Reviews

The itinerary is very good. Just what we wanted. The pace is quick at the start but more free time at the end. Perhaps doing the tour in reverse would help with jet lag. Good guide and coach throughout. BUT low score due to some very poor hotel choices and poor food selection. Given the premium price you might expect premium food and hotels. But not so. This is not about local vs western food. It is about the quality and value for money. Japan is cheaper than the UK so at a loss to understand penny pinching We have complained and await a response. I would give Wendy Wu a miss as the other well travelled companions told us of great experiences with other companies

Wendy Wu Japan Undercover - October 2024


This was my 5th holiday booked with Wendy Wu over the past 14 years and found some aspects of the Japanese holiday disappointing.

The size of the Japan Undercover tour group was 27 travellers in total which was far too large for a very busy tourist place like Japan. Plus with some within the group finding it difficult to visit some of the planned places of interest listed in the Wendy Wu Japan itinerary, because a large proportion of the group were limited in physical ability or stamina in so many ways.

This had several repercussions when visiting sites of interest listed in the itinerary like the spectacular Kiyomizu Temple, which was cancelled at the last minute and the group was given the option of going shopping with the Tour Guide or going on their own to find places of interest for the next few hours until rejoining the group again. As a keen amateur photographer of over 55 years I was absolutely furious as this was meant to be one of my highlights to capture behind the lens. I did not pay all this money to be offered a shopping trip as some means to compensate! I was not alone in feeling this disappointment . I do not think on this occasion that the Tour Guide made the right decision.

The slow moving group of 27, generally had less time in visiting sites of interest listed in the itinerary and on one occasion with limited time when visiting the snow monkeys, a large proportion of the group walked to the entrance gates at an average walking pace and paid for their own admission fee’s instead of waiting for the Tour Guide bringing the slower members of the group to the entrance gates. This give me and others valuable time to take photos.

Visiting Mount Fuji was also very disappointing with only 30 minutes visiting time allocated from getting out of the coach and returning back to our seats. It was a cloudy day ( not in anyone’s control) and waiting for a break in the clouds to see the peak was near impossible with the time allocated, with only a very few of the group managing to see the summit. Again a major disappointment for me. I shared the same view with others on the Tour that Kiki had not planned our departure time adequately . We were told that morning that the evening meal at the hotel was booked early, “at 6 o’clock” which left little time to return to the hotel from Mount Fuji .The hotel evening meal was rushed with plates taken away before some had even finished their food. We had to leave the table before the next Wendy Wu Tour group was arriving at 7 o’clock. Why on earth was a meal at the hotel at such an early sitting even considered versus the opportunity to see Mount Fuji. The food and service weren’t even worth rushing back for. This was not acceptable and I was not alone with feeling so let down by Kiki’s poor planning.

Sometimes the itinerary felt like a tick box exercise without having adequate time given to enjoy the sites of interest. It was apparent that too much time was allocated for midday food (lunches) and shopping within tourist traps. As stated before why come all this way to Japan at such an expense to be offered such a poor rate itinerary on some days.

On a positive note it was wonderful having a Wendy Wu representative meeting me at Osaka airport with a friendly face and being very helpful by looking after me and my travel cases for an hour until the hotel coach came to collect me.
Also the professional friendly coach drivers with their clean and comfortable coaches was really welcomed .
Our Tour Guide Kiki was also very friendly, helpful and hard working with such a large group in a very busy environment. In my opinion it was unfair of Wendy Wu Tours to expect such a large group of diverse ability to be managed fairly and equally by Kiki. It was evident that although Kiki did her best to manage the dynamic of our group, she did on occasions struggle with the challenges presented to her, by this inequity of the group composition.

However, I would like to balance my feedback and share that Kiki’s spoken English on the odd occasion was a little confusing, but her knowledge of the sites we visited and information provided to us was very good.
At this point I would like to point out that Wendy Wu Tours had promised that for groups larger than 10 people , the group would automatically be provide with both an international guide ( Kiki) and a local guide. We were not provided with a local guide for this Tour and an explanation was not given. This was not acceptable and once again this Tour was not cheap.

For our last night, the river and dining cruise was well received by my group with everyone had a wonderful time.

In summary, overall the contents of the itinerary was good but had we been given more time at the dedicated sites would have made the trip more memorable.

The hotels chosen, with their locations were generally of a high standard.

The lunches provided were not of a good standard, however on most evenings the hotel meals provided were good.

I believe for me this is now the right time to say goodbye to Wendy Wu Tours and to find an alternative travel company that better suits my needs and expectations .

It is sad that this last tour has not lived up to my expectations as the last four tours were great when I visited China, Vietnam & Cambodia, Myanmar and India . These were memorable for all the right reasons.

With sincere feedback I close with these comments… I truly believe that if Wendy Wu plan to maintain their status in this highly competitive worldwide travel industry ,that you need to seriously consider the size and make up of the dynamic , ability and age of the groups . Putting profit before quality is not in my opinion the way forward,

Thank you for taking the time and trouble to read my feedback.

I really enjoyed the tour. I traveled as a solo person so there are some concerns over how good a deal it was financially. It was an expensive holiday overall Our guide Miyuki was fabulous However I was aware that some in our group were wanting more details/information on some days. But I have nothing to compare the experience with and was happy to enjoy what was presented.
Flights were booked by WW through Heathrow, which I ran with as I wasn’t aware of options. In hindsight Gatwick would have been better as Guernsey flights don’t go to Heathrow. As a result this incurred additional expense travelling across London. And hassle too!
I was happy with the level of exercise required but several in the group were critical of expectations. This held things up at times as some were less able which was unfortunate.
A huge positive was the actual group as we got on and everyone interacted very well. So this was a great relief but a concern prior to the trip. in reality you have to run with this.
I thought the Japanese were very kind and helpful and I felt very safe during the visit. And I’m now not eating my breakfast with chopsticks
The question now is where to go next. And what good deals are available with WW or possibly other organisations. But I did enjoy paying for the whole trip in one go!!

Our guide Kumiko was excellent. Vert knowledgeable, very friendly and great fun. The schedule was a bit hectic but we saw so much of Japan.the lovely countryside and gardens, the castles, temples and shrines as well as the cities. Kumi helped to bring the history alive.
We also went to a miss brewery., a was wasabi farm, a paper making factory and watched a tea ceremony and made and drank our own macha tea! We travelled on the bullet train and also had several boat trips. There are so many marvellous memories. Our group of 28 got on very well aided by the lively Australians.
It was my first experience of Japanese food which I thoroughly enjoyed. Everyone was so friendly and courteous and everywhere was so clean. My granddaughter didn't want to leave and wants to return to Japan in the future.

I do not recommend this holiday for the following reasons.
1. The size of the group is far too big. We were lucky as our group consisted of 23 people but another group next to us were 28 people. This is far too big a group for the going round and accessing the sites within the time table allowed.
2. The hotels are often 2 stars and rarely 3 stars. Your stay at 3 star hotels is mainly for one night where as in 2 stars usually 2/3 nights. The 3 nights stay in Tokyo was in particularly basic and small room at the end of our holiday. This is particularly poor as the tour charges are quite high.
3. Our guide did not speak good enough English and was mainly reading the information about sites from his IPad with strong accent and poor English often just mumbling. He also did not give much information on sites we visited.
Wendy Wu should provide guides who have a reasonable level of spoken English and not just read information from IPad. Also they should be prepared to answer the questions clearly.
There are better tour companies out there to go to Japan but Wendy Wu is definitely not one of them.

Very helpful person on phone. Answered all my questions and sorted out the best business class offer. Very satisfied..

A super introduction to a fascinating country.
Well organised, good visits and the all-inclusive aspect was very much appreciated. I have organised many long trips abroad, but for our first time in Japan we preferred the escorted and organised tour and it worked well. A full itinerary with the occasional long day, but now that we are back home we very much appreciate how much we were able to pack in. Interesting visits.

Good information on the internet about the holiday we booked.
It was easy to book

The tour included many of the highlights of Japan. The pace was quick so someone less able might struggle to keep up. The guide was very informative about what we were about to visit and also about life generally in Japan.

This was the worst escorted group chat I have ever experienced in my 26 years of travelling on escorted group holidays. The tour guide only spoke pidgin broken English! To ask a question guest had to use Google Translate and show her the screenshot.

The itinerary was continually changing, with no real reason despite the guide walking at break next speed around all attractions. We missed so much due to lack of time and coherent information. The hotels were okay the food very repetitive and not a good standard. This holiday needs an urgent review by Wendy Wu , would not recommend.

When contacting Wendy Wu during the holiday with concerns I was completely brushed off. They are obviously not interested in guest feedback.

Fantastic tour of a beautiful country. Japan is a beautiful clean country and the people are so friendly. Our guide was excellent.

Although this tour covered most of the things we wanted to see in Japan, we found the pace too uncomfortable. We question some of the hotel choices and found most of the meals poor with no alternatives. We didn't get on very well with the Japanese cousine and the timing and locations of the restaurants chosen. We were unsatisfied with this expensive holiday.

A terrific, curated tour from Wendy Wu. A very long time since travelling abroad and never outside Europe so was very much in the hands of the travel company who delivered in every aspect. A classic tour that took you to the sort of places and experiences you might expect with an obvious leaning towards history and culture set in a modern enthralling country. Accommodation was top notch and an open mind to the food choices is essential. I enjoy Japanese food so I had a head start. It's a busy place, so expect crowds in some of the places visited. This did not affect our enjoyment. Our tour guide was brilliant with an exceptional knowledge of a breadth of subjects and kept us on track. An occasional lengthy coach ride however just look out of the window and take in views.
Clean, safe and welcoming, confident I will visit again or use Wendy Wu for the next adventure.

Wendy Wu 2460 Japan Uncovered tour. September 2024.
Excellent tour, great food and exceptional tour guide.
Faultless in every possible way.
Too many pictures to upload, just a few to sample.