Review: Luxury Japan Vacation, Kyoto, Nara, Tokyo, Hakone, Takayama, Kinosaki Onsen

We were glad to be introduced to the Pasmo Card for easy riding on the Subway system in Tokyo, and for train times and routes sent to us in a packet before leaving the US so that we could do some planning ahead of time.

We enjoyed the list of reading material we received by mail from the travel company which we could look over before and during the trip. It got us ready for and kept us in "Japan-mode."

We really enjoyed the personal attention and friendliness of our guides, who, instead of making us feel like tourists, gave us the impression that we were simply visiting them as our friends in Japan.

Staying at traditional ryokans is probably the best way to be exposed to "old" Japan. We felt lucky to have stayed both in a larger, more western-style ryokan in Kinosaki Onsen, and in  a smaller, more traditional ryokan in Takayama.  Each gave us a different taste of what it was like to travel in the days of tatami mats, communal baths and traditional Japanese dinners served in a guest's own room.