Tour Types
- Classic
- Exploration
- Faith
- Cruising
- Spotlights
Enjoy a refined take on the art of group travel.
Experience true adventures on these Collette small group tours.
Set out on an inspiring journey on these faith-based travel experiences.
Explore the world's most beautiful waterways.
Come to know your destination during a single-hotel stay.
Your Tour at a Glance


Tour Activity Level
The activity level for this tour:
You’re a leisurely traveler. You typically take it easy and discover the energy of a new place by people-watching or soaking in the atmosphere at a local café. You can climb at least one flight of stairs, board a coach, and walk unassisted at a relaxed pace for up to 60 minutes without difficulty. You can easily handle altitudes up to 5,000 feet.
You like a balanced approach to travel. Walking two to three miles over the course of a day is no problem for you. You can partake in a two-hour leisurely walking tour, covering up to two miles (with included breaks). You can handle a variety of terrains, from cobblestone streets to moderate hills with relative ease and without assistance. You can climb two flights of stairs with ease. There may be 1 to 2 days on this tour when walking tours can cover 3 to 4 miles over uneven terrain. You can handle altitudes up to 6,000 feet.
You’re an on-the-go traveler. You don’t want to miss a thing, so walking and standing for longer periods of time (2-3 hours) isn’t a big deal. A moderately paced two-and-a-half-hour walking tour, covering several miles, hills, and uneven surfaces, is no problem for you. Walking four miles over the course of a day is very doable, as is climbing into and out of various modes of transportation (tuk-tuk, cable car, zodiac, etc.). You can climb three flights of stairs easily and handle altitudes between 6,000 and 9,000 feet. Expect some longer days balanced with free time to recharge or set out on your own adventure. This level is not a fit for travelers who require mobility assistance devices.
You’re ready to seize the day, whatever it may bring. You lead an active life at home (walking, biking, and half or full day hikes are things you may enjoy) and 10,000 steps a day is normal for you. You can handle longer walking tours (more than 3 hours covering 3+ miles at a steady clip) and activities that involve traversing uneven terrain, steep slopes, standing for periods of time, and varying altitudes and temperatures. You don’t mind being on the go with some early starts, late-nights, and full days. You can handle altitudes of 9,000 feet or higher with little to no issue. This level is not appropriate for travelers who use wheelchairs, walkers, and other mobility assistance devices.

877.277.1676

Itinerary
Cultural Treasures of Japan
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Enhance Your Trip
Optional Excursions
Add some more spice to your tour with this optional excursions.
Pre and Post Night Stays
Enjoy arriving early or checking out late with our Pre and Post night stays.
Extension Style
The extension style for this tour:
Guided
Hosted
Independent
Experience the destination with a full itinerary planned for you. You’ll be joined by a dedicated Tour Manager and enjoy planned local experiences and sightseeing. In addition, your accommodations, daily breakfast, and any transfers to connect with your main tour are included. (The Tour Manager for your extension may or may not be the same person as your main tour.)
Enjoy a mix of time on your own and some planned tour activities. A local expert is available during part of your stay to guide you during scheduled activities and provide recommendations. In addition, your accommodations, daily breakfast, and any transfers to connect with your main tour are included.
Explore a destination on your own. Your accommodations, daily breakfast, and any transfers to connect with your main tour are included – the rest is whatever you decide! On an independent extension, there won’t be a Tour Manager or local representative present.
Traveler Reviews
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Review on 12/12/2023
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Trip Rating:Great tour manager. Very good hotels. Great bus driver. Group meals at the hotels were nice, but nothing special.
Thank you for your review! We look forward to traveling with you again soon.
Collette Support -
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Trip Rating:Excellent in every way. Especially the tour manager, Nobuko Nakamura. Free time provided was just right, group was punctual and friendly, sights were amazing, accommodations were lovely, the country was beautiful! I could go on and on!! It was a fabulous experience!
Thank you for your review! We look forward to traveling with you again soon.
Collette Support -
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Trip Rating:Overall the trip was fantastic and a great way to explore Japan. The tour manager was well organized and very attentive.
Thank you for your review! We look forward to traveling with you again soon.
Collette Support -
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Trip Rating:Overall tour was great. Transportation arrangements to and from Japan deserve one star at best. While most of the tour was top notch I suggest stopping for 30 minutes at the Imperial Palace instead of a drive by and at least two hours at the National Museum instead of one. A bit too much arts and crafts for my liking. Tour well planned and exciting and educational each and every day. Just about right amount of time spent at each site except as noted above. No one 'favorite memorable experience'. Great experience every day. Hotel experience went from fabulous in Tokyo to so-so in Kyoto. Each hotel was slightly less than the one before.
Thank you for your review! We look forward to traveling with you again soon.
Collette Support -
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Trip Rating:Well chosen itinerary, excellent guide, excellent driver good food and an excellent balance of free time and planned activities.
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Trip Rating:Demonstration of tea service.
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Trip Rating:Very poor itinerary. Important viewing was left out.
Thank you for sharing your experience with us. We have forwarded your feedback to our Traveler Relations team and a member of the team will reach out to you to discuss your specific issues and concerns. Your feedback is very important to us, we appreciate your patience as we work to resolve your issues.
Collette Support -
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Trip Rating:Excellent and caring tour manager and driver. All transfers efficiently performed.
Thank you for your review! We look forward to traveling with you again soon.
Collette Support -
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Trip Rating:Very mediocre to average tour. Food provided by Collette was awful. Three lunches were at gas stops, when I am traveling overseas that is not what I am looking for.
Thank you for sharing your review, we have passed along your feedback to our team.
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Trip Rating:Steve was 5 star, and, as a team with the translator, they were incredibly strong. The extra time he spent w the group was incredible, although we didn't benefit from all of it b/c we'd scheduled private guides on a "free day" in Kyoto when Steve kept the day busy. Accommodations in Tokyo were OK, in Hakone was incredible; in Kyoto and Kanazawa were quite disappointing. Lunches and dinners that were provided were, on the whole, also quite disappointing. On the whole, reasonable time allotted for group activities, except at Tokyo Museum
Thank you for your review! We look forward to traveling with you again soon.
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Trip Rating:Great itinerary and good tour leader.
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Trip Rating:Hiroshima. Disappointed that no mention of Gen, MacArthur was made after the war that reconstructed Japan.
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Collette Support -
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Trip Rating:Hiroshima. Disappointed that no mention of Gen, MacArthur was made after the war that reconstructed Japan.
Thank you for your review! We look forward to traveling with you again soon.
Collette Support -
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Trip Rating:Wonderful time in Japan. Clean country and very nice people. The tour inclusions led to a very enjoyable experience.
Thank you for your review! We look forward to traveling with you again soon.
Collette Support -
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Trip Rating:Wonderful time in Japan. Clean country and very nice people. The tour inclusions led to a very enjoyable experience.
Thank you for your review! We look forward to traveling with you again soon.
Collette Support -
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Trip Rating:Bad experience-A Fellow passenger was was using bad words and cursing,. Kyoto hotel was very small and not comfortable My back pack was stolen from security belt in Osaka. Later found.
Thank you for your review! We look forward to traveling with you again soon.
Collette Support -
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Trip Rating:Bad experience-A Fellow passenger was was using bad words and cursing,. Kyoto hotel was very small and not comfortable My back pack was stolen from security belt in Osaka. Later found.
Thank you for your review! We look forward to traveling with you again soon.
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Review on 05/08/2023
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Trip Rating:Tour guide and food was not up to Collette standards.
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Trip Rating:Tour guide and food was not up to Collette standards.
Thank you for sharing your review, we have passed along your feedback to our team.
Collette Support -
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Trip Rating:Very well organized tour.
Thank you for your review! We look forward to traveling with you again soon.
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Trip Rating:Very well organized tour.
Thank you for your review! We look forward to traveling with you again soon.
Collette Support -
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Trip Rating:Tour manager, Yoshiko Ono was very well organized and maintained a good time schedule as she wanted to share as much sights to visit during our stay. When we had a free day, she did an options tour for those who were interested in spite of the heavy rain on that particular day. She got to know each one of us personally and exhibited understanding, caring and was very patient.
We are pleased to hear you had a great time on our Cultural Treasures of Japan tour! Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us, we hope to see you again soon!
Collette Support -
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Trip Rating:Tour manager, Yoshiko Ono was very well organized and maintained a good time schedule as she wanted to share as much sights to visit during our stay. When we had a free day, she did an options tour for those who were interested in spite of the heavy rain on that particular day. She got to know each one of us personally and exhibited understanding, caring and was very patient.
We are pleased to hear you had a great time on our Cultural Treasures of Japan tour! Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us, we hope to see you again soon!
Collette Support -
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Trip Rating:Japan was a fantastic trip and Collette always makes travel easy! Cherry blossom season was incredible.
We are pleased to hear you had a great time on our Cultural Treasures of Japan tour! Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us, we hope to see you again soon!
Collette Support -
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Trip Rating:Japan was a fantastic trip and Collette always makes travel easy! Cherry blossom season was incredible.
We are pleased to hear you had a great time on our Cultural Treasures of Japan tour! Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us, we hope to see you again soon!
Collette Support -
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Trip Rating:Outstanding tour guide and exceptional quality. Seeing the cherry blossoms in full bloom and experiencing the tea ceremony, sushi making,learning how to apply gold leaf and stenciling gave me a lifetime of memories.
We are pleased to hear you had a great time on our Cultural Treasures of Japan tour! Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us, we hope to see you again soon!
Collette Support -
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Review on 04/24/2023
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Trip Rating:Outstanding tour guide and exceptional quality. Seeing the cherry blossoms in full bloom and experiencing the tea ceremony, sushi making,learning how to apply gold leaf and stenciling gave me a lifetime of memories.
We are pleased to hear you had a great time on our Cultural Treasures of Japan tour! Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us, we hope to see you again soon!
Collette Support -
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Trip Rating:The tour was well organized and our tour guide was knowledgeable and well prepared. The experiences (tea ceremony, gold leaf, sushi, and stenciling) were fun and added to my experience learning about Japanese culture. Good value for the money. Very enjoyable.
Thank you for your review! We look forward to traveling with you again soon.
Collette Support -
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Trip Rating:The tour was well organized and our tour guide was knowledgeable and well prepared. The experiences (tea ceremony, gold leaf, sushi, and stenciling) were fun and added to my experience learning about Japanese culture. Good value for the money. Very enjoyable.
Thank you for your review! We look forward to traveling with you again soon.
Collette Support -
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Trip Rating:A few of the Hotels were disappointing and very small especially compared with the others we stayed in.
Thank you for sharing your review, we have passed along your feedback to our team.
Collette Support -
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Trip Rating:A few of the Hotels were disappointing and very small especially compared with the others we stayed in.
Thank you for sharing your review, we have passed along your feedback to our team.
Collette Support -
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Trip Rating:The structure of the tour covered many interesting sites yet was flexible enough to allow for free exploration. Plus, the tour guide Nobuko Nakamura was excellent in her job making the tour more enjoyable. The choices of hotels to stay were also top notch with their buffet breakfasts. The transportation at the beginning and the end of the tour for the airport was also smooth and efficient.
We are pleased to hear you had a great time on our Cultural Treasures of Japan tour! Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us, we hope to see you again soon!
Collette Support -
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Trip Rating:The structure of the tour covered many interesting sites yet was flexible enough to allow for free exploration. Plus, the tour guide Nobuko Nakamura was excellent in her job making the tour more enjoyable. The choices of hotels to stay were also top notch with their buffet breakfasts. The transportation at the beginning and the end of the tour for the airport was also smooth and efficient.
We are pleased to hear you had a great time on our Cultural Treasures of Japan tour! Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us, we hope to see you again soon!
Collette Support -
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COLLETTE the 5 star Group Travel leader.
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Trip Rating:Such a unique tour. A 5 star Tour Manager with 5 star hotels, with a five star itinerary.
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Trip Rating:She was so knowledgeable, compassionate, and concerned. Starting with a Pretoria letter and ended with a nice after tour thank you by email.
Thanks for the great review, Barry! We're glad you had a great time in Japan. We'd appreciate if you could share your experience on our Facebook page as well: Facebook.com/GoCollette/Reviews Feel free to share your photos and videos with your review. Our fans and guests would love to see your travel moments as well. We appreciate you and look forward to traveling with you again soon.
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Enjoyable trip. Learned much about Japan
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Trip Rating:Enjoyed trip
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Trip Rating:Enjoyed trip and tour manager.
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Excellent Tour well planned .
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Trip Rating:Excellent well planned tour . We have used Collette three times before therefore we expected nothing less
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Trip Rating:Bullet train and many other things through out am amazing country.
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Trip Rating:some of tours were not suitable to senior citizens-steep steps made visit impossible time wasted in Tokyo wandering around instead of spending more time at Edo Museum
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Trip Rating:venue at Hakone was marvelous
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Super guide
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Trip Rating:We heard about the trip from a friend in Austin TX, so our contact was all long distance, but over all went well.
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Trip Rating:Our tour guide was absolutely the best. She was knowledgeable, both in historical information, but also in the details of the location. From rating bathrooms to how many steps we were going to have to climb. She went over and beyond everyday.
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enjoy Seeing the countryside and learning from the guide
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Trip Rating:Would like details in-hand for the trip earlier than 2 weeks before leaving. Had no idea of tipping amounts until getting their package and left little time to obtain money required. Everything else ran like clockwork.
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Trip Rating:Loved driving up Mt. Fuji and visiting Shinagawa-go.
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Trip Rating:Having a local tour guide in each city would have enriched the experience.
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Trip Rating:She rarely answered questions when asked . She usually got around to it, but when a question was asked, we all wanted an answer.
Thank you for traveling with Collette on our Cultural Treasures of Japan tour. We will share you feedback on the performance of your tour guide with a supervisor in the Tour Management department so that the overall touring experience for our guests can be improved.
Collette Support -
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well organized tour. Enjoyed it.
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Trip Rating:Good service prior to tour and with changing flight due to weather conditions. Excellent service during the tour.
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Trip Rating:Interesting, but very crowded sights, Too much "free" time. Overall, a very good experience,
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Excelent program with a below averag tour Manager,hence Average Overall
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Trip Rating:Tour Manager Ayako Doi is not ready to go alone . She needs to shadow some one for a couple of tours. Lack basic skills for leading a tour.
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Trip Rating:Hiroshima Museum
Thank you for traveling with Collette on our Cultural Treasures of Japan tour. We're very sorry to hear you were disappointed with the performance of your tour manager. Your feedback will be reviewed by the Director of Tour Management so that the overall touring experience for our guests can be improved.
Collette Support -
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Trip Rating:Guide was not knowledgable and not coordinated. She kept on losing the group far behind.
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Trip Rating:The tour guide created all kinds of problems.
Thank you for traveling with Collette on our Cultural Treasures of Japan tour. We're very sorry to hear you were disappointed with the performance of your tour guide. We will review your feedback with our ground operator in Japan so that the overall touring experience for our guests can be improved.
Collette Support -
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well taken cared of , very good tour guide.
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Trip Rating:Well taken cared of, no hassle , very accommodation tour guide
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Trip Rating:I like the outskirts/ countryside / hot spring / all accommodations/ food etc.
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Trip Rating:Junkies was an Excellent tour guide
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Trip Rating:Junko was an excellent tour guide
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Trip Rating:I was disappointed in the general content of the tour. I've been on other tours that offered a lot more. So much time was spent visiting temples and shrines they all started to look the same after the first few. I would have rather had more experiences on tour such as taking in a sumo wrestling match, kabuki theater performance or martial arts demonstration. I did enjoy the tea ceremony and riding the bullet train.
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Trip Rating:The visit to the Hiroshima Peace Museum was very moving. The tea ceremony was educational.
Thank you for traveling with Collette to Japan and for taking the time to provide us with feedback from your tour. Your comments will be reviewed by the Product Design Team for Japan in order to improve the overall touring experience for our guests.
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Trip Rating:everything that We were promised We got and more. The guide was wonderful and knew her stuff and moved the tour at right speed for everyone.
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Trip Rating:The tour was wonderful and the sights terrific. The guide was very knoledgeable, and kept the tour moving at just the right pace. The hotels were excelent, Probably the best that I have ever been at.
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A great experience.
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Trip Rating:The guides are excellent and the hotels are welcoming and make you comfortable. Would recommend them to any travler.
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Trip Rating:Riding the bullet train to Heroshima and visiting the Peace Garden and meuseum.
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Oustanding tour I would recomment to anyone when visiting Japan
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Trip Rating:It was very well organized by your guide Nobuko Nakamura. The booked Hotels were outstanding along with the included buffet breakfasts. Mt. Fuji opened up to get outstanding pics. Our driver was outstanding and drove us safely to every location. He should get a medal for driving thru ALL the tunnels after leaving Hakona. The ride on the Shirenkansen bullet train was the highlight of the trip for me along with the viewing of the Hiroshima atomic dome
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Trip Rating:Riding the Shirenkanson bullet train and visiting the Hiroshima atomic dome.
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I woukd buy a Collette Tour again as they are very professional operators.
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Trip Rating:I thought the tour was very well organized. The tour operator did all she could to accommodate the passengers. She gave us a lot of history about Japan. I thought the restaurants they took us to for food could have been better. I would go on another Collette tour again.
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Trip Rating:The tour gave a great deal of history about Japan. We had a chance to see the country and their people. They are very polite and amenable to visitors in their country. It was fascinating to see Mt. Fuji, Hiroshima, Tokyo and other areas.
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Top Marks Collette - Japan was amazing!
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Trip Rating:Excellent, informative tour. Contrasting visits - cities, countryside, castles, shrines etc. First class guide. Hotels were faultless. I would highly recommend this tour.
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Trip Rating:I enjoyed the visit to Hakone - a sharp contrast to Tokyo. Takayama again was different to Kyoto. The sushi making class was a great success!
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Trip Rating:There were organized and accommodating. They weren’t able to be flexible. When it was a torrential rainstorm the outdoor activity was still done.
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Trip Rating:There could have been more recommendations where to eat and shop on our own time. Hiroshima was the most memorable experience. Also, seeing My. Fuji.
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Not recommended for Asia trips
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Trip Rating:Weak guide--poor command of English. Should have special local guides at each location we went to. She tried hard but very difficult to understand and provided only base information.
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Trip Rating:Poor guide, dinners sub-par mostly buffets. Would prefer lunch in better restaurants or credit. Each place we visited seemed rushed. Very little background and cultural information provided by guide.
Thank you for traveling with Collette to Japan. We're sorry to hear about the issues you experienced on tour. Your feedback will be reviewed by the Product Design and Tour Management Team's in order to improve the overall touring experience for our guests.
Collette Support -
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More than I ever expected.
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Trip Rating:yes as I am a Collette Specialist myself.
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Trip Rating:The trip to the Hiroshima Shrine and the beautiful cheery blossoms in the Mt. Fuji area as well as throughout the trip.
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Great vacation.
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Trip Rating:Very well organized. Everything on time , exactly like outline of tour stated.
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Trip Rating:Loved Hiroshima. Really enjoyed the cultural aspect of gold leaf experience as well as atenciling.
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I thought the pace of the tour was perfect. Wonderful guide
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Trip Rating:This was my first tour with Colette and I loved it!! So educational and relaxing. Our guide took care of our every need. We had plenty of on our own time as well as group time. The pace of the tour was perfect and I came home relaxed and ready to keep traveling in the future.
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Trip Rating:Our dinners were exceptional!! Each one was truly a cultural experience.
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Trip Rating:Your tour manager, Tomoe, was super. She was attentive, had lots of extra info to communicate to us about the sites we visited, was professional and still treated each of us in a friendly, direct manner. Your pre-trip meeting in Napa was helpful. I requested an international carrier, so it is partly my fault, but the nine hour layover in Taipei was difficult to wait through and delayed us so that we felt that we missed the first day of the tour. Also the knowledge that we flew over Tokyo and then had to backtrack adding 5 hours to our trip time was aggravating. If a flight choice involves that kind of airport wait and backtracking, perhaps you could take a moment and check with the customer to see whether the flight choice is worth the inconvenience to them.
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Trip Rating:The choice of historic sites and cultural venues was excellent, The information provided by the tour manager was helpful in understanding what we were seeing and experiencing.
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Trip Rating:Well planned. We saw maximum sights in days available.
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Trip Rating:Outstanding hotels. Great itnerary.
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Japan experience 🌸🌸
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Trip Rating:We enjoyed our tour of Japan! Everything was well organized and we were able to see a lot in the time we were there. The hotels are all excellent and everyone tried so hard to be accommodating. If someone didn’t understand your question, they found someone who did. The hotel food was excellent and I enjoyed most of the group meal experiences. One ir two I had to “chalk up” to a cultural experience even though I didn’t like the meal. That being said, my husband was sure he would starve in Japan and I think he gained weight, even with all the walking. One day, we walked over 6 miles which met my goal of 5 miles per day! The first night, I am used to meeting with everyone and having them introduce themselves. We did those introductions on the bus instead. I thought this was a good use of time but some would rather put a name and face together. I am not good at that anyway so count on everyone wearing their name badge. I know some people wanted more formalized ideas for our free time but I think if you did reading beforehand, that helped with ideas. I personally just needed “downtime” and appreciated sitting in the lobby watching people. Thank you to our guide and driver for making this a wonderful experience. We met several new friends that we hope to see on future travels, too.
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Trip Rating:Thought I filled this in but this was a very good experience - great guide, driver and time allotment for most excursions.
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A wonderful way to see Japan.
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Trip Rating:My rep Dawn Bydeweg is outstanding as well as Tyler Readon. All questions were answered promply.
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Trip Rating:The tour was outstanding and comprehensive. Highlight was the Tokyo Tower, the Kyoto Shrine with 1000 Torii Gates, Horoshima Peace Memorial.
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Best way to see Japan
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Trip Rating:Very good itinerary. The hotels, with the exception of one, were adequate however they catered to Japanese and even the staff, at the reception desks, had limited to no understanding of English. Time allotted to tour many of the sites could be reduced, (example -limiting the 'free time' after the tour. Most of the group would gather and sit waiting for the 1-2 hrs alloted free time to expire). Suggestions for restaurants should be provided for the lunches and evenings you're on your own as the guide in Cuba did. The guide should have informed us what we were eating on the included meals. One of the included meals was in a restaurant that consisted of 4 floors and our group was booked on the 4th floor. It had no elevator so we had to climb 4 flights of stairs. I had no problem however many of the group did find it challenging and four had to have a separate table set on the first floor as they couldn't make the climb. The guide was very knowledgeable on historical sites and general information on Japan however lacked concern about individual requests/needs of some of the passengers. There were a few who had ambulatory problems and were slower than the rest and she didn't make allowance for them. Another passenger would be sick with the twisting roads and she wouldn't allow her a seat in the front of the coach. These are concerns that any guide should take into consideration. I would highly recommend this itinerary with the hope that the hotels be upgraded to hotels who cater to English speaking people. The price increase would be nominal and appreciated by your travelers.
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Trip Rating:Traveling throughout the Japanese Alps, the beauty of the Cherry trees (we traveled during Sakura which is the peak of the Cherry Blossom celebration) that was spectacular.
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Would never trust for flight planning, terrible
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Trip Rating:Terrible at flight planning. Many of the visits had little to offer
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Trip Rating:Hokane was beautiful Fish markets were amazing Final night celebration was wonderful
Thank you for traveling with Collette to Japan. A member of the Guest Relations Team will be reaching out to discuss your feedback.
Collette Support -
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Trip Rating:Don't understand question- do you mean service outside of Japan- transportation? If so, that was fine.
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Trip Rating:Needed Japanese guide who lives in Japan
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Trip Rating:Unfortunately, a number of changes were made to this itinerary without notice. I was informed this was because I had booked from the old brochure (with the implication that this was my fault) but my tour date was listed in this brochure so it was poor service not to be informed. Critical to this was that 33% more people were on the tour than advertised.
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Trip Rating:Tour not as advertised. Despite paying a single person supplement, I was given a single room. Fortunately, the country and its fascinating culture were sufficient to make this a truly memorable holiday experience.
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Trip Rating:Collette made sure you'll have the best vacation. The tour guide, driver, hotel accommodation were excellent.
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Trip Rating:Overall package was excellent. The cherry b;osmosis were awesome.
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All representatives I dealt with were very friendly and efficient.
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Trip Rating:They were very efficient in setting up my payment installments. Paperwork and receipts were sent to me in a timely fashion.
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Trip Rating:Well organized. Only downside was not enough free time, i.e. at fish market and open air shopping area. Needed more time to eat. Hard to mix shopping and eating for me personally.
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Trip Rating:Great hotels & airport/transfer services. Helpful booking service stateside.
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Trip Rating:Just a recommendation for inclement weather in Hakone: please have a contingency plan. Felt like half the day was wasted. Have subsequently discovered many things to do there no matter the weather.
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We had a fabulous guide, Yashiko Ono. Her delight in her job was obvious.
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Trip Rating:This is our third Collette Tour. We feel that it is good value for money and provides a comprehensive look at the designated areas.
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Trip Rating:We were very lucky with our timing. We saw Mt. Fuji without cloud cover; the first cherry blossoms; met a Maiko; and made eye contact with the Emperor of Japan. Our free time allowed us to meet some lovely local people.
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Trip Rating:Better local knowledge would have helped. Not mainly shopping in souvenir shops
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Trip Rating:Seeing the Emporer as he drove by
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Trip Rating:Very well organized. Excellent guide. Top notch hotels. Good variety of activities. Bus was always clean and driver talented. Only complaint is lack of air arrangement upgrades.
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Trip Rating:Because that’s what I thought of it.
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Trip Rating:My wife dealt with the US service, and she said that the local service was very good, especially the local agent, Linda Johansen - excellent.
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Trip Rating:Very organized, with a great variety of destinations, modes of travel, and first rate accomodations. I liked the different hand craft excursions.
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Trip Rating:The food/arranged group meals were poor. The hotel breakfasts were good.
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Trip Rating:Kyoto and Kanazawa, Mt Fuji were the best!
Thank you for traveling with Collette to Japan. A member of the Guest Relations Team will be reaching out to discuss your feedback.
Collette Support -
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Trip Rating:We booked directly with Collette and they handled our booking and subsequent amendments very efficiently.
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Trip Rating:I thoroughly enjoyed the trip except for the fact that our transfer to the hotel in Tokyo did not materialize and we had to make our own way to the hotel. There were many highlights, seeing Mount Fuji, decorating lacquer boxes and the amazing autumn leaf colour in Kyoto. Having a free day on the last day of the trip seemed odd but our tour manager took some of us to the bamboo forest. We went by public transport and are so glad we didn't miss this amazing place.
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Trip of a lifetime
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Trip Rating:Japan was a trip of a life time. Collette Tours provided a complete and comprehensive look at this most wonderful country. The tours were spot on and the extras such as gold leafing a lacquer box and stenciling a hankie was super fun. The arrangements were spot on - transfers on time and without issue. The hotels were well chosen, all were comfortable, clean and loaded with great amenities and for the most part well located. Kyoto hotel was lovely but not well located. Food - breakfast was plentiful but hectic each morning as all locations were group hotels with many groups all vying for food at the same time. The dinners were challenging - much of the food was meh but that was not my focus and I brought a lot of protein bars. There are 7-11s everywhere with good food - so easy to get a snack. Our guide Nobu - was a gentle, kind and very accommodating woman. She brought us safely on schedule through Japan, guiding us gently, shared customs and history at a nice pace and did her best to take care of everyones needs. She had her hands full with some cranky individuals in our group as well as one man who refused to wear his "whisper" (that totally slowed the group down as everything needed to be repeated for this one arrogant individual - absolutely rude and she was so gracious. I was extremely happy with this trip and plan to travel with Collette again in the future.
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Trip Rating:Most memorable moments were incredible views of Mt Fuji and my ride on the Shinkansen - both checked off on my bucket list.
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Trip Rating:Well organised; good hotels; interesting itinerary; and great guide.
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Trip Rating:Great value for money. Two memorable experiences - sunset over Mount Fuji and trip to Hiroshima.
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Amazing countryside and stops
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Trip Rating:Really great schedule and locations and activities
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Trip Rating:Mountain drive was thrilling. Winding road around massive mountains on cliffs that overlook a wide green fast flowing river and through long tunnels. Beautiful majestic scenery. Not to lessen each and every venue! It was a great schedule! Would have done 5 stars if the Whispernet audio system wasn’t junk. Poor system!
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Trip Rating:Yoshiko was very accommodating. Even with a Typhoon, we had an excellent tour.
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Trip Rating:No favorite spot, but a fabulous overview of someplace I had never visited before.
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Good experience - professional serverce
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Trip Rating:Very good trip and incredibly efficient in handling the change in our flights home when the airport in Osaka was closed (flooding from the typhoon)
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Trip Rating:Too many to give only one: • the Hiroshima experience • interesting meals • Gould leaf experience • adjusting the schedule during the typhoon .... and much more
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Amazing and outstanding trip!
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Trip Rating:A trip of a lifetime...great tour, wonderful location and excellent accommodations.
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Trip Rating:Great value, covered almost everything
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Excellent pre-trip service from Collette
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Trip Rating:We have never used Collette before but were very impressed with the service when we phoned several times with questions about the trip. The phone was always answered promptly and courteously. The trip documentation was very comprehensive.
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Trip Rating:Very well organised trip with lots of memorable experiences. We particularly liked the fact that Collette had organised classes in traditional crafts such as gold leaf painting, stencilling and watching a tea ceremony. Favourite experience was having our photos taken in front of a perfect view of Mount Fuji.
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Very good holiday apart from a few immobile travellers
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Trip Rating:Hotels, activities and pace level were perfect
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Trip Rating:Hot spa baths Making bento boxes Samurai village
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Trip Rating:We had a wonderful trip with Collette. Our guide was fantastic -- she bent over backwards to provide everyone with what they needed on the trip. Unfortunately, it was a little hard to understand her in the beginning, but was fine for most of the trip.
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Trip Rating:My favorite memorable experience was making our lacquer boxes.
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Trip Rating:Everything was very well organized and the trip experience was great.
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Trip Rating:The tour was very well planned and very inclusive of what we wanted to see in Japan.
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Excellent experience, wonderful memories from holiday in Japan
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Trip Rating:Friendly, professional service. Very efficient and helpful.
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Trip Rating:This was a great holiday which covered a wide range of experiences. The trip was well organised and the guide was excellent. Had quite a wait at the airport on arrival though and a very early departure time on leaving - 2am when we couldn't check in at the airport until 05:40 so had a couple of hours wait. The holiday was worth it though.
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My trip to Japan with Collette was wonderful!
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Trip Rating:My trip to Japan with Collette was wonderful! I had anxiously awaited for the announcement of the new tour to Japan, Cultural Treasures of Japan and booked my trip as soon as possible. For this trip I was traveling alone and did not hesitate as I always feel safe on the tours and with the hotels. Our tour guide was exceptional, in fact she was the best guide I have ever had on any tour! She provided some excellent sights, insights into cultural and historical information, delicious eateries, and much more. It is hard to condense 13 wonderful days in a few sentences!
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Trip Rating:The tour was wonderful and I would rate it a 5; however, when traveling alone it is the additional fee that is added to the cost that is not appreciated. I could take another tour if it didn’t cost so much to travel alone. The only problem about accommodations refers to the one night stay at Hakone which a number of us expressed the desire to stay an extra night at the same hotel. (I would not want to loose another other days though.). A couple of travelers complained about the hotel in Takayama, I’m sure it was the best available in the area. I did like the cultural activities we did—the gold-leaf bento box and painted handkerchief. ******* is an excellent tour guide!! She is so knowledgeable, caring, and compassionate.
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Our Japan tour manager Yoshiko Ono was the best manager I have ever experie
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Trip Rating:This is our second time using Collette ( Southern Africa as well) . Bothe times we had excellent tour managers and our trips were very well managed making our holiday wonderful.
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Trip Rating:Every part of our tour was excellent but if I had to narrow down a couple of favourites it would have been Mt Fuji and the Goodbye dinner with the Entertainment of the Mika ( Geisha ) girl.
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The Cultural Treasures of Japan tour was a great introduction to Japan
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Trip Rating:I would give this 4 and a half stars out of 5, due to a switch of hotel in Kanazawa. Our "switch" hotel was terrible and way below Collette's standards! Other than that, the tour was simply fantastic with a brilliant guide in Kazumi, and the coaches were very clean with very competent drivers.
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Trip Rating:A really great tour and how fortunate to see Mt. Fuji in all its glory! The "Geisha" show at our farewell dinner capped of a very memorable experience.
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Great guide, great service
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Trip Rating:The guide was great. The itinerary was comprehensive. The meals were superior. The hotels with one exception were fantastic. ( This Hotel was used because there was a marathon and other hotels were sold out)
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Trip Rating:Seeing Mt Fiji was fabulous.
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The variety, diversity, and cultural richness was given to us!
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Trip Rating:The value was high for our tour in 2017 - note that the tours went up 40% going into 2018. The selection of the cities made us feel that we understood Japan better and our two tour guides were so well informed and articulate and caring!
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Trip Rating:Hiroshima was a must - tinged with heartbreak and yet hope for peace!
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When you call them you are on hold at least 20 min.
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Trip Rating:When I had return transportation issues from Japan, Even our tour guide could not reach Collette. The tour guide for the first half of the trip also very nice had to read every piece of information she didn’t know much about what she was telling us second half the tour guide was wonderful very interested and interesting. Even though this wasn’t a non-smoking tour, the bus driver smoke which meant the bus smelled of smoke all the time. I did not say in the brochure and I looked when I came home that the tour had so much walking we walked between three and 5 miles a day and most of it Was up hill and there was lots of stair climbing
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Trip Rating:Making the bento boxes and the bullet train to Hiroshima.
Hello, thank you for sharing this feedback with us about the tour. \n\nWe appreciate you and value your insight as it helps us to improve our tours for future guests. We look forward to traveling with you again soon.
Collette Support -
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Trip Rating:Our trip started off on a very disappointing note when we realized that my wife had seperate seats on key parts on the trip. The return leg of the trip from San Francisco to Houston my wife didn't even have an assigned seat. I had to work with united airlines on the spot to fix these big errors...for the premium price we paid I could have scheduled much better myself. The call in service was polite but not much help. I asked to chat with a colllette rep and never got a callback (besides the call in person). The trip was nice but the tour guide was incomprehensible for most of the trip and came in very late the critical first night. The tour guide was nice but she forgot our listening devices the first 2 days and most of the group couldn't hear much of what she said. The meals were unique and good but one particular meal in Kanazawa was so small that most of the group had to go out to eat afterwards. The hotel in Hida (plaza hotel)was very dirty (mold in the restrooms and room was dirty and public bath had algae growth). We have booked with Collette for many years on large trips and this is not the service or value we are used to. I am not sure if we will book again.
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Trip Rating:See the feedback in the first section.
Hello, thank you for sharing this feedback with us about the tour.\n\n We have passed this along to members of our team for review. We appreciate you and value your insight as it helps us to improve our tours for future guests. We look forward to traveling with you again soon.
Collette Support -
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Trip Rating:We loved Japan, the people and the food. Our tour leader was knowledgeable, gracious & accommodating in spite of the impossible position in which Collette had placed her (details below). The tour itinerary could be tweaked, particularly by: employing local guides at many site visits to provide specialized background & context; by arriving earlier in Hakone so we could have enjoyed the beautiful gardens and hotel spas services (we arrived very late & left early next morning); eliminate non-important stops on trip to Takayama as we arrived so late we could not get to hotel to change/shower (after about almost 11 hours on the bus) prior to what was suppose to be a special dinner; spend an extra day in Hiroshima (recommend spending night on Miyajima Island). In particular, would strongly suggest a change to the last night of the tour. Enjoyed meeting the geisha, but the very bad food & atmosphere of the last night ended the tour on a negative experience. This was our 3rd tour with Collette & was definitely an unexpected experience. Unbeknownst to us, & 4 other couples who booked individually, Collette booked 12 people as a separate majority group within the main tour. This majority group had been promised their special needs (vegetarian) would be met. They bullied the tour leader and the balance of people on the tour. This attitude & expectation of being catered to over & above needs of other tour members had a huge impact on the entire group. We had to sacrifice the company of our tour leader at meals so she could cater to this 'majority group' by finding Indian restaurants for every meal (remember, this was sold as Cultural Tour of Japan with focus on Japanese cuisine). When we booked, we were not advised we would be treated as 'people needed to fill seats' (this is a quote from one of the majority group.) As mentioned, this was our 3rd tour with Collette. We feel that Collette was not transparent with us by not mentioning that one majority booking of friends - with special dietary requests would dictate& sacrifice the itinerary & food experience for the balance of tour members. This experience has had a hugely negative impact to our perception of Collette going forward. Unfortunately we are now hesitant about considering Collette for future bookings. Regards, Mary Murphy & Paul Seymour
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Trip Rating:See my comments provided in experience
Hello, thank you for sharing this feedback with us about the tour. We have passed this along to members of our team for review. We appreciate you and value your insight as it helps us to improve our tours for future guests. We look forward to traveling with you again soon.
Collette Support -
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Missed opportunities
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Trip Rating:I sent the survey in last week. You should have received it by now.
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Trip Rating:I sent you the survey last week.
Hello, thank you for sharing your feedback. We appreciate you and value your insight as it helps us to improve our tours for future guests. We look forward to traveling with you again soon!
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