All Reviews for Japan Autumn Tours 2024

My family and I took the private tour arranged by Tokyo Star Agency to the Mt. Fuji area, not to the Mt. Fuji itself, but rather to the surrounding areas such as Lake Saiko, Saiko Iyashino-Sato Nenba, Hanaterasu, Mt. Fuji Ropeway and also a visit to the local sake brewery, Ide Sake. Our tour guide, Mrs. Yuko Matsuka was an amazing lady and spoke good English. She lives in the Mt. Fuji area so she has extensive knowledge about this particular region. I really adored her. She also paid attention to my daughters' needs, I could tell that she's sincere and thoughtful. She took us for lunch at Maple Restaurant, the food was very good, enjoyed by my kids and also myself. It was one of the many great meals I've had during my trip in Japan.
Although what we hoped for was to see Mt. Fuji from a far unfortunately didn't come true due to the weather (it was covered with clouds), yet we weren't disappointed since Mrs. Yuko tried her best to entertain us and took us to alternative spots for us to enjoy the day. I also need to mention our driver, Mr. Kenichi Higashi, who was a good driver and also very friendly. He made sure that we're well informed about the traffic condition; also was keen to offer us to make stops at the rest station along the highway.
Overall, I do recommend everyone who's interested in taking a private tour to Mt. Fuji area, to choose the Tokyo Star Agency's service.

I was on the fence between booking a private tour or a bus tour to visit Mt. Fuji but I’m so happy I decided to book a private tour. I couldn’t have asked for a more knowledgeable and accommodating tour guide. Taiji made sure we were able to visit all the places we wanted to see around Mt. Fuji even if it went beyond the allotted time. He and the driver, Toshi, we’re fun to be with. I highly recommend their services to anyone who wants to visit Japan.

I want emphasize that our tour guide and bus drivers were great! They were sweet and kind and really made sure the tour was kept organized. However, the actual tour was incredibly expensive for no reason! The only picture I was able to get of Mt. Fuji was on the bus! Now I understand that Fuji is very easily covered by clouds and the mountain can be seen once the clouds move. What I did not appreciate was that we were not able to go to the 5th station because of over crowding? How is that our problem? So we went to the 4th station and there was nothing there but a parking lot and a gift shop. Then we took the sky gondola ride just to see a dried up forest. The hot springs gave me a headache re the smell and the boat ride offered no views of Fuji. I believe this tour is falsely advertised and overpriced. I just wanted to get back to Tokyo.

It was a great overall tour of Tokyo BUT too many customers on the tour were VERY late arriving back at the tour bus again and again. This totally inconvenienced all the other people on the tour, cut into the time spent at tour sites including lunch and made the itinerary more rushed then should have been necessary. Customers waiting on the bus wanted the tour guide to leave these people behind so we could have the designated time at tour sites but instead, we waited an average of 15-30 minutes on the bus waiting for people who could care less about keeping us all waiting. The tour guide was great but went out looking for these late people, then jammed us through the rest of the program. Customers who were either slow, older or physically challenged such as using a cane for walking couldn’t keep up.
Grey Line needs to adhere to the rule of “make it back to the bus on time or we leave you behind” instead of making others angry at the tour guide, Greyline and the late customers. NOT what I paid for.

I chose this tour for the convenience of being picked up from my hotel in Tokyo. The seating in the coach was a little tight but no different from other coaches I've been on in Japan. Unfortunately, our guide repeated herself incessantly throughout the journey and this was exceedingly irritating. I'm sorry to say that I resorted to listening to music through my earphones in preference to hearing what our guide was saying. I booked the lunch option and was pleasantly surprised at the food quality. The place where we stopped catered specifically for large groups and was well set up for these.
My main issue was with the very short amount of time allocated at each stop. The day was cloudy, but with occasional clear spots, providing sporadic opportunities to photograph Mt Fuji. However, with only 15 to 30 minutes at each of the viewing stations, it was frustrating to have to return to the coach so quickly without having enough time to wait for a break in the clouds to take a decent photo of Mt Fuji. That said the views on and around lake Ashi were fabulous and the cable car journey to the top of Mt Komagatake was worthwhile, with some very nice scenery at the summit.
On the way back to Tokyo we chose not to return on the coach (even though we had booked it) and took the bullet train instead. This turned out to be an excellent choice because we were back in Tokyo Central Station within 35 minutes of boarding the train, rather than the three hours or so on the coach.
In fairness to the tour operator, I would say that the short time available at the viewing stations was not their fault, because I suspect that time restrictions applied to the large coaches at each stopping point. In hindsight, I think that I should have booked a more bespoke tour catering for fewer people. Being in a smaller vehicle/group might have provided the flexibility to make brief stops during our journey to take opportunistic photos of Mt Fuji when there were breaks in the clouds.

Thanks for the tour. Everything was good: the tour guide has helpful, the places we visited were memorable and the lunch was great!

Difficult to locate the tour provider at pickup pt, no counter or signage board. The cruise is rather boring, would rather pay more if snacks and drinks can be provided during the cruise since it's a long day tour.

Everything was perfect about it. I loved it. Guide was awesome. Looking forward for my next trip.

If you go on this tour, please take into account the weather forecast. The morning we left from Tokyo, it was pouring rain. The rest of the day was also covered in grey clouds, rain and fog. We therefore did not see Mt. Fuji at all. Not even a glimpse unfortunately. Although we did go up the cable car, we could not see more than like 30 meters ahead due to the fog.
Although the weather forecast is unpredictable, and the organization is of course not to blame for bad weather (humans can unfortunately not control it) it is a pity that we did not get any compensation whatsoever. Having paid this huge amount of money for a bus tour where we did not even see the mountain has simply been a disappointment. Nevertheless, the tour guide was energetic and nice.

If you are looking for a convenient way to see Mount Fuji from japan this is the tour for you. Eko our guide for the day was pleasant, friendly and knowledgeable. She made the trip fun driving between site to sight. Her English was perfect and humor a joy. The lunch was fantastic, lots of variety and tasty. I highly recommend this tour if you only have a day to spend in the region. The option for the fast train back to Tokyo (which we choose last minute during the trip) is also worth the ride and experience. Eko helped us arrange that easily.

Considerations: It is a long day. Time of year - if it's a colder month, i might opt for a shorter tour.

Time well spent and the guide speaks well and explains clearly. She is informative and never a dull moment. Would recommend friends/family to book this tour. thanks alot.

While the trip was good, everything went smoothly and the tour guide was very informative and helpful, it was disappointing to learn we have very little time at each stop. We felt very rushed, including for lunch. I suggest the tour return later, or you are upfront with customers that in order to fit in all of the activities the actual time at each stop is very limited.

Very nice and very fascinating tour. Will definitely do it again. Also no problem recommending to friends

Dislike the multi dips , guide changing in mid day, and bus changing to max out the margins for the agency, sacrificing the comfort level and experience of the users. Morning guide was really poor as she waited for the return passengers from the shrine at the bus parking area instead of providing some sort of assistance in between the shrine and the bus lot

Our tour guide was fantastic, Friendly, and very informative. She gave us so much information about our surroundings, where we were going and Japan's history. I would definitely reccomend the Mt Fuji and Hakone tour to everyone it was a fantastic day out.

Excellent tour. Youshi - san was a great tour leader, informative and amusing and spoke excellent English. We were very fortunate to have a clear day to see Mount Fuji and the views were brilliant all day. The lunch was also very good. We enjoyed the sky gondola, the black eggs and the cruise over lake Ashi. Every thing was very punctual and at no point did we feel rushed.We took the option of the bullet train back and Youshi helped us with navigating the station. In all a lovely tour which we thoroughly recommend.

We had a great day on this sightseeing tour. Both our guides were knowledgeable about Tokyo and gave good extra information about daily life etc. Good choiches of landmarks, well organized lunch with fine presentation of Japanese food. Bus was very clean and comfortable.
We can highly recommend this full day sightseeing in Tokyo.

We had a long bus ride to Mt Fuji but were disappointed the clouds came in and covered the mountain. We could only get to Level 2 as there was too much congestion and traffic higher up at Level 4. Our lunch was a wonderful selection of local dishes and the cruise on the Pirate Ship on Lake Ashi was crowded and chilly but fun to be part of.

The trip was generally good and was saved from an OK rating by actually seeing Mt Fuji from the bus and the first stop. After that we drove to the other side of the mountain where it was covered by cloud and we didn't see it again all day. (Cloudy weather can't be helped but guide said "we are driving to the other side as it is less crowded".) Everything ran on time but better explanation of how to manage Japanese lunch (our first such experience) would have been appreciated. Cruise on Lake Ashi was picturesque but boat was very crowded with standing room only for some guests.

It was cold on the day of the tour, and there was a bit of wind, but the content of the tour was outstanding! Of course, I got to see the places I wanted, but the guide's explanations were surprisingly interesting and well done, which made the atmosphere on the bus lively. There were also useful trivia points throughout, making the bus drive feel like it went by in no time.

当日は寒くて少し風もありましたが、ツアーの内容は満点以上でした(^^)
見たかった場所は勿論ですが、ガイドのお姉さんの説明も想像以上に面白く上手でバス内も盛り上がりました。為になる雑学も要所要所にあり、あっという間のバスドライブでした。

We had a free day in Tokyo so decided to book this tour on line before we arrived as was highly recommended by a friend! We weren’t disappointed! Didn’t do a pickup from the hotel we were staying at so we had to jump on the subway to get to the pickup, was easy! Then we were transported to yet another hotel by taxi! Our tour guide Yoshi was brilliant! He covered so much in the full day tour, loved every minute of it! We booked the tour which included the Japanese lunch which was a delicious! Saw all the highlights of Tokyo, even included a boat ride down the river! At the end of the tour the bus dropped us off at the subway as we decided to go to Shibuya before returning to our hotel! Don’t miss this tour!

The drive going to Mt. Fuji was smooth. Our tour guide, Amy was excellent and helpful. Too bad we didn't see it at the base or during the boat ride. However, we saw it during the bus ride at least and we're happy.

We did get to see Mt Fuji which was why we went on this tour. Because of this, I rated it fair rather than poor... The boat and sky tram filled in time out of the bus... neither was interesting or exciting. Our tour guide was very bland...he certainly did not make this an enjoyable day. For a couple to go on this excursion at a cost of $250 to 300USD... spend your money elsewhere.

Very professional and informing. I would recommend and use again.

Completely recommend this tour and is well worth it. The scenery and guide are both terrific and it was an awesome day and experience overall. I must say that it is best to do your research regarding the train option before finalising your booking to ensure that you get the best deal. The tour operator offers a discounted ticket for the bullet train if it is bought through them as opposed to buying the ticket at the station.

Enjoyed the morning tour better than the afternoon tour. Lunch should include alternatives for Western tastes.

The guide was very informative. However couldn't go to fifth station of Mt. Ashi as promised in the tour plan. Instead went to the second station due to whether conditions. It would have be better if this clause was mentioned. One among the very less tours that cover both mount Ashi and Hakone in one day. Covers all the important look out points.

Honestly, I expected something completely different. The way was very long, the tour guide was not that excited about the information he presented and most of the facts I knew from the internet tourist sites beforehand. We clearly expected more insight into the history of the place: beautiful legends and folk tales or anecdotes from a local guide.
5-station was closed that day. As for sky gondola and the boat cruise, well, probably on a sunny day, but not on a windy April day. The sky was grey and it was freezing. Smoking valley was just a viewing spot to take a photo and taste a black ice-cream. Sorry to say, but I wouldn’t recommend this trip. I would go for another tour provider.

Excellent guide. Very informative and helpful throughout the whole trip.

This was our second 2-day tour with Taiji in 3 years, and everyone had so much fun! Not only is Taiji super detailed oriented in planning a wonderful itinerary for our group, and equally efficient in executing even the most complicated and busiest schedules, it is all accomplished without making the tour group feel rushed at all. At the end, we were able to enjoy a fantastic customized experience that catered to the varied preferences that ranged from a 15-year old teenage girl up to grandparents in their 70's and 80's!

Best of all, Taiji not only provides a great tour service, but does so by enhancing the experience through his fun personality. Not only is his English excellent, but it is very difficult to find someone who is as humorous as Taiji who can not only understand but participate in sarcastic humor! Thank you so much again for the truly memorable and fun times, Taiji!