Sorry for the late reply in feedback, but have come back from holiday and been swamped at work the last 2 weeks.
Travel Consultant - 5 - thanks for the prompt replies, feedback and updates
Tour Guides
4 - English language
4/5 - Subject knowledge (my husband was able to stump them once or twice :)
4/5 - Ability to explain
5 - Attitude - super friendly and courteous
5 - Flexibility - we had a couple of challenges with trains not running, each guide adjusted well
Drivers & Cars
5 - airport transfers were clean, roomy, comfortable and courteous
Hotels
4/5 - location and comfort of Tokyo, Kyoto & Osaka - all really good.
Sights & Activities - 5 - good choices for our "see & do as much as possible in 12 days or less" tour
Public Transport
5 - bullet trains are awesome. Probably should have done a train from Osaka back to Tokyo rather than taking a flight
4 - local trains & buses were fine; just had a issues with track closures that forced us to change plans (2x), but the guides were agile and took it in stride.
Overall score I would give a 4.5! It was a great experience and I would recommend Novaland to others.
Kind regards,
Gail
Hi Doris,
Thank you for your services. We were impressed with the planning and organization of our tour.
I will definitely recommend your travel agency to my friends who want to visit South Korea or other countries in Asia in the future.
I filled in the form. Let me know if you have any questions.
We were definitely pleased with our visit to South Korea.
Best regards.
Miriam Abe
1=poor, 2=fair, 3=good, 4=very good,5=excellent
Aspect | Mark(1-5) | Advice or Remark | |
Travel Consultant | 5 | Doris always replied the emails promptly, and was very helpful in planning and accommodating our requests related to the tour itinerary. | |
Driver Guides | Command of English | 4.5 |
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Knowledge of Subjects | 5 |
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Ability of Explain | 5 |
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Attitude | 5 |
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Flexibility | 5 | The guides were always willing to help with our requests. | |
Drivers and Cars | 5 | The cars were always clean and comfortable. | |
Hotels | Location | 5 | Hotel locations were excellent in the center of the city with walking distance to restaurants and shopping. |
Comfort | 5 |
| |
Sights or Activities | Worthiness of Visit | 4.5 | The majority of places we visited were really interesting or worth of visiting, except a couple of places that we felt awkward and not worth of visiting such as the sale pitch before visiting the folklore village at Jeju Island. |
Meet Your Interests? | 4.5 |
| |
Too Tight or Too Loose? | 4.5 | The weather was very hot, so a few times it was very hard to keep up with the schedule, but the guides were always accommodating whenever possible. Other than that, the scheduled itinerary was very good. | |
Meals | 4.5 | All the places recommended by the tour guides were great. The reason for not being a 5.0 is that a couple of times the food was too spicy because we couldn’t explain our request due to the language barrier. | |
Public Transportation (train, flight, cruise, etc.) | 4.5 | In a personal note, we were a bit disappointed with the rapid train from Busan to Seoul. We were expecting something like the Shinkansen in Japan, and it was not to the same standards. | |
Any Other Aspect | 5 | The trip was very well planned and organized. The guides were always punctual, courteous and accommodating. The taxi drivers were always on time waiting for us whenever we arrived in a new location. | |
Overall Score of the Whole Package | 5 | ||
We want to thank you for sending a cake for my Dad and sister’s bday. That was really thoughtful. Mr. Kawakita has been VERY helpful and is SUPER nice during our entire trip - even on arranging the cake delivered to the hotel! That’s beyond his duties, but he happily did it for us. Everything here in Japan is beautiful and we enjoyed every single day with the help of your company. From Ms. Sunny- who is very nice and welcoming, to Mr. Kawakita San, and our very good and patient driver (I think his name is Mo - not sure)! We will definitely recommend your company to our friends in the USA and Philippines. Will also write a very good review once we get back to the Philippines. You guys deserve it!!! 100 excellent service! You guys are awesome!! You made our family trip very memorable.
Again, our heartfelt thanks. You are the best!!
Sincerely,
Leah Quiambao
Aspect | Mark(1-5) | Advice or Remark | |
Travel Consultant | 5 | Doris is excellent! Very helpful. I will definitely recommend her to my friends. | |
Guides | Command of English | 5 |
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Knowledge of Subjects | 5 | Our driver and Mr. Kawakita are very flexible, helpful, nice, and knowledgeable. Definitely 100% customer service! | |
Ability of Explain | 5 |
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Attitude | 5 |
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Flexibility | 5 |
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Drivers and Cars | 5 |
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Hotels | Location | 5 |
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Comfort | 5 |
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Sights or Activities | Worthiness of Visit | 5 |
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Meet Your Interests? | 5 Yes! |
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Too Tight or Too Loose? | 5 | We were able to adjust our schedules. | |
Meals | 5 |
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Public Transportation (train, flight, cruise, etc.) | 5 |
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Any Other Aspect |
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Overall Score of the Whole Package | 5 |
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Thank you for checking in with us!
Hope all is well! I apologize for not answering the questions sooner. We had left town for a long weekend for a family reunion for my wifes family so didnt get a chance.
I cant figure out the form so I was just going to type my response.
Travel Consultant 5 Whitney was absolutely terrific. She designed a wonderful trip for my family. She was so timely in her responses. I know there is a time difference, but she would always have a response to me the next morning. I honestly couldn't believe it. She was extremely receptive to my ideas or any changes we made to the itinerary. She has a tremendous amount of knowledge about the areas we visited, and she gave her honest opinion, which I really appreciated. I told everyone before we went if the tour is as good as this travel consultant we are in for a great trip and indeed we were.
Tour guides: Hiroko Kara
Command of English 5
Knowledge of Subjects 5
Ability to explain 5
Attitude 5
Flexibility 5
Hiroko, "Hiro", was absolutely wonderful. Her ability to communicate in English was superb. My dad and aunt who are hard of hearing had no issues. The kids in the back of the van could easily understand and hear her. Her knowledge was so impressive. She knew answers to nearly every question we had and really explained complex history so we could all understand. Her attitude was great. She was so patient with all of us. She helped my Dad and Aunt so much. She would push them in wheelchairs. She would sit and visit with them while the rest in our group explored places they could not go. She helped us with restaurant reservations. She made great suggestions for things to see and do. She was so patient if my wife and sister got caught up shopping.
Honestly, Hiro absolutely made the trip for us...Everyone in my family had a tear in their eye when we had to say goodbye. We all hope we get to see her again in the future. My family will never forget her kindness...
Chizuko Hamada : Command of English
Knowledge of Subjects 4
Ability to explain 4
Attitude 4
Flexibility 4
Chizuko was very nice and helpful. Most likely tis not fair to rate her because Hiro was so amazing. I htink our trio would still have been really good with her but again cant say enough about Hiro.
Drivers and Cars: 5
Mr. Chin who was our driver most of the journey, was absolutely fantastic. He was so helpful and great to my Dad and Aunt. He always had a smile and navigated the country beautifully. We felt very safe with him. The shuttle was fantastic. Very comfortable. We were so happy to have the extra room.
Our other driver, whose name I have forgotten we had on our last day in Kyoto was also very good and friendly. The driver in Hiroshima and the drivers to and from the airport also of very high quality.
Hotels: 5 We booked out own hotels on Expedia, but we really appreciated the advice. We really enjoyed all the hotels, and we thought the location of each was great. The hotel staff at each hotel very helpful. The hotels were all comfortable despite being a little smaller than hotels in the US.
Sights or Activities: 5. Everything Whitney helped us choose was outstanding.
We loved every activity. There was great history at every site. We never felt rushed and had enough time at each of the sites. You could always have more time because each place was fascinating. Hiros explanations were always helpful and made the places come to life. My kids were enthralled by the giant Buddha in Nara!! Honestly, I can't thank Whitney enough because she really helped us hit so many highlights in only ten days at a very comfortable pace. We realize we cant see it all, but hopefully that means we will come back to see more.
Meals: The restaurants you all arranged for us were all really great. I couldn't believe my kids would try and on top of that really enjoy the food. The restaurant near the bamboo forest was really special. And thank you for arranging the tea ceremony in Takayama!! Also Hiros suggestions for restaurants in the evening were also spot on!!!
Public Transportation: The train ride to Hiroshima worked out awesome. Very cool to ride the bullet train!! Wish we had trains in this country like that!!
Overall score of the whole package: Highest score possible 5/5. Honestly do not think it could have been better. Whitney did an amazing job planning the trip and Hiro was such a special guide. I cant thank Novaland enough for the amazing experience and memories they provided my family.
Sincerely,
Richard Batz
[16:37, 13/07/2023] VJK124320 Shalayla: It was lovely
[20:06, 13/07/2023] Doris NovalandTours: Have you arrived at Kyoto hotel?
[20:20, 13/07/2023] VJK124320 Shalayla: We just arrived
[17:09, 14/07/2023] Doris NovalandTours: Hi Shalayla, I would like to know how was today's trip with Mr. Nobuaki?
[17:11, 14/07/2023] VJK124320 Shalayla: It was good
[17:23, 14/07/2023] Doris NovalandTours: Sounds nice, enjoy your trip
[18:13, 17/07/2023] Doris NovalandTours: Hi Shalayla, I notice that the weather is not good in Busan, may I ask how about your trip with Mr. Jade Kim?
[18:26, 17/07/2023] VJK124320 Shalayla: Weather has not been that bad. The trip today was great
[18:33, 17/07/2023] Doris NovalandTours: OK, enjoy your trip!
[21:02, 17/07/2023] Doris NovalandTours: Did you get the message from Mr. Brian? He sent to you a few hours ago
[21:12, 17/07/2023] VJK124320 Shalayla: Yes
[19:49, 18/07/2023] Doris NovalandTours: Hi, have you arrived at Seoul Station? Our staff is waiting you for a long time
[17:41, 19/07/2023] Doris NovalandTours: Hi Shalayla, I would like to know how about Seoul tour today?
[18:26, 19/07/2023] VJK124320 Shalayla: It was nice
[18:43, 19/07/2023] Doris NovalandTours: Sounds great!
Dear Whitney,
The feedback form sent to the Tokyo plan may not be as appropriate for the Hokkaido trip. I copied the form here for my feedback.
1=poor, 2=fair,3=good, 4=very good, 5=excellent
Aspect | Mark(1-5) | Advice or Remark | |
Travel Consultant | 5 | Daisy had made a great plan for my family. Whitney who backed up Daisy in her absence had been very approachable and helpful. | |
Drivers and Cars | 5 | There are 2 drivers assigned to us. They are both very professional, easy to communicate with.
They also help us to communicate with the hotel staff during check-in and order food in the restaurants. This provided us a great help as we do not speak Japanese. This is an extra service that we did not expect. Thank you very much. | |
Hotels | Location |
| No rating as we arranged our own hotels. For reference, both hotels are great to stay. 1. Tenza Hotel & SKYSPA at Sapporo Cental: - good and strategic location - big room and clean. - staff are unable to communicate in English. It makes communication a bit difficult.
2. Furano Natulux Hotel - small room, but comfortable for short stay. - good location, there are restaurants and supermarket nearby. - staff are friendly and able to communicate in English. - a very pleasant stay. |
Comfort |
| Both hotels are comfortable. | |
Sights or Activities | Worthiness of Visit | 5 |
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Meet Your Interests? | 4 |
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Too Tight or Too Loose? | just nice | The plan is just nice, not too tight or too loose. | |
Meals | 5 | We suggested what to eat and the driver brought us to the restaurants. The restaurants recommended by the driver are very good. | |
Public Transportation (train, flight, cruise, etc.) | NA |
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Any Other Aspect |
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Overall Score of the Whole Package | 5 |
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Good Day Lynee
Mike and, I have been back over a week now, I want to thank you for your service you help make this a trip of a life time. Working with you was easy and, fun planning my Birthday Trip memories for a lifetime. I would highly recommend your company. Yuki our guide/driver exceed are expectation it had to be the hottest day of the year he had bottle water, towels for us when we got in the car. Great easy to talk to and love that every stop he was so knowable we learn so much about the culture and practices. And when the Ninja Village was close he took us Odawara Castle which we really enjoy took some great pictures there.Yuki knew the places to have lunch Mike loved the lunch all I heard was mm mm lol. When we got to the train he went in the station with us made sure we got on the right train and even purchase snacks for us then give us a note in Japanese to give to the taxi driver to make sure we got to the hotel it was late and he know we had a full day and was tried. I can't express how much it meant to us oh and he gave me a birthday gift a stamp book so while in Japan I was able to collect stamps Mike got one for himself so the last day we want to the different Temple to get stamps. Thank Thank You. Are time on Kyoto was good also we made it to every stop and had a enjoyable time guild/driver was very knowable also and made sure are needs was meet.
I pray we be back but when we're planning another trip I will contract you and we having video screening I'm putting the picture on a disk with music I think I got over 400 picture and II'm going to make sure your Company is mention through out. 100 stars Out Standing Service.
Thank You Thank You
Cynthia ChaCha Frye and Michael Frye (son)
Thank you Mike for my 60th Birthday Present.
Hi Whitney, thanks for all your help! We had a great time. Please see my comments below.
Best,
Rebecca
Would you do me a favor to fill in the form and give marks?
1=poor, 2=fair,3=good, 4=very good, 5=excellent
Aspect | Mark(1-5) | Advice or Remark | |
Travel Consultant | 5 | Whitney went above and beyond to create a great trip and was very patient with me! | |
Tour Guides | Command of English | 5 |
|
Knowledge of Subjects | 5 |
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Ability of Explain | 5 |
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Attitude | 5 | The tour guides were nice, trustworthy and knowledgeable. | |
Flexibility | 5 |
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Drivers and Cars | 5 |
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Hotels | Location | 5 |
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Comfort | 4 | Lotte City Jeju was just ok. The other hotels were great. | |
Sights or Activities | Worthiness of Visit | 5 |
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Meet Your Interests? | 5 |
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Too Tight or Too Loose? | 5 |
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Meals | 4 |
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Public Transportation (train, flight, cruise, etc.) | 5 |
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Any Other Aspect |
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Overall Score of the Whole Package | 5 |
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We are happy n satisfied with both the guides for our tour in Hokkaido.
Thank u
Hi Doris,
Thanks for asking us for feedback. We loved our experience. The guides are excellent. We thought all of them were knowledgeable and amazing in their own way. The schedule was tight but that is because we had so little time and we tried to squeeze many sights in limited time period. It was hard walking in the heat but that is to be expected for early July. We are so glad we did it that way. We will be back to Seoul as we were very impressed how livable and safe it was. Perhaps try to stay longer in one place next time. We loved your planning and we will be using Novaland in the future for other destinations.
Thanks so much,
Andreea and Abdullah