Travel Review: Tokyo, Kyoto, Hakone National Park, Tea Ceremony, Culture

Our trip had been planned about two months before it actually occurred. The preparation phase was well-done: we did our own research about what we wanted to see and do in Japan and suggested our plan to our travel agency. We continually maintained contact with our travel representative via telephone and emails to discuss about the sequencing of the events, their details, and we asked him for advice. We are quite satisfied with the pleasant, and courteous relationship that we had with our travel representative and his availability for questions and suggestions.

After we arrived in Japan, we suggested some last-minute changes as ideas popped up among our group members, and due to weather conditions, and our suggestions were taken into consideration by our guides and by the Zicasso partner. Overall, all guides and drivers were pleasant, courteous, and helpful. Our guides did not hesitate to make last-minute changes to accommodate our requests. However, one minor regret that we had was that we could not fully understand some of them, due perhaps to their English proficiency/accent. But, again most guides were very good. Another thing that Zicasso partner needs to improve is the line of communication between travelers and Zicasso partner's Headquarter while travelers are in Japan in case of emergency. We have found that this line of communication has flaws due to the unavailability of an English-speaking person.

Overall, we were satisfied with the services provided by this company, as we also understand that some of our requests demanded more work and last- minute negotiations from the Travel agency and its partners.