Testimonials

The Halvorsen Family

We had 3 incredible tour guides; Kayo, Ken and Barbara. We appreciated their flexibility to see the sites that were most important to us, and in one instance we had to forego seeing one of the planned attractions in order to go to the Arashiyama Monkey Park and Nishiki Market in Kyoto that weren't originally on our itinerary, but my son wanted to see and experience. Barbara had an Ipad with a powerpoint presentation for every attraction we visited as well as many interesting facts regarding Japan's history and really helped elevate our experience. Ken navigated us all over Tokyo and we got in over 20,000 steps with him and were able to even squeeze in some souvenir shopping at the official Dodger's Tokyo Series store in Shibuya. He clearly instructed us in the rituals at the Meiji Shrine and we learned a lot from him as well.

Mrs. & Mr. Quebec

Dear AJT, I recently took a 30-day vacation, 2 weeks in the Philippines, a week in Japan and a week in Hawaii. All were beautiful places but what stood out to me was the Japan trip. Not just because of the History, cleanliness, or the sheer beauty of the land and architecture, it was because of my tour guides. Yoshiko Lund was my tour guide for Tokyo and Ken Hayashi was my tour guide for Kyoto and let me tell you how impressed I was with their knowledge and accommodations. Both were very informative and taught me a lot about their culture. Their recommendations were so good, from the places to eat, certain places that we had time to fit in our schedule, to the meanings of designs of the Japanese culture. It made a big impact on me on how I see the rest of the world. The respect factor has been so high that I find myself still bowing to people. Yoshiko made a great impression on with my wife and she showed her some local spices to cook with which I have enjoyed immensely, to see both girls smiling and talking made me happy to see their connections, maybe they had a common sense of fashion too because both girls happened to wear the same make and style of shirts that day. So many smiles with her. On the Kyoto part of the trip, Ken Hayashi had very professional vibe about him and the fact that he was younger than us was impressive., He still was very accommodating to both or needs and requests. Besides all the places we requested, I asked him to play some music that he likes, because I love all types of music, which he was hesitant at first but then as the music played, he became very comfortable which made me comfortable too. He has great taste in music. I had some extra requests that he handled very well, I wanted to play Pachinko and ride a Rickshaw which he made that happen. Overall, both were very professional, kind, understanding and informative. We had a trip that will be talked and reflected on for the rest of our lives. I'm also happy to be friends them on my social pages, to remind me of their happy and kind souls! The next time I go back, I will definitely request for their assistance. Thank you for one of the most memorable trips I have ever taken!!! AGAIN, special thanks to Yoshiko Lund and Ken Hayashi!!!

Mr. Bird & Mrs. Tellez

My husband and I took our honeymoon on one of your tours, and in a word? Perfect. The entire experience was excellent, I would recommend yours tours to anyone, and hope to return myself soon! The selection of the itinerary was excellent, I enjoyed everything we did, the main highlights in my opinion was the meiko experience (please continue doing this!) it was really a once in a lifetime experience, she was so graceful and beautiful and she taught us a new drinking game, which I loved, it was so much fun! My husband particularly liked the Nara deer park, it was amazing seeing all the beautiful tame deer and to feed them was a joy. We both enjoyed our accommodations, especially the onsen, the hot baths are a must try, the outdoor bath was an almost unreal experience since it was cool that night, the hot bath was perfectly relaxing and very peaceful. But the people who helped make it all possible? Niwa San and Kim. I cannot rave about them enough. For starters Kim was always attentive, answering all our questions graciously, and providing a knowledgeable amount of information and detail about the areas we visited and about the country and culture. She went above and beyond on our last day helping us make reservations for a taxi to take us to the airport, staying behind and helping more than expected, going above and beyond to put us at ease. By the end of your trip with her, she will feel like a friend rather than a guide, and that to me is a true testament to her grace, knowledge, capability, and overall her kindness. Kim if you read this we love you, and genuinely enjoyed the time we had with you! Keep up the good work! And Niwa San? A total lifesaver!! To begin with he is a capable and safe driver, I had total faith in his driving abilities and he greeted us each and every time we boarded his bus, a nice touch to making the trip feel personalized. He also loaded and unloaded our luggage whenever we reached our accommodations, but the real testament to his kindness and dedication was when I left my phone on the bus. He found it, contacted me letting us know he had found it, and even charged it for me so I could have it the next day! Words are not enough to describe how grateful I was! You have top notch people, true professionals. Everyone keep up the good work. Thank you for the perfect vacation!

Mr. Easton & Mrs. Golden

The All Japan Tours "Charms of Hokkaido 2025" was fantastic! Having planned our own tours to Japan in the recent past, we were very thankful to have had a guided tour of Hokkaido, especially in winter! Our coach driver: The weather in Hokkaido on this year's tour was frigid and snowy (which is why we came), so having a reliable, safe coach driver made the trip relaxing and comfortable. Our tour guide: Katsume Miharu (Miharu-san) was a fantastic guide! Funny, entertaining, experienced and very knowledgeable. She made the trip so enjoyable and went above and beyond to help us remedy an issue regarding forgotten/left items at one of our hotels. Thank you, Miharu-san! Our Itinerary: One thing we appreciated about this tour was being able to explore most of the places we visited without the requirement to remain in a group the entire time we visited each site. This is different from Rick Steves' Europe tours and Viking River Cruise tours that we have been on in the past. Being free to explore on our own made the tour feel more like our own personally planned tour. We were able to visit most of the scheduled places in the itinerary, except for the Abashiri ice breaker cruise which was canceled due to inclement weather and high seas. Better safe than sorry. AJT did a great job of rearranging the scheduled day for our visit to Upopoy National Ainu Museum due to being closed on the originally scheduled day. This amazing cultural heritage facility is absolutely beautiful, and we were moved by the music and dance performance. Our Tour Highlights: If we were to list the highlights of the tour, we would simply be including the whole itinerary, however, our top five places on the tour were: - Okurayama Ski Jump Observatory - Historic Village of Hokkaido - Upopoy National Ainu Museum - Wakasagi Smelt Fishing - Lake Akan International Crane Center Winter Festival Sites: We visited the most important, well-known winter festival sites in Hokkaido, and were not disappointed. The Sapporo Snow Festival was amazing, as were Asahikawa Winter Festival, Lake Shikotsu Ice Festival, and the Sounkyo Ice Fall Festival. Our Lodgings and Meals: AJT booked very nice hotels during this tour, and we were able to experience both Western and Japanese-style accommodations. The included meals and restaurant facilities at the hotels were first-rate. Our most memorable meal was in a Japanese restaurant in the indoor shopping mall connected to the Grand Park Otaru Hotel. Our group enjoyed several nigiri sushi, tempura, miso soup, noodles, etc. Our favorite Western-style hotel was the Grand Park Otaru, and our favorite Japanese-style hotel was Hotel Abashirikoso on Lake Abashiri. Our Weather: As mentioned earlier, the weather in Hokkaido was cold, snowy, and often windy, and this is what we came for! We cannot stress enough how important it is to dress appropriately for ever-changing conditions (layers). Most of the sites we visited had treacherous snow-packed, icy walking conditions, so sturdy snow boots and removable ice cleats were a necessity. At this point, I must embarrass myself by saying that I did NOT have ice cleats (the ones I brought did not fit my boots, and I should have tested them more carefully before leaving for the trip). As a result, I spent a lot of very slow, walk-like-a-penguin treks through the various sites, luckily without mishap. We thoroughly enjoyed this AJT trip to Hokkaido and heartily recommend it for anyone wishing to experience the cold, rugged beauty of this impressive Japanese island.

Ms. Magnus & Ms. Lauer

After the initial snafu with our original tour guide being unavailable the first day and slight change in schedule due to museum being closed the day we were supposed to go, the tour was fantastic. Our tour guide, Miharu was knowledgeable and very funny and made the sometimes long bus ride go by quickly.

The Weber Group

First day was weak but the weather, our jet lag and the unknown was what we experienced. The rest of the tour was great. Some of the sites and the tour guide put us at ease and astonished. Grade 10 or 10.

Mrs. Parfitt, Mr. McGurk, & Ms. Stewart

Tomo san was a superb guide, knowledgeable, interesting and most of all, a thoroughly beautiful person to spend a holiday with.

Mr. & Mrs. Phillips

95% perfect!

Mr. Ricardo Guyitngco

Great Guides

Mr. Christian Lopez

It is hard for me to say what particular aspect of the tour I enjoyed the most because each experience played its part in developing my appreciation for Japan and its history, culture, architecture, society, and the effort & dedication put in to get Japan to where it is today. The guides are fun & friendly and each event is interesting. The time spent at each event is reasonable--balancing the number of places we can see vs. how long we see them. Overall, the tour was a wonderful experience.