My First Time in Japan: Pros & Cons of Traveling with a Tour Company
You know you’ve had a great trip when you look back on the week and think, “whoa, did that trip really just happen?” Well, part of the reason why I feel this way can probably be attributed to the fact that we spent four days with a tour company that took us from Narita to Osaka and spent two days in Osaka on our own before leaving for Taiwan.
This was my first time ever traveling with a tour company in a foreign country. I’m a bit torn about whether or not I would go on another, but I think it was a good choice for this particular trip given that there was a language barrier (getting by with English was pretty difficult), and I can be a bit indecisive on what to do, eat, and where to stay given that there are so many choices to make when traveling in a new place. If I had planned the trip myself, I would have probably limited the trip to just Kyoto and Osaka, taking the high speed rail to get from one to the other, to spend more time in each city to dive into the culture and food.
Pros and Cons of Using a Tour Company:
- PRO: you spend less time planning your trip. You won’t have to do hours of research on where to stay, finding the best prices on rooms/transportation, how to get around, and where to eat (unless you have a friend that can give you his/her itinerary). I wanted to try to plan the trip myself, but I just didn’t know where to start because there were too many options; I even had a friend send me his itinerary. Going with the tour was a simple solution to appease my whole family. On the cost front, our guide told us that while food is relatively cheap, accommodations and transportation are expensive; for one of our hotels, the rate for individuals to book is twice that of the rate the tour company was able to get.
- CON: it’s possible you’re a research and planning ninja and can plan a trip of the same length and spend less money. When planning your own trip, you can take advantage of deals like the multi-day Japan Rail Pass and potentially save money on rooms by staying in a hostel or in an Airbnb/vacation rental.
- PRO: less stress while on your trip since your guide is keeping time and making sure your group gets form point A to B on time, safely. You don’t have to check directions and make sure the train you’re taking is going in the right direction (the stations can be a bit confusing the first time). While on your tour, your bus driver does all the work to get you to your destination safely and your tour guide will walk you to the entrance of the attraction, give you a bit of educational info, and tell you when and where to board the bus again.
- CON: you have no control over your schedule. See something you like at a shop? Buy it; it’s unlikely you’ll have time to circle back and buy it later. A few of our rest breaks were pretty quick, ranging from just half an hour to an hour. For the most part, the time allotted was enough time to explore the attraction, but for one, we had to do a quick walkthrough since the park was so large.
- CON: since most things are included in the package, you don’t have much room for exploring food and culture on your own. You definitely won’t have time to go get a kimono rental to take photos or take a class on tea ceremonies. If you’re a foodie, your only food exploration is some snacking at various stops. Most of our meals were included and some of them weren’t that great — you could tell some were places that accommodate tour groups; I prefer exploring local cuisine and hidden gems.
- CON: you’re stuck with the same group your entire trip. The yammering group of kids (and adults) sitting behind you can get pretty annoying, and you’re stuck with them. You’ll have to hope for a good group of bus buddies.
- CON: we only spent one night at each hotel, so we lived out of our suitcases and had to make sure we got up early to pack our bags and bring them down to the designated location for them to be loaded on the bus. You also have to factor in enough time to eat breakfast since it’s usually included (bonus!), but you might be sick of the food or not like it. Luckily for us in Japan, this wasn’t the case; the hotel breakfast buffets were pretty darn amazing!
- PRO: we had to worry about the language barrier less while with our tour group. Our food was ordered in advance and our room keys were handed to us by our tour guide at the front desk. Our tour guide was really helpful in making recommendations on what to buy or not buy at our various stops as well, which was super helpful. When we were on our own in Osaka, we realized our friends weren’t kidding when they said getting by in English wasn’t going to be easy.
- PRO: you get to see quite a bit in a short amount of time, although there are some days where there’s a lot of sitting on the bus between destinations. We started our week in Tokyo and ended in Osaka, which is a quite a bit of land traveled and we got to see a couple things in each location. It made the trip feel really fast, but it was a nice introduction to Japan overall. Even if I had planned the trip myself, I don’t feel like I would have been able to get to know Japan that well; it’s something I know will take a few trips. I look forward to returning already so I can do and see more!
Kat’s Essential Item for Traveling in Japan No Matter How You’re Traveling:
WiFi rental. Yes, trust me, get it. I wasn’t going to rent the device, but I’m so glad the idea struck me two days before arriving in Japan. I did a quick Google search and found that Japan Wireless had the best rate and easiest process for me AND it came with a battery pack! I ordered it online two days prior to arriving and selected pick-up at Narita Airport; they gave clear instructions on how to pick it up. We got through Customs, went into the arrival lobby, went up to the third floor, found the Post Office, and I showed the employee my passport to pick up my package. You can also get it delivered to your hotel! The bonus with Japan Wireless was that they give you a grace period to drop the device in the mail (the device comes with a return envelope that’s already paid for) — if the last day of your rental is June 30, you have until July 1 at noon to drop off your package at the post office or at one of the red post boxes all around the city.
The reason why I was so glad I had the device? When we arrived at our hotel the first night, a Hilton hotel, there was free wifi in the lobby, but not in our room. You had to pay for it! Some of our hotels on the trip had wifi in the rooms and it wasn’t an issue, but when it’s unreliable or it’s paid access only, you’re out of luck. I had also initially assumed the tour bus would have wifi; it’s so ubiquitous in the US that I just assumed the bus we would be sitting on for hours would have it. Nope. If I hadn’t rented the wifi device, I would have been sitting on the bus, staring out the window. If you’re traveling on your own, a wifi device is a MUST! You’ll use it for walking directions, finding metro and Japan rail schedules and routes, and to use Google Translate. Pointing at things can only get you so far; if you’re able to use Google Translate, they’ll at least get a rough translation of what you need.
Other wifi rental options (not sponsored nor am I affiliated with any of these companies; they’re just ones that have lower rates and offer similar ease of pick-up and return as what I experienced with Japan Wireless):
