Shirakawa Itineraries

Outstanding guide
Excellent choice of sites to get a true feel for Japan

Many: cycling round Kyoto town, visiting Kyoto tower, the many delicious and diverse meals, sights, sounds and smells of Japan, the friendliness of the people, Tokyo tower visit and looking down from half a mile up on 26 mil pop, freewheeling downhill 40+ mph, onsen bathing, and wearing gown for evening meals, cycling through some longgggggg tunnels, visiting Shinto and Buddest temples, historic villages, Toyko night life walking across "scramble" pedestrian crossing, 200mph "bullet" train, cycling through forests and wooded areas, cycling east coast adjacent to sea of Japan, views of the "marriage" rocks, Godzilla and Pokeman rocks.
ferry trip and walk through Hama-rikyu gardens

the many picnics and tea/coffee made by our excellent tour guide Jared and driver/mechanic Ryo

So many happy experiences and memories

I enjoyed my first experience of Japan but would not recommend it as a cycling holiday.
The bikes were excellent and well-maintained. The leader(Jared) and the bus driver (Ryo) were attentive, hard-working and one of the best support teams I have experienced in over 10 cycling holidays. The hotels were above expectation.

The days in Tokyo and Kyoto were excellent and I enjoyed learning more about the Japanese life and the way that their society functions.

But I was disappointed with the scenery of the Noto Peninsula: the bulk of our cycling apart from the last day, seemed to be through a series of coastal towns with large harbours constructed out of concrete and empty of boats. We missed a couple of days of cycling due to persistent rain and on those days, despite the best efforts of Jared there was little of substance to pass the time apart from extended lunches and waits until check-in time at the next hotel.

If the standard of care and leadership is representative of other trips, I would certainly recommend travelling to Japan with Explore, but I would suggest that prospective travellers look for an itinerary that does not include the days of cycling in the Noto Peninsula.

It was great to have a real insight into Japanese culture through the accommodation, food, onsen, our excellent guide and the yukatas!

Really enjoyed this trip. This tour is a good combination of culture, history, scenery, and food experiences. Its quite a varied trip with a full on itinerary. Its all on public transport which adds to the experience and fun! The guide (Guilia) was excellent and very clear with timing, plan and logistics, as well as informative info and good suggestions for free time. The trip involved a lot of walking most days so comfortable footwear essential, our visit in Aug/Sep was hot - mid-30s most days - so Spring/Autumn maybe preferable if you want to avoid hot days. The hotels that Explore selected were all good quality and good locations. We stayed 3 extra days at the end of the tour in Osaka - which is recommended to have some relaxed time, as the tour is pretty non-stop for the 12 days.