I know that this review is pretty late in coming but we have had lots going on and somehow the review has managed to get passed over. Anyway, we all enjoyed our Japan adventure and are looking forward to Scotland/Ireland. Overall, our guides were great. We all rated Noriko Oyagi superb in all of the above categories and additionally she was very personable. Michio Hameda was very good but a little more difficult to understand, but excelled in knowledge. Kagimi Masako was adequate but was very soft spoken and at times difficult to hear or understand and did not seem to have the personality or depth of knowledge that our other guides had. The hotels were all great and drivers were punctual, safe, and vehicles were in good repair. We appreciate how much we were able to see in the limited time that we were in Japan. The thing we like best about using Novaland is the ability to customize our itinerary so that we are not wasting time waiting for others and dealing with big busses.
Regarding our Scotland/Ireland itinerary, I managed to leave the last iteration of the itinerary on my desktop computer in Florida. We are at our home in Tennessee for the summer. Could you send me a copy. We have some friends who went to Scotland & Ireland last year and wanted to compare and make suggestions.
Mar 2024 • Family
We used Novaland Tours for our Tokyo n Kyoto tour from March 6th through March 11th 2024. Our Travel Agent Joanna was always in touch with us during our stay.
[2/27 18:30] Aisyah VJ133665: Hello Doris, today's trip was really nice!! Although, for today we got back later than schedule because we busy shopping at Sakaimachi street.
[3/1 16:10] Doris Novaland Tours: Hi Aisyah, it's been a few days since last message, may I ask how about your tour now? If you have any feedback about hotel, driver etc, please let me know.
[3/1 16:57] Aisyah VJ133665: Hello Doris, for the past few days, the tour was nice. The hotels we stayed are all comfortable and the facilities are great. The driver is very helpful and punctual too.
[3/1 17:21] Doris Novaland Tours: Sounds nice, enjoy your trip!
[3/1 17:26] Karen VJ133487: Hi Doris, we had so much fun. Except heavy snow. We didn’t get to see the lake.
[3/1 17:34] Doris Novaland Tours: Oh I see, enjoy your trip!
[3/1 17:34] Karen VJ133487: Thank you
[3/4 13:09] Doris Novaland Tours: How about skiing in Niseko and the lesson?
[3/4 13:10] Karen VJ133487: Nice. We had so much fun. Thank you so much
[3/4 13:12] Doris Novaland Tours: Sounds great
[3/7 17:27] Doris Novaland Tours: Hi Karen, I guess you've reached the Sapporo hotel, how is your status today?
[3/7 18:13] Karen VJ133487: Yes! We’re in Sapporo.
[3/7 18:14] Karen VJ133487: I’m ok. Thank you. :)
[3/7 18:27] Doris Novaland Tours: I forgot to ask you about the trip in Bibai yesterday, is it worth taking 2 hrs unlimited ride, and how about the waterfall? Besides, if you have any feedback about the hotels, driver service etc, please let me know.
[3/7 18:38] Karen VJ133487: Ice festival not bad. First time seeing. However the place is small. All hotels so far are good. :)
[3/7 18:50] Doris Novaland Tours: Thank you, enjoy your free days in Sapporo~
Hi Helen
Best trip ever. I did everything I wanted to do. It happened effortlessly. The guides were amazing and they took a lot of photographs for me because I wanted family shots
Yuki was very good yesterday. Enjoyed tour.
Everything going very good with Mr Nagata today
Extremely very much.
We began researching a Japan trip in October 2023 and linked up with Joanna at Novaland tours as our consultant. From our first Whats app call it was clear that she understood what we looking for on our trip and we settled for a private tour rather than a small group tour. We appreciated that from the initial itinerary that we could make adjustments to the tour suggestions made, hotel selection and modes of transport and costs. We had many enjoyable conversations during the planning which never seemed too much trouble for her - in fact we were encouraged to seek advice and ask questions. In their service we were provide with portable wifi, detailed location maps/directions linked to Google maps for the times we had no guide. The two guides ( Yasuko and Remi) provided were both fantastic - good English spoken, including English humour. Excellent knowledge of the sites visited and attentive at all times to our needs ( they brought hot tea and snacks with them as it was cold and wet! !!). It felt more like visiting with friends than being guided. They made adjustments to the itinerary on a daily basis (after discussion) accounting for weather, our preferences and overcrowding,. The changes were very acceptable and their selection for lunch venues provided a local experience and good food. Everything worked smoothly with no problems thanks to Joanna's meticulous planning and personal choice for guides. We cannot fault the service at any stage and have to give Joanna a huge thanks for all the work she put into making it such a memorable experience, exceeding our expectations as the guides provided such a good insight to Japanese culture and lifestyle.
Thank you so much for making the BEST arrangements for us in Japan. Our vans, drivers and guides at both locations Kyoto and Tokyo were so knowledgeable and helpful. It made our trip extremely comfortable and memorable 
Mr. Misaki is an incredible human being who took care of our accessibility and challenging food requirements.
Yumi was very kind and made it possible for us to have a great experience with a private Onsen on a very rainy and cloudy day while Mt. Fuji eluded us.
We’ll ensure to send our friends and relatives your way in the future.
Lastly- please lmk if Novaland arrange tours in Africa and Australia too?
Thanks
Alpa
Dear Helen,
We had a great time in Penang. Would like to commend our tour guide, Sam and the driver for doing a good job.
Thanks,
Lester