All Reviews for Japan Autumn Tours 2024

On the morning of our tour, our guide, Taiji was waiting when we exited our hotel lobby. After introductions, Taiji familiarized himself with folding my wife’s wheelchair. Once we were in our seats, we explained that we would prefer not to participate in the hot springs bathing. Taiji accepted this and said we should still see the lakes and towns along the way to Mount Fuji as they are quite remarkable.

Taiji took us to the World Heritage Site Visitor Center where we watched an informative video about Mount Fuji. It was there that my wife noticed photography by Rocky Tanaka. We later learned Taiji and he are friends. At the end of our tour Taiji arranged for us to meet with Mr. Tanaka so we could view his gallery and purchase a piece of his art.

From the Visitor Center, we traveled on to see lakes and ponds which have formed by snow melt from Mount Fuji. Some of the villages along the way also exist only because Mount Fuji is towering in the distance. Mount Fuji is a Religious symbol to the Japanese.
We saw and ate white strawberries for the first time. We saw a traditional Japanese home with a thatch roof that will last for 100+ years. We saw bonsai trees and gardens and shops and fish ponds with giant fish and markets. We ate a traditional Japanese meal in an authentic Japanese restaurant where no one spoke English except for us. The food was DELICIOUS and the portions were HUGE! Then we continued on to the Fifth Station.

Taiji is an exceptional tour guide: He was a very safe and capable driver. Even in the high traffic areas of Tokyo’s interstate, we felt we were in safe hands. His English is impeccable and he is extremely articulate. His manners are first rate and he was professional, observant and intuitive. He has a seemingly unending knowledge of Japanese history and culture.

It was great one-day tour. Highly recommended.

Hope to spend more time in Hakone.

The Grand Tour of Tokyo Highlights gives you insight into the historical background of what Tokyo is, the shoguns and the emperors and the cultural achievements of that period, as well as an understanding of what Tokyo is today, a 36 million capital, surprisingly well functioning and hugely impressive.

We were accommodated even if reservation was only one day before the activity. We were fetched on time and arrived to our destination as expected. Lunch was good. It was very organized. The tour guide spoke English well and explained everything very well. No time was wasted. Yes, we enjoyed the one day trip and will probably recommend it to friends.

I have always wanted to see Mt. Fuji and this day tour did not disappoint on the visit. I enjoyed seeing the countryside and also the very impressive Bullet Train on the ride back to Tokyo.
I would skip at all costs the included lunch. It had been sitting out all prepared for some time when we arrived at the restaurant. The fried food was cold and the other parts of the meal were tasteless. It was not worth the money. My advice is pack a sack lunch and eat it outside where the view is pretty. Also, the cruise on Lake Ashi was fair. There were too many people crowding the railing of the boat and it was difficult to see the scenery if you are under 5 foot 5 inches! There were no available seats. This was a very long day trip and it would not be suitable for young children as they would be tired and bored. I am glad i saw Mt. Fuji and experienced the Bullet Train. I could have passed on the lunch and the cruise. My two companions were of the same opinion. One last comment, I felt rushed on this trip as we just made the last cable car ride and there was also a good deal of commotion getting everyone settled at the station where we caught the Bullet Train.

I gained a better understanding of place names that I only knew as knowledge through the guide's explanations. It was great to increase my knowledge about places I usually encounter casually, like the Imperial Palace and the National Diet Building. The time was a bit short.

知識として知っているだけの地名などがガイドさんの説明でよくわかった。普段何気なく接している皇居、国会議事堂などに関する知識が増えてよかった。時間は短め。

We were very lucky because we actually got to see the mountain. Best viewing is in the winter because there is no fog. We had a stroke of luck (in April) and got to see the mountain from the bus. By lunch time the entire mountain was obscured by fog. This is normal, be prepared not to see it. We got to the 4th station (5th was closed due to dangerous weather). The only opportunity to see it is from the bus. The lunch was lovely and tasty and a good sized portion. If people on your tour are late you might miss out on some things because everything is timed to the minute. Be on time. Lake Ashi was pretty. The cable car ride was neat too. You're supposed to have a great view at the peak but as I said the fog obscured everything. It was still cool to go up, there's shrine at the peak and the view if nearby nature and the lake is great. You couldn't see Fuji. Our guide was incredible and offered a lot of information about the Japanese culture, the people and customs. It was a nice tour. We would have had a hard time seeing what we did in our own. It's not very accessible without a rental car.

The tour was as described - simple pickup process, English speaking guide, we were lucky enough to get a good clear view of Mt Fuji - plenty of time at each location (some more than adequate) - would recommend

We did not find Fuji but instead Taiji our guide who has helped to turn bad weather into an interesting trip. We visited the Kimono museum, traditional Japanese noodles house with fresh organic ingredient from the farm (and Horse Sushi I know!) and end the trip with shopping spree in Gotemba before being dropped off at the hotel. Special thanks for extra Japanese vocab and help with contact in Kyoto.

We spent 4 days in Tokyo and this tour helped us to have an idea of what to visit afterwards in detail. Highly recommended with very good guides too.

It is better than Ad described. The lunch is very good at an advanced hotel. Prices of Skyline Gondola and Pirate Boat Cruise are included in the package, which were unexpected. It is worth trying.

They mentioned they would take to 5th station of mt. Fuji , but they finished at 2nd station! Other than this , it was really awesome , especially the guide was so informative and her English was good too.

Amazing views of the mount Fuji and Hakone, take it if you have a free day!

Had a great time in Yokohama & Kamakura with Taiji, our driver cum guide.
So glad that I opted for this tour provided by TSA

Saw beautiful golden maple leaves - remnants of Autumn. Trip was enjoyable as our guide was fluent in English which made communication a BIG plus

Patient & accommodating to our needs, young and old. Will highly recommend Taiji to anyone requiring driver cum guide services

We enjoyed a second wonderful day on our visit to Japan with our guide Taiji. After a very long day visiting Mt. Fuji, we embarked on a city tour of Tokyo by planning a more leisurely pace. Starting the day by introducing Taiji to his first "Costco experience" was a fun and relaxing way to wind down from the previous day, then we quickly got back into busy mode for the rest of the day until dinnertime. Taiji adjusted quickly on the fly to our fickle plans but managed to combine great food, sightseeing, and shopping into one full and memorable day, including extra trips back to our place to drop off some of our shopping bags! Thank you so much again for showing us a great time in Tokyo, Taiji. We will certainly be back soon!

We had a fabulous time with our guide Taiji. Not only did we luck out in mid December with nearly perfect weather that afforded us with gorgeous views everywhere of Mt. Fuji, but Taiji was able to recommend some great sightseeing as well as shopping spots to us. The highlights included an amazing visit to the kimono museum that Taiji recommended to us that included a magnificent tea room, as well as a fantastic local lunch spot that also included an amazing photo gallery upstairs with one-of-a-kind shots of Mt. Fuji. What an utterly memorable and unforgettable experience! Thank you for all of your hard work and wonderful guidance, Taiji!

The day we rode was very windy, but it felt refreshing! I thoroughly enjoyed it with the guide's polite and lively explanations in the background. I want to ride again!

乗った日は強風でしたが気分爽快！
ガイドさんの丁寧で軽快な説明をバックに充分楽しめました。また乗りたい！

best tour if you have a small amount of time in Tokyo. We went to a lot of places and it does not feel rush. We will use veltra again when we go back to Japan!

We were lucky on the day we visited. Sky was clear and we were able to see Mount Fuji and also visited the Owakudani Valley (and eat the Black Egg!). Our tour guide, Kana-san speaks good English and clear. She also gave us alot of visitor information on Japan. We did not make any lunch reservation therefore we ordered food from the hotel on that day itself - not too pricey, for about 1300yen and you will get a quite decent bowl of Hot Udon with tempura.
Worth going for this tour!

Unfortunately with the traffic, touring by Coach was not a good idea as we spent most our time travelling. May be going by bullet train and meet at the station would have been better, Drivers and guide were very nice.

We went on the private Mt. Fuji pilgrimage tour. Our tour guide was Taiji Endo. We all had a good time and our our guide was great! Very informative and a safe driver. He also gave us a good restaurant recommendation for lunch. We would definitely recomment the tour and our tour guide as well.

Taiji is a great guide. He arrived on time and took us to Mt Fuji. He has the 'Mt Fuji luck' where every tour group he brings, the mountain view is clear. He speaks very good english and french too! My children loved him. This itinerary was fun and relaxing just the way we wanted.

Since my workplace is in Nihonbashi, none of these places were new to me. However, I was truly surprised at how fresh everything felt from a different perspective. I was also satisfied with the staff's service. Thank you very much.

職場が日本橋なので、いずれの場所も初めてのところではありませんでした。でも、でもです！目線が違うとこんなにも新鮮なのかと本当に驚きました。スタッフの皆さんの対応にも満足です。ありがとうございました。

Definitely go to this tour when it is a nice sunny day! We went when it was foggy and cloudy so we did not see Mount Fuji at all. The lunch menu isnt that great as the tour brings you to one hotel restaurant. Average price per meal was at least 12,000 YEN. I would suggest to eat at the first pit stop restaurant that is attached to the convenient store. Me and my BF had a ramen bowl that was pretty good for only 500 YEN! We also ate at another restaurant at the Mount Fuji pit stop. That ramen bowl was pretty descent as well! About 700 YEN. Also when the tour is over, I would highly suggest riding the bullet train back since it only takes about 30-40 minutes to get back to Tokyo compared to the bus ride that takes about 2 and half hours. Overall, the tour was okay and I was disappointed that we did not see Mount Fuji and this tour lasted 8+ hours.

Convenient bus and Shinkansen tour to visit both Mt Fuji and Hakone in a day from Tokyo. Many people but worth it. Convenient pick up from hotel.

Excellent tour to visit both Mt Fuji and Hakone in the day from Tokyo. Convenient and fun. Easy pick up from hotel. Highly recommended!

It was raining and traffic was bad during our visit. We did not see Mt. Fuji and we had to skip the cable car ride. I think we should have skipped the 5th station so we could've taken the cable instead. Although the food was delicious, I had hoped the food they prepared for us was Japanese and not Western food. Make sure to check the weather before booking this trip.

Miss Silky was a great guide. The whole family really enjoyed it.

We were able to see Mt Fugi and travel up to station 5! There was a stop along the way to use the restroom. Dinner was yummy at a beautiful hotel. We just wish it had been Japanese style food- not western- that is why we are IN Japan! We also wish there had been more time devoted at being at the mountain. It was very rushed and so very crowded. SO much time was spent waiting in lines.

I felt the wind like I was on a roller coaster, and it was more enjoyable than I imagined. I think the good weather contributed to that as well.

ジェットコースターに乗っているように風を感じられて想像以上に楽しく満喫出来ました。お天気が良かったのでそれも良かったことの一因だと思います。