Travel Review: Kyoto, Kanazawa, Mt Fuji, Japanese Gardens Tutorial, Kimono Design, Calligraphy, Shopping

Overall, our Japan travel agency provided everything we needed:  lodging, transportation, guides, itinerary of places to see as well as tickets at our hotels for those venues, experts in the areas of expertise we had requested.  Being novices in international travel, we were unaware of some procedures that I would think are routine to those who are veterans of such travel.  It would have been helpful to have had some of that information before beginning the trip, but it worked out ok.  Our guides were knowledgeable about the areas in which they were assigned to help us see.  Our main reason for the trip was to see Japanese gardens and learn of the culture of Japan that so influences the design of the gardens.  I believe the trip accomplished that goal because we now have a starting place for understanding Japanese people and the many aspects of their culture.  

I must say that the trip was rigorous in that understanding the accents of the various guides required full concentration all day every day in addition to the attention we paid to the places we visited as well as the walking, stairs, slopes.  (Japan has LOTS of slopes!)  Additionally, the 14-hour difference between our home time and the time in Japan took a toll.  We probably should have scheduled one full day upon arriving to make the initial change.

Because of my dietary restrictions, we were very concerned about monitoring those throughout the trip.  Nearly all of the restaurants in our itinerary knew in advance of those and had made preparations for my safe dining.  We only met with difficulty a couple of times and managed to avoid most of the allergens.

All of the accommodations provided extra pillows for my husband's acid reflux sleeping requirements.  That was crucial.