had always wanted to visit Shirakawa-go, but I didn't know much about Gokayama and thought, "I don't need to go to a similar place..." However, Gokayama was fantastic! It felt cozier than Shirakawa-go, and I thought this is the true Japanese landscape.

Also, the guide's knowledge about Kanazawa and recommendations for souvenirs were very helpful!

There were several restroom breaks along the way, which made it easy to enjoy the tour without worry.

とても素晴らしいツアーでした！
白川郷はずっと行ってみたかったのですが、五箇山のことはあまり知らず、「似てるとこ行かなくても…」と思っていました。
しかし、この五箇山が最高でした！白川郷よりもこじんまりとして、これぞ日本の原風景だと思いました。

また、ガイドさんの金沢豆知識や、おすすめのお土産情報などもとってもためになりました！

途中、トイレ休憩も何度かあり安心してツアーを楽しめました。

We joined this tour on the last minute, and I am so glad that we did. The tour stops were great, the length was just right, and tour guide, Lanny, was wonderful. We thoroughly enjoyed the 8 hours on this tour.

As a first timer to Kyoto with limited time, we had a hard time to go to all the most popular attractions on our own. We are happy that Panoramic Tour did this for us. The 5 places in the tour, Kiyomizu-dera Temple, Sanju-san-gen-do Temple, Fushimi Inari Shrine, Arashiyama/bamboo forest/Tenryu-ji Temple, and then Kinkaku-ji (golden) temple, are all top rated places. These places are kind of spread out, especially Arashiyama, it would have been difficult for us to visit all on our own.

Our tour guide, Lanny, is excellent. She is knowledgeable and funny. Along the way, we learned not only history, but also local sayings and stories, about the temples and shrines that we visited. Lanny is polite, warm, and cares about her customers. To us, this is the best part of joining a tour group.

The tour was on time at each location. The bus itself was clean and had free wi-fi and charging outlets. The lunch, chicken hot-pot, was also a very interesting experience.

Overall we enjoyed this day trip and the top level services from Lanny and the nice driver. The only area can receive improvement is the description about the meeting location. The direction was clear for us, and we had to stop and ask for directions twice before we finally found the Kyoto Avanti building. Turned out we came out of the wrong exit from the Kyoto station and were on the opposite side of the building. It would be helpful if the online direction says which subway exit(s) to take to get to the meeting place.

Great choice to discover Kyoto highlights in a day.
We enjoyed touring around the city and learning about history and culture. The tour guide spoke very good English and the level of physical activities was appropriate. The temples, shrines and bamboo grooves were spectacular.
The tour is a bit rushed from one place to another but that’s understandable considering all the places they try to cover. If you have short time in Kyoto and want to discover most, this tour is a great option.

We had a wonderful day out with our driver, Tuk and our local guide, Yuko. We saw a quick film of Fuji and the information centre then went to fifth station to visit the shrine and to admire a closer view of Mount Fuji and the surrounding areas. We then visited a local restaurant for delicious noodles and sake. We then continued to Arakurayama Sengen Park to take photos of Mount Fuji with the Pagoda and continued to enjoy the local markets and stalls and the Autumn Leaves Festival at Kawaguchiko. We were able to take phots of Mount Fuji from a variety of different locations and our day was well paced as we have young children (3, 6 and 11 years).
Our day was pleasant as our guide and driver were very knowledgeable, polite, friendly and accommodated our preferences. Highly recommend this tour if you like your own space and you’re travelling in a small group.

Pick up was efficient but the time was an hour later than that advertised in the literature, Mount Fuji was great, lunch was fine then it rapidly deteriorated. The post lunch itinerary was changed due to volcanic activity at the advertised ropeway. The lake cruise was forgettable, it was overcast and wind, it was very poorly supervised by the guide who gave garbled instructions that we couldn’t understand The ropeway was left to last by which time it was getting dark and the wind was getting up so we gave it a miss and poodles around for an hour in the souvenir stalls.

The return was chaotic we wasted ages dropping off people returning to Tokyo by train then it was a crawl even though the congestion wasn’t bad. It took more than 3 hours to cover the 70 km from the ropeway to our hotel

Hicimos este tour los primeros días de Octubre y lamentablemente nos toco nublado y
No pudimos ver e Monte Fuji. La guía muy amable, pero si ya no puedes ver El Monte Fuji todo el tour pierde su encanto. No se confíen de las predicciones del tiempo!
El almuerzo buffet fue regular. Pudimos regresar en el
Tren bala pagando un adicional, tour muy caro sobretodo si te corres el riesgo que te toque día nublado

The tour for me is money we’ll spend. It saves you time and planning especially for short visit. I want to give
Our tour guide June San, for giving us a wonderful tour very informative and attentive. Thank you! Until next time!

Sayonara Kyoto!

The day after the rain turned into a perfectly clear day, and I was able to thoroughly enjoy the stunning autumn leaves along the White Road, as well as exploring Shirakawa-go and Gokayama. There were also participants from overseas, and the guide's wonderful explanations in both Japanese and fluent English were very pleasant. I completely recovered from the fatigue of the marathon the day before, making it a highly satisfying day. It was said to be a rare good weather day, so I felt very lucky. I highly recommend this course.

前日の雨天から雲一つ無い晴天となりホワイトロードでの紅葉の絶景と白川郷と五箇山の散策を最高に楽しむことができました。海外の方も参加しガイドさんの日本語と堪能な英語での素晴らしい説明も心地よく前日のマラソンの疲れもすっかり取れて大満足の一日でした。めったにない好天とのことでとてもラッキーでした。お勧めのコースです。

This tour is an excellent introduction to some of the amazing historical sites that Kyoto has to offer. The tour meeting point is across from the main railway station (where there are loads of luggage lockers, 500-700y per day) so is very convenient for day trippers. On the day we went the weather was wet and the guide provided umbrellas which was a nice touch. The temples and shrines we visited were busy despite the weather and our excellent guide (Jorge) informed us that crowds were lighter than usual, so be prepared. Some of the sites were also being renovated (Olympics next year?) which was a shame but didn't detract too much from the overall experience. Lunch was a proper Japanese affair which we found tasty and educational, but if you want beer/sake with your food you will have to pay extra. Our tour group (about 40) was a bit unwieldy for a whistle stop tour but we were given a bit off time at each of the sites to explore. Our also guide pointed out other historical sites on the bus route which was helpful to those with more time. An enjoyable day!

Due to physical limitations, my parents can no longer walk far without balance or pain problems, so we needed personal transportation to take us around at our own pace. Based on a very sour experience in Tokyo in all aspects of customer service & complete disrespect/unprofessionalism/lack of manners+courtesy w/respect to accessible needs (yes, I was taken aback but city freneticism & savageness has taken over the city & it's not good!), we had zero expectations when we arrived in Kyoto.
BUT....what we got was a complete 5 star experience from Yuka. Not only did she communicate in perfect English (no where to be found in our "top" hotels in Tokyo that cost an arm+leg), she planned the trip around all my parents' needs with much care & thoughtfulness, went above & beyond her duty to help w/pushing the wheelchair & always attentive to shield my parents' from the pouring rain with her umbrella, staying a bit over allotted time to allow my parents to slowly finish their meals w/o rush, all the time being the most pleasant & entertaining host & safe driver! Mind you, she is not certified as a tour guide (she has the driver's license) and yet she puts both of the other licensed Tokyo tour guides to shame. She single-handedly salvaged this 9-day trip from being a complete rotten disaster! She was so amazing that my dad considered adopting her on the spot! Anyway, thank you Yuka - you have no idea what good you have done. I wish you only the best returns & if we ever come back, we will request you & only you! Please take care of yourself until then <3

We had a great tour guide named Jorge and we were taken to all the great places in Kyoto. I think we were given enough time to take pictures and explore the areas. Jorge explain each place with great passion and very easy understand and take in. Loved every moment of it. Highly recommend.

This was an amazing full day tour.We travelled with the family with two young children and starting from booking the tour till the end,it was all great,stress free and the travel consultant Jazz,communicated very well with all our queries at every point.We got to see the highlights of Kyoto in a day which would have been very difficult otherwise with young kids.
Our guide Hiromi was very nice,knowledgeable and she spoke good English and she was very helpful.We struggled the previous day to find vegetarian food and she advised us of the places to eat.She spoke about several interesting facts throughout the day.Beautiful temples,Shrines and Bamboo forest and the day was very well organised.We had itinerary at the start of the tour and we knew exactly whats happening.Lot of walking so make sure you get your comfortable walking shoes.Lunch was superb and it was all set on the table when we arrived.We were a bit hesitant initially to book as some had mentioned about the tour felt a bit rushed but overall pace was fine even with the buggy!
Overall its a must one if you have less time in Kyoto and want to visit the highlights of Kyoto in a day and I would definitely recommend this tour!

Perfect way to see the best of TOKYO in one day. The Odaiba cruise and inclusive lunch was a plus.

On the day after Tokyo's massive typhoon and large earthquake, Ken Takahashi met us at the Yokohama port to provide the day tour in Tokyo we had reserved, originally planned the day earlier. Ken took us to all the places we wanted to see, with a few of them off the regular tourist path, with Tuck, our driver. We were so pleased to see the usual places tourists want to see, as well as take us to a bamboo forest. My wife also wanted to find an artisanal fan, and Ken found an excellent shop with wide choices with a 5th generation owner, and he helped her purchase one with a stand. Ken also took us to a tea ceremony, and then a tempura lunch, the best tempura we've ever eaten. He has an excellent knowledge of history and of the city, and with his experience, and our interests, he curated an active and meaningful 8-hour day. After the day, he created an edited video of our day (taken with his Go-Pro camera) and promptly sent it to us along with a journal of the day. One of the things we found most thoughtful was the coordination of Tuck's dropping us off close to the places we wanted to see, and then magically Tuck picked us up at a very close location, to maximize our valuable time that day. Wonderful day with Ken, and proactive communication with Veltra (Taiji) when we all realized that the typhoon was going to hit Tokyo on exactly the day we had planned our tour. We were so grateful that our tour could be pushed back one day.

Amazing tour with an absolutely wonderful tour guide. She was so polite and attentive, Hiromi was the best! I have been to Kyoto many times before and this was the easiest and best way to see the historical sites in Kyoto. Highly recommend for anyone on a short visit to Kyoto.

It was a great tour! It was the best way to get the highlights of Kyoto. It’s very historic place with lots to see. This tour was a great experience, the tour guide was wonderful. The entire day was spent efficiently traveling from one location to another and see what each had to offer. The tour guide took us to some very nice spots in the temples and shrines where We got nice pictures. The street food venders near the shrine were delicious. There’s a lot of little stores along the way going to the temples and you can buy little souvenirs. You have free time to walk around the temples and just had to be back by a certain time so we could move on to the next activity. We got the tour that included a lunch, the food was great! You also have the option of picking vegetarian food. Overall, the experience was great and we never felt like we were confused as where to meet next. if you take this tour you will see some truly beautiful sights and views. There is on temple where I couldn’t take pictures but that was probably my favorite beside the golden pavilion. The bamboo forest was also very beautiful. Make sure you take very comfortable shoes, it’s a lot of walking and take lots of pictures! Can get somewhat crowded at different locations but still a very nice experience! Definitely would do this tour again!

Brought mom on this tour today! It was her first time in Tokyo, and I was quite worried how the tour would turn out given the weather forecast (rain!) and the reported closures of certain attractions caused by the recent typhoon. As it turned out, our worries were unfounded! While it was indeed raining as we were boarding the bus this morning, the weather started to clear as we head closer to Mt Fuji. The tour agency also made very good arrangements for us to have a great time. Coupled with the enthusiastic tour guide Jane, I would say our whole bus-load of people truly had an unforgettable day out! And guess what we found at Mt.Fuji? None other than Mt.Fuji!! I know this may not make sense, but you'd be surprised how many people went to Mt Fuji without seeing it...mainly due to weather issues. Well, we thought we wouldn't be able to catch it, but we did...snow-capped no less!

Really appreciate the quality of the tour, the seamless arrangements from one destination to another, and the professionalism show by the tour guide, and our bus driver. Couldn't have asked for more. Thumbs up!