Japan Travel Reviews 

Japan Travel went above and beyond what we had expected on this trip. They curated a selection of places that truly fulfilled our request. They were prompt in their responses, they troubleshooted when needed, always checking on us. I would ask them again to help us in future trips.

Better than any travel insurance - a great team. From my original inquiry, to my final day, this team of Japan experts helped my family have the best possible experience while visiting my son in Japan. Every tour, driver, and accomodation planned was ready and exactly as promised. When our inbound flight was delayed by the carrier, they were there to help rebook trains and hotels. When our bullet train was abruptly stopped at 10p at night due to an earthquake - they responded to me and had me booked at a hotel in the closest city with little to no effort on my part. Each day of my ten day adventure, they checked in to see how we were doing and if we needed anything else. I could not stress how much having that level of support put my family at ease as we explored Japan. They set the bar high for any future travel we take.

This was our first visit to Japan and Claudia was great in arranging everything! The tour was so well organised, the timings were perfect, it was a special trip for my daughters birthday and Claudia even helped arrange some birthday decorations in our airport pick-up which was such a cool treat and made our trip even more memorable! Nothing was too much trouble!

I really enjoyed the tour. It was my fifth time to Japan but this was one of the best tours I’ve experienced.
I appreciated all the attention detail by the JT staff and all the care and thought was put into the itinerary; that made it so unique and special.

Phenomenal tour! Just completed my fourth trip to Japan, but my only organized tour, and it was exceptional! Davide curated a fabulous vegan-focused itinerary for Miyoko Schinner (our host) that took us to off-the-beaten-path destinations. We got to try our hands at constructing Suruga bamboo lattice ware and calligraphy using matcha tea. We went to an artisan miso factory where the owner and his sons taught us how to make miso, and we each got to bring our own miso mash home to culture. We learned about various types of shoyu (soy sauce) and sake. We stayed at beautiful onsen and temple lodgings, and between Sèbastien, Davide, and local guides Hiro, Chika, and Yasu, I learned a lot Iabout Japanese history and culture.

Our experience in Japan would not have been possible without Japan Travel. They provided depth and authenticity, and gave us the opportunity to see a side of the country that we would not have been able to navigate on our own. As a vegan, I greatly appreciated the ability to travel and dine with ease and confidence, and to get a full experience of the local cuisine. Every aspect of the trip was thoughtful and well executed.

Everything was so well planned and the spots Japan travel took us were areas and places I would have never found myself. The accommodations and food were spot on. I would not hesitate to seek Japan Travel expertise on my next trip to Japan. What a blast! Thank you for the care and time put into the great vegan food tour.

I absolutely loved my experienced with Myaen and the trip she curated for my first time Japan trip. We have been conversing for more than a year with a lot of things happening outside of our controls but I’m so happy I reached back into and got in contact with her. She made my trip a memorable one 🌸🌸 and to go to Japan for the first time during cherry blossoms season?! It was magical ! Thank you again and I look forward in using this agency again for future Japan trips I have planned.

We travel a fair amount and this is our first group tour so we found the upsides and downsides of touring this way. First, the curated tour was excellent. The events and activities were top notch and would have been a challenge to do by ourselves. Since this was partially a food tour, the three kaiseki meals a day at the beginning of the trip was too much. We would have preferred eating lightly for at least one meal so that we could better enjoy the meals. This got better later on.
Getting a chance to meet Miyoko in person, our guides, and the fellow tour group members was great. I would have preferred the trip route to be more efficient given we backtracked a couple of times in the Nagano area in order to keep the curated order of events. We thus ended up spending more time on the bus than I would have liked.
Sebastian, Davide, Hiro, Harumi, Yasu, and other guides were great. The tea experiences with tea growers and tea sommalier was excellent.
We enjoyed the Shirakabe onsen and the onsen at Myojinkan. Getting a chance to see one of the top bamboo craftsmen in Japan was a real treat.
Obuse was interesting too. Getting to better understand Hokusai was also great.
We also appreciated getting to make vegan sushi and miso and learning about making Shoyu. Hiromi shoyu class was excellent and having her share her experiences added depth to our appreciation of life in rural Japan.
I'd recommend that for miso making that we only make half the amount we made -- it was more important to understand the process than it was to bring home 2 kg of miso each.
Getting to better understand religions in Japan and in particular the Eiheiji temple was wonderful. We also enjoyed seeing the sakura in peak bloom at Minobu Kuon-ji Temple.
The private performances at Yamanaka Onsen was precious. We also enjoyed the lunch at Ookina Ki (The Giving Tree). The vegan meal and the love shown by the chef and her assistant was inspiring.
Overall, the opportunity to spend much of the time outside of the major cities and experiencing the gems of the countryside was a real treat.
Ending the tour in Kyoto was fine but having our last meal last over 3 hours made it impossible to see the Sakura illuminations of the city.
We will likely do more trips on our own than in group tours because of the greater flexibility and efficiency. We are, however, glad that we participated in this tour and will consider future ones. Meeting our new friends also added to our fond memories.

The Pottery tour was a wonderful and inspiring insight into the traditional Japanese work as well as modern inspirations and artists. Hands-on workshops with local artists were fantastic and hotels & food were fabulous. The passion of the guide & locals was infectious!

The Japan pottery tour was definitely an experience of a lifetime! The tour was detailed and designed with a pottery enthusiast in mind, while also providing a unique cultural experience. Christine, Davide, Yuri and others from behind the scenes did a fantastic job to make this very detailed tour a success for me. I would recommend this to anyone who wants to have a high quality tour!

This was an immersive and thoughtfully organized tour offering a unique window into Japanese ceramics and it's role in the history and culture of the region. The historical working kilns we visited, the cermaicists we met, the amazing meals we shared, the onsen’s we relaxed in, the workshopwbwe created in, and the Japanese countryside we visited all contributed to an amazing 11 days.

You do not need to be a professional potter to enjoy this tour-I am a beginning hobbyist and it not only feed my soul but sparked my desire to dive deeper into this craft! If you have time and interest in Japanese ceramics-this is a tour not to miss!

There should be six stars to award to this tour. Davide Cinili did an excellent job of curating our tour. Sayaka san, Venice Aka. Izumi Makino, Ryoji Takada and Yuri san were great support too. And a special thanks to Christine Mayol for her behind the scenes support.

Pottery tour Japan.
This was an amazing tour packed with unforgettable sights and sites. Wonderful Japanese pottery masters, kilns, pottery workshops, authentic Japanese experiences and top-notch hotels!
Highly recommend seeing the smaller places and the real Japan.
Highly motivated tour guide who seamlessly transitioned to group from one activity to the next.

The pottery tour from Japan Travel was absolutely incredible in all aspects and blew my expectations out of the water! It was very well thought out and beyond just getting to see amazing pottery, I was able to explore beautiful towns, meet so many masters and watch them at their craft and in their homes/studios, and learn to appreciate pottery on a whole other level because of the history. Because of this tour we also got to stay at beautiful 4 and 5 star resorts and eat food so good that I was surprised this wasn’t advertised as a food tour!

Overall this was a trip I will cherish forever. It is very obvious how much care and thought was put into this program by Davide, the creator of this tour. He is a master in his craft of creating these special experiences and I am so grateful I got to be a part of this one! Huge shout out to Davide, Yuri, Christine, and Sayaka from Japan Travel for assisting us all through this trip and making sure each part went smoothly.

The pottery tour offered by Japan travel provides a very extensive survey of high fire folk craft pottery in Japan. From wood fired stoneware and salt glaze in Mashiko to ornately decorated and three fired porcelain in Imari and Arita, the scope of craft ware presented is remarkable. The tour is well led by a charming guide who while not a potter ensures that local experts are on hand to assist at each pottery. I am a professional potter. For me this was the trip of a lifetime.

Our pottery tour with Japanese Travel was an absolute amazing way to get inside knowledge about japanese pottery. We all took part in different hands on workshops with locally very skilled japanese potters and we aquired precious knowledge about many different japanese kilns, clays, tecniques and more.
Our guide Davide who planned the whole pottery tour, was passionate about giving us all the best experience possible, he really did a wonderful job showing us wonderful japanese ceramics from north to south. 10 out of 10 point to Davide!

Our tour guide Davidi organized an amazing itinerary highlighting several different pottery towns and their respective artisans. We got to work in traditional workshops and learn first hand from pottery masters.

The Pottery Tour was absolutely wonderful. We had so many great experiences and stayed in so many beautiful locations. I learnt new techniques and the history of many ceramic families. I will take many inspirational experiences into my own practice for the future. The accommodation was perfect and the food unbelievable! All guides and hosts were excellent. Any problems were handled professionally and with no fuss. I made friends for life with like minded people from all over the world! Thank you for all your hard work! Special thanks to Davide, Yuri and Christine!