[kasmansc]

Our family (15 year old daughter and parents) just returned from Samurai Tours' "Best of Japan" tour. We highly recommend using them if you are going to Japan for the first time, as we did.

Because of they way Samurai Tours handles things (all public transportation, all ryokan, etc.), we feel that we not only got to see the sites in Japan, but also really got to know the people and the culture of this fascinating country.

There were a few things we worried about before the trip that turned out not to be problems at all. In case you are worrying about the same things, let me reassure you.

At the moment, of course, many people are cancelling their trips to Japan because of the recent disasters there (earthquake, tsunami and nuclear plant failure). Believe me, it did not feel like we were visiting a disaster zone. We always felt safe. Aside from a few minor inconveniences (air conditioners were set a bit higher to save electricity, our trip to Nikko was replaced with a different excursion) we would not have been aware of it at all. And, these are more than outweighed by the fact that now is a GOOD time to go because there are no crowds at the main tourist sites.

We agree with other reviews that the two Japanese tour guides we had were really knowledgeable and easy to get along with. Some of the reviews we read complained that Mike Roberts (the top guy at Samurai Tours) was not a good tour guide himself. It is true that he knows less about Japan than the native Japanese guides. However, his laid-back personality and knowledge of America and American culture make up for this. (I mean, even though he knows less about Japan than the other guides, he knows more about what we will find unusual or interesting.) We did not mind at all when Mike was our guide.

Some other reviews we read complained about the lodging and/or food. We think those people just didn't want to go to Japan! All of the food we ate was DELICIOUS. Samurai Tours handles most of the meals and what they got us was GREAT. It is true that by the end of the tour we were craving some Western cuisine, but we were able to handle that with the meals we purchased on our own, and Samurai Tours even took us out for one Italian meal. Yes, hotels in Japan have tiny bathrooms, and if you elect to go with the Japanese style room then you'll be sleeping on a futon laying on tatami flooring, but that's the Japanese experience we wanted! (Bathrooms: expect the entire bathroom to seem like an oversized shower stall, with unfamiliar controls and electronic toilet seats. Lodging: we really liked the "no shoes" policy and found the futons very comfortable, but some people do complain.)

We spent an extra night in a hotel on our own at the end of the tour and ate out a bunch of times during the tour, so we have an idea of how much things cost. We really feel as if we got our money's worth out of the price of the tour. To stay in such nice hotels and eat so many great meals must be expensive. It was convenient and cost effective to have Samurai Tours handle all of that for us.

We could complain about a few tiny things. (Although it had a very nice public bath, the lodging in Hakkone was noticeably less nice than the others, which were otherwise excellent. The stay at a mountaintop monastery was less impressive than we had expected because it was a lot more commercial and developed up there than we thought it would be.) But, we really are very glad we decided to use Samurai Tours, and that we decided to go now. We would never have been able to have as many great experiences in such a short time on our own, and we feel that they really taught us how to get around and do things so that if we went back we probably COULD do it ourselves. Even so, if we ever do go to Japan again we would probably use Samurai Tours again.

Three thumbs up for Samurai Tours from the Kasmans of South Carolina.