We are a group of 6 adults - well-traveled. We are interested in a trip to Japan and although we have generally traveled independently (renting villas, cars) on our own and making all our arrangements, We believe for Japan we would like an organized tour. Appreciate any suggestions for tour companies that do a reliable job (other than OAT or Elderhostel - we have their info). Also - are there any tour organizers that could put together an individualized toutrfor us?

Because Honolulu has so many Japanese Americans, there are a bunch of tour companies that specialize in small group tours to Japan. You may be able to have them do a custom tour.

Some I've heard about:
Tiger Kinoshita 808-841-0316
Nakamura travel 808-952-6744
kobayashi 808-593-9387
Tohoku Travel 808-536-8618

I wish you well with your tour, but did you know that Japan is an incredibly easy country to travel in independently? It has a superb infrastructure (much more advanced than the U.S.) with efficient and modern transportation. With a Japan rail pass you can visit basically any are you'd like to visit. Good luck with your trip planning.

I agree with citywalks. Japan is much easier to see on your own than you may think. We toured Japan as a family independently, and it worked fine.

i think you better deal with a local agency. I can recommend you j-bridges travel. They have good haslle free tours and also they have customized travel packages, too. Overseas agencies look expensive. Local agecies, when you need something during your trip they can help you faster.

You will spend a lot on a tour, esp. if it is individualized just for your group, and as others have said, it is easy to do on your own.

Can I ask why you think you need a tour for Japan?

Many thanks for the above replies. I also appreciate the suggestion that Japan is very easy to do on one's own and we have done that in many places - South America, all over Europe, etc. But - ok - we are not as young as we used to be and able to handle all the hassles - and those were really fun, anyway. For this trip we'd like to combine the two concepts - some on our own - but basic stuff pre-set up for us by an agent or tour company.Looks like we'll head for Tokyo, Hakone, Kanazawa, Kyoto. So we'd like to find a tour company that can meet these needs. Being located in NYC - have the names of a few - but might have some questions - stick around.

I agree that Japan would be easy to do on your own, as I discovered last month while on my Smartours tour. I felt that Smartours was good value for the money and offered a mix of free time and organized sightseeing. The guide was excellent as were the hotels. That was my first experience with Smartours and I will go with them again. Hope that helps.

japan is such a convinient country. many things you can do on your own. but there are somthing that you have to listen from a guide if you are really interested in history and culture. i think best way is to decide where you want to to on yor own and with an agency. many tour companies offer full guided tours but i dont think it is what you want to do. J-Bridges offers custumized tour plans according your style. Try that.

I too am concerned about independent travel in Japan and am, at this moment, searching through tour group offerings.

Even though we travel on our own throughout the USA, England and Italy, Japan seems much more challenging.

I fear I will not understand signage and written information, will not know how to get from airport to hotel, train travel and transfers, know good locations for hotels in cities etc.

Hence the search for a tour.
Thanks for the Smartours info.
Friendly Planet and Smartours are close in price.
Grand Circle (we ARE old) and GoAhead are both higher (and close in price).

Few offerings of inclusive lunch and dinners will make an added expense as will those "optional" tours.

Maybe a look at the Rough Guide during my next book store visit will help allay some fears,....or not.

All the signs in the train stations are in English and Japanese. It is really very easy.

Many Japanese people speak English, maybe not fluently but enough to help you, esp. in the hotels and train stations, people who are involved in travel-related jobs. They might be shy about using their English as they don't want to make a mistake, but they are helpful.

It is easy to get from the airports to the hotels, you just have to ask where the place is to buy a bus ticket for that transport, and you will be guided where to go to get a bus (or taxi).

Hotels are easy to research ahead of time.

It is easy, esp. if you just ask questions on this board before you go. But if you just want it to be even more easy and not have to hink about anything at all, then use a tour.

Planning is half the fun of a trip, so I have no problem researching and reading about my destination.

It was more a fear of the language (not spoken but written) and not getting the most out of a trip because I just didn't understand the language.

I have a few Japanese friends (two are here now for a visit), young college students who are really friends of my son.
They assure me all things are written in English, but could understand my hesitation about travelling about on our own.

iluvitaly, you'll be fine. My son and I went independetly and had a blast- so much so that I took my daughter back the next yr. People on this board will help you plan and get you through whatever anxiety you might have about the language. Language is just not an issue as one might think it is.

You can also arrange to get free "goodwill guides" in some cities, usually Japanese people who are trying to practice their English, who will take you around to some of the historical sites like a guide and explain things to you in English.

And there are other private guides people use in Japan, in particular in Tokyo. You can get names of guides on this board if you ask. That is another alternative to a tour group.

If you have traveled independently before and rented villas in foreign countries then Japan on your own will be a piece of cake, trust me.

If you must take a tour then concierge or front desk at your hotel will have the best tours available with English or any other language you like but of course at a price. They will also direct you to the Goodwill and private guides that emd mentions above. That said do a search for private guides here, Junko Matsuda gets good marks.....

But doing the research here on fodors and a few others sites should surely be enough to avoid being the ones following that guide with the red flag on the long pole that everyone stares at,lol.

You can click on my screen name and read some of my trip reports about Japan to get a few tips. You can also use these sites below for research. You will learn that Japan has been "hosting" foreigners since the end of WWII so English signage and foreigners traveling in Japan is no problem especially in the big cities. Check out <b>all</b> of the Japan Guide site that I am leaving as they have invaluable information which you are probably wondering about.

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2164.html

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e623b.html

http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/

http://www.japanrail.com/

http://japaneseguesthouses.com/index.htm

Let us know what your wants and needs are and I bet a few fodorites here would be interested at setting up a "tour" of Japan for you at no cost to you but your time and patience.

Aloha!

My wife and I are in our late 60s and visited Japan this year at Cherry Blossom time. We don't speak or read any Japanese--well, we did get a CD to learn some of the basics. Anyway, it wasn't at all difficult.

The biggest issue is usually transportation, and everything on the trains, subways, and buses that we travelled on was translated into English in either the oral announcments or the visual screens (or on both).

The majority of restaurants were easy, too, as they had either photos of the food items in the menu or plastic versions of the dishes in the restaurant window.

We did find a compass to be very useful in the twisty streets, also when figuring out which way to go when leaving a subway station that might go undergound for quite a ways in several directions with dozens of exits.

Combinations of sign language, rudimentary spoken exchanges in English and Japanese, and pointing at the phrase book got us through without much difficulty.

Why don't you look at Tauck Tours. They are a USA tour company and do a spendid job. After the tour finishes in Kyoto you could continue on to Hiroshima and other places on your own using the rail system.