Excellent tour, a bit pricey but worth it. We chose to go first class with the train and hotel and I am glad I did! It was worth the extra money. We stayed at the Hotel Okura which was very expensive to eat there. But the hotel lobby was great. It was sort of like the old hotels from the 1920's you see in movies. The room was fine. It was small but I did not care because the lobby made up for it. The began with a bullet train ride to Kyoto. It was great in that we had the best class and you could see Mt Fuji. There was a typhoon the night before that cleared the clouds. We had lunch in a hotel which was OK. The tour to Nara was fine. We saw the big Buddha and the deer. It was a long day but worth it. The hotel helped set up a RSVP for Kobe Steak at a Nobu restaurant, It was expensive but not as expensive as thought is would be. It was worth every yen! The full day tour was good. It is basically two tours back to back with a lunch and shopping at th eKyoto Craft Center in between. The morning guide was strict to say the least. I think she had to be to get our large group through the crowds. The afternoon guide was great. He was not all that knowledgeable but he was really funny. I preferred the PM tour. They take you to a temple with 1000 Bodhisatvas. Amazing. Between the two tours we saw almost all the sights that are well photographed save for one. We stayed the third day and saw that one that was missed on our own. The ride back to Tokyo was well organized with guides in Kyoto that got us on the right train and guides in Tokyo that met us and got us to the hotel. He only complaint we had was the long wait for lunch and the transfer to the second tour. It took a long time. Time wasted in my opinion. I would recommend this tour - especially if you get the first class train tickets and stay at the Okura.

Lots of wasted time on this tour. Poorly organized. We were sent to one train station for which we paid a large taxi fare then waited an hour and a half only to be taken to Tokyo Station which was closer to our hotel to start. We were asked to be there at 8AM for a train ride at 10:30. Bullet train was the best part of this tour. In Kyoto and Nara I thought I would scream if they showed me another Temple or shrine. Entire tour consists of temples and shrines, the entire group was complaining. Hotel was very good, right across from station. Second day tour of Kyoto consisted of a visit to Golden Palace and more temples and shrines with a cafeteria style lunch, complete with coupon. Just awful. This entire trip can be done in 1 day round trip. By the way the price was very, very expensive. I don't recommend this tour

Not much to see. After a while, we were being shown temples that were made for tourism and had no historic meaning.

Great trip! The tour company guided us through the entire tour which helped greatly. We had a great time.

Excellent tour and organization

This was really an excellent tour. We saw a lot and it was extremely well organized:
Pros: 1. You are picked up from your hotel we were at the Keio Plaza and brought to the Tokyo train station by the tour guide who places you on the train with your group. Seats are assigned so no rushing to get a good seat.
2. As soon as you exit the train you are told to just stay put. There was someone already there to pick us up, bring us to lunch and then direct us to the tour bus. Lunch was excellent. Then the afternoon tour begins. There is no possibility of getting lost.
3. The first tour is to Nara. The large Buddha is amazing. You can actually go inside of it. A trip to Kasuga Taisha Shrine and seeing and feeding the free roaming sacred deer is amazing.
4. We stayed at the Kyoto Hotel Okura which provided excellent breakfast buffet and excellent room and service.
5.The 2nd day was also well organized. The castle, Gold Pavilion and Imperial Palace were amazing.
6. Having the 3rd day on our own was a bonus. We took cabs to the Monkey Park, the Gian District and the thousands of traditional gates that make up the Fushimi Inari Shrine on the outskirts of Kyoto, Japan. Cabs are not as expensive in Kyoto. We had plenty of time to get back to the hotel and be escorted to the train and then to our hotel in Tokyo.
7. This tour was well worth the price considering that bullet train and hotel and all entrance fees as well as lunch are included.
Cons: 1. If you stay at the Okura hotel breakfast will be extra. The breakfast buffet though is delicious.
2. Wear your broken in comfortable shoes because you will be doing a lot of walking.
Overall an excellent tour and I would highly recommend it.

Amazing tour, great accommodation, the tour guides were very friendly and helpful.
The tour is really complete, the main stops are awesome. I strongly recommend it.

The 2-Day tour to Kyoto and Nara was amazing. Very well organized. I highly recommend to take this tour!

What was impressive about the tour was how well it was organized. Every event was on time with well spoken informative guides who were friendly, polite and personable. While popular shrines and temples were visited that would be in travel guides, the tour provided the ability to see sights in a short period of time that you would probably be able to do on your own. If it is your first visit to Japan, personalized guidance to the Bullet Train departure platforms as well as local trains if you are staying outside of Tokyo is provided at all destinations. Any of the hotels offered standard, traditional Japanese or luxury is perfectly acceptable. This tour is highly recommended,

Very well organized tour. Guides were very good.