Aspect

Mark(1-5)

Advice or Remark

Travel Consultant

 5

Put together a great tour and listened to our requests.

Tour Guides

Command of English

5

Knowledge of Subjects

 5

All of the other tour guides were wonderful.

Ability of Explain

 5

Attitude

 5

Flexibility

 5

Takehiko O-izumi helped me get my husband to a clinic with an English-speaking doctor when he came down with Bronchitis.  He called and made the appointment and after dropping the kids off at the noodle making class, went with me to the clinic.  This caused him to miss lunch so he and I had a late lunch while the kids toured a shrine.

Drivers and Cars

 5

 The drivers were always courteous and willing to change directions when requested.

Hotels

Location

 5

 Our Tokyo hotel was a block from the subway.   We were able to spend our free day riding around Tokyo on the subway and easily get back to our hotel.

Comfort

 4

We are used to softer beds and larger rooms in the US.  Some of the hotels had small rooms.  However, overall the accommodations were good.

Sights or Activities

Worthiness of Visit

5

 We learned a lot about the Japanese culture, especially from the tour guides who shared their time and interests with us.

Meet Your Interests?

 5

Too Tight or Too Loose?

 5

The Tour Guides were willing to adjust the schedule as needed to ensure we had time in the schedule for the things we were most interested in.

Meals

 5

 It was nice to have breakfast every morning as part of our hotel stay.  The kids loved the noodle making class.  My daughter is gluten intolerant, so we went to a grocery store the night before and bought rice noodles. The chef was willing to make them for her.

Public Transportation (train, flight, cruise, etc.)

 5

 We had some difficulty figuring out where to get on trains, but by the last train ride we had figured out the system.

Any Other Aspect

Overall Score of the Whole Package

 5

Aspect

Mark(1-5)

Advice or Remark

Travel Consultant

 5

Great communication,  fast to respond

Tour Guides

Command of English

 4

Our last guide Yuta had the best English skills (5) the other two were 4's

Knowledge of Subjects

 5

Ability of Explain

 5

Attitude

 5

Yuki and Yuta had wonderful attitudes (5++) 

Flexibility

 5

Again, Yuki and Yuta were 5's

Drivers and Cars

 5

Cars were great, no problems with drivers other than the really didn't speak English 

Hotels

Location

 5

Comfort

 5

Sights or Activities

Worthiness of Visit

 4.5

Maybe a few less shrines would be better

Meet Your Interests?

 4.5

Too Tight or Too Loose?

 5

Meals

 5

Public Transportation (train, flight, cruise, etc.)

 5

Any Other Aspect

Overall Score of the Whole Package

 5

Wish weather had been better in Tokyo (disappointed we didn't see Mt. Fuji), but that can't be controlled 

Aspect

Mark(1-5)

Advice or Remark

Travel Consultant

5

Very responsive to needs. Accommodated all requests and provided excellent suggestions. Very approachable and easy to work with.-

Tour Guides

Command of English

5

Knowledge of Subjects

5

Ability of Explain

5

Attitude

5

Yumi and Yoshi were exceptional! We plan to keep in touch with them :)

Flexibility

5

Drivers and Cars

3

Pickup driver (Narita): very confused about where to retrieve us. He was not at the greeting area.

Hakone driver: didn’t know we were his party despite giving last name and our guide asking if he was there for us.

Return driver (Osaka): Car smelled like strong cigarette smoke.

Hotels

Location

4

Could not get Taxi from Aura Tachibana (Hakone) because reservation was not placed way in advance. Taxis are limited due to shortage of drivers and isolation of the area. Wish we had known sooner and reservation was arranged prior to arrival.

Comfort

5

Sights or Activities

Worthiness of Visit

4

Bamboo grove is beautiful, but the large chaotic crowds made it difficult to enjoy as much. Visitors should be made aware of the crowd volume prior to confirming visit.

Boat ride with lunch was a great opportunity to escape the crowds. The food was delicious and it was such a unique experience! We would do it again! Interested parties should be made aware that they will need to walk on gravel and climb into the boat.

Meet Your Interests?

5

the variation in activities kept everything interesting.

Too Tight or Too Loose?

4

Schedule was tight. We adjusted as deemed necessary.

Meals

5

Public Transportation (train, flight, cruise, etc.)

3

Given knee and back problems within our party, walking to, from, and between stations became a strain and a taxi was opted for instead on many occasions.

Any Other Aspect

3

Complications with massage reservations at Aura Tachibana. Kate is aware.

Novaland’s hotel list needs to be updated and current (incorrectly categorized hotel quality eg. 5 star)

Overall Score of the Whole Package

4.4

We would love to work with Novaland on our next itinerary!