Overall, the trip was culturally enriching, enjoyable, and educational. The guides were outstanding. The communications through the app with Zicasso’s travel company were easy and prompt. Having the tickets for the Shinkansen took away any stress with navigating the system, and the reserved seats were always at the end of the car with the extra luggage storage, so thoughtful! Everyone did their best to help me navigate restaurant dining, and for that we are so thankful. It was a challenge!
Kanazawa was delightful. The restaurant suggested by our travel company was terrific. Kyoto is magical. Concluding the trip at our hotel near Mount Fuji was wonderful, restful, and beautiful. Quite a contrast to Tokyo.
We have a couple of observations. We struggled with jet lag, which made the first 2.5 days of guided tours exhausting. We arrived on Monday afternoon and would have been better served with a free day on Wednesday or Thursday instead of Friday. By the time we arrived in Kanazawa on Saturday, we were hungry and tired.
While we appreciate the uniquely Japanese onsen experience, it was not to our liking. The chef did an amazing job accommodating my food restrictions, but set multi-course dining is not our style. And to have huge meals for dinner and then again breakfast in an environment with little opportunity for activity was uncomfortable. This experience is not for everyone, and it is expensive.
We would prefer to have stayed another night in Kyoto and made a day trip to Hiroshima. The guide and driver were not needed in Hiroshima.
We would recommend our travel company to friends and family. The guides and ease of train travel made the trip!
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