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Andrea, Stefano, Juliana and the other team members brought off a superb vacation for us. As I am primarily interested in architecture, these 10 days were a blend of historic, contemporary, and Frank Lloyd Wright buildings. I’m not an architect. Understanding architecture of any period requires context to the politics and history of how the country and prefectures operate. The guides were all excellent at mixing the history with the buildings and neighborhoods. Each one brought different expertise and provided a window into historic Japanese culture and how that culture operates today.
The logistics were the smoothest vacation I ever took—10 days, 4 hotels, and 7 trains, including tight connections and drivers awaiting arrivals at each destination. I could not be happier with the planning, execution, and choices they made and presented us. We were urged to convert the dollar several months before payments was required because of the dollar strength to minimize any currency effects. This is planning and execution at its best!
Our trip to Japan, December 16-January 5, was one of the best if not the best trips our family has ever taken. We were a family of seven spanning 3 generations ranging from teenagers to an octogenarian. Our planner Andrea created a truly bespoke itinerary that appealed to the interests and activity levels of each of us. He really went above and beyond what we have come to expect from travel professionals from the beginning of the planning process, a year before the trip. At that time, he told me that the Dollar was very strong against the Yen, and he advised me to convert the total cost of the trip to Yen even though no payments were required for many months. I followed his advice which turned out to be prescient, as the Yen became considerably more expensive over those months.
The hotels he recommended in Tokyo, Hakone, Osaka, and Kyoto as well as the Ryokan in Naoshima were all wonderful—beautifully appointed and attentive and accommodating staff. Several in the group had specific dietary needs and Andrea made sure that every hotel and every restaurant he booked for us knew our needs and were totally prepared for us.
The on-the-ground people he worked with were amazing. The guides, the drivers were great. Everyone was at the right spot at the right time, whether it was the airport, the train station, or anywhere else. The guides especially were amazing. Their knowledge of Japanese history and culture was extensive as was their ability to convey that information. They were keenly aware of the wide difference in ages and were able to customize our days to meet everyone’s needs and desires. They went out of their way to accommodate any changes we requested, although because of Andrea’s careful planning ahead of time, there were very few changes.
I should especially mention as high points a cooking class in sushi making, a class in Samurai sword fighting by 2 actors who do this on stage, and a private dinner with a Geisha apprentice (Maiko). I think these may have been included with the teenagers in mind but ended up being a highlight for everyone. It was this kind of balance between this kind of fun stuff along with visits to Buddhist Temples and Shinto Shrines, art museums, parks and sites of historical interest that made the trip so extraordinary.
I would recommend Andrea and his team to anyone planning a trip to this part of the world.
When my two teens and pre-teen told me they wanted to visit Tokyo and go snowboarding in Japan, I started researching the trip and got quickly overwhelmed trying to plan a trip for 5. I had engaged a Wendy Perrin travel planner for our trip to Hawaii, so I felt confident that another Wendy Perrin travel planner would be helpful. I didn’t expect that Andrea and his team would be essential to a very successful and memorable trip! Shoutout to Bernice and Juliana for coordinating all the little details and being our WhatsApp guardian angels!
In our first meeting, I threw out all the usual things families do in Tokyo: TeamLab, Ghibli, Disney, Sanrio, Ginza shopping (all of which was scheduled and thoroughly enjoyed). But then Andrea told me that when my family went snowboarding, I had to see the snow monkeys, and he was right! Honestly, I was a little skeptical, but my day with the snow monkeys was magical, a highlight of my trip. I loved seeing my family off on the slopes and then making my way by bus and then through the woods to the Snow Monkey Park where the snow monkeys were enjoying the hot springs while the snow fell, ending my visit with a yummy ramen and matcha latte. I then had a beautiful walk through the snowy town to our ryokan where I enjoyed our room’s private balcony onsen and then very special dinner. Truly, our mid-trip detour to Yudanaka was my favorite part of the trip, and I would not have had such a lovely experience without the expertise of Andrea and team.
The first and last legs of our trip were in two locations in Tokyo, the Cerulean Tower Tokyu Hotel in Shibuya and the Tsuki Tokyo in Ginza, both great for families and very well-located. We loved our guide Juliana at the beginning of the trip, as she was a delightful addition to our family, like the best fun auntie. After our two days with Juliana, the kids missed her the rest of the trip. She taught us how to navigate the trains and helped us pick places to eat and shop and find some face wash the girls forgot! Having all the tips and transportation details sorted helped tremendously and eliminated frustration for sure. I cannot imagine navigating Tokyo station with all 5 of us and all our luggage without our helpers. During the trip, I marveled at all the moving parts and was so thankful for all the planning from Andrea and the team. As the kids say, it was epic!
It is our pleasure to write a review of our recent trip to Japan, planned and organized by Andrea and his team. They were a delight to work with, equal to or better than many of the other WOW List travel planners we have dealt with in the past. To begin with, we didn’t give them much lead time—we decided to go in mid-late October 2024 and only contacted them in August—very short lead time for a three week trip to Japan!
Andrea and his team were very easy to talk with and they understood and executed the kind of trip we wanted. We wanted to spend the bulk of our time “off the beaten track.” We weren’t interested in spending much time in the major cities but rather wanted to get into the small, authentic towns and experience the true culture of the country. We also didn’t want to rush—we wanted to have time to truly absorb the culture. The company provided exactly that. They had to work hard to move the jigsaw puzzle of our itinerary around to get the best accommodations for us on short notice. It was a tall order, but they succeeded. We spent some time in Tokyo and Kyoto but the vast majority in small, picturesque towns and islands.
Our guide, Giulia, was superb. She was a wealth of knowledge and fun to be with. Throughout our three weeks, our “guardian angel,” Justin, followed our progress and was available to assist when needed (very infrequently). Even Andrea was available to us. I highly recommend Andrea and his company for a trip to Japan.