Japan Discovery

Traveler Reviews

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  Daniel

  September 16th, 2025
  2
  Japan and Costsaver I have been on many tours and this one is at the bottom of my list. We enjoyed japan and...
  Japan and Costsaver I have been on many tours and this one is at the bottom of my list. We enjoyed japan and the people we met. It should have been an indication of what to expect when transportation to and from the airport were not included. They only made two recommendations for this not mentioning the inexpensive airport limo bus. Our ride was about $250 US. The tour guide was friendly and most likely knowledgeable but was often hard to understand and would lose most people while she talked. I know the company sets up the tour and there were more optional tours at an extra cost than included tours. The included tours were often rushed, giving us 45 minutes to shop and eat lunch and explore. I'm sure this was so we could return to the hotel in time for the optional tour. One exception, on a long hot day, after hours on the bus, we stopped for an hour to shop. The store was local art, small and didn't need an hour. Everyone was saying that either the guide or the company was getting a kickback. On the last full day, we were dumped at the hotel around 12:30 with no check in until 3 while she did another optional tour. It was our anniversary and they had asked on registration of anyone was celebrating anything yet it was not acknowledged. I guess the old expression is true... you get what you pay for.Show more
  Traveled in August 2025
  

  Reply from: Costsaver

  Thank you for travelling with us and for sharing your candid feedback about your recent journey to Japan. We are pleased to hear that you enjoyed the destination itself and the people you met along the way, but we are very sorry to learn that other aspects of your experience did not meet your expectations. We regret the difficulties you encountered with airport transfers, the pace of the included activities, and the balance between included and optional experiences. We also understand how disappointing it must have been to feel rushed at times and that your special anniversary was not acknowledged, despite having shared this information with us in advance. Please accept our sincere apologies for these shortcomings, as this is not the level of care and attention we strive to provide. Your feedback regarding the tour arrangements and the communication from your guide is very important to us, and we will ensure it is carefully reviewed by our team. We truly value the time you have taken to share your perspective, as it helps us improve the experience for future guests. We are grateful that you chose to travel with us and hope we may have the opportunity to better serve you on another journey in the future.

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• K

  Ken

  July 25th, 2025
  5
  My son and I had an excellent time on our tour. We travelled to Tokyo, Kyoto, Himeji, Hiroshima and Osaka. The tour...
  My son and I had an excellent time on our tour. We travelled to Tokyo, Kyoto, Himeji, Hiroshima and Osaka. The tour was not too fast paced and required a moderate amount of walking. We saw traditional sites as well as the new. Tokyo National Museum, Senso-Ji Buddhist Temple in Akakusa and The Tokyo Metropolitan Building were the ones we went to in Tokyo. We also visited Mount Fuji. We took the bullet rain from Shinagawa Train Station to Kyoto. Kinkaku-Ji Temple, Heian Jingu Shrine, Toda-Ji Bhuddist temple and Kyoto Tower were great. Kurashiki Bikan Historical Quarter and Miyajima Island were timeless. I never thought I would visit Peace Memorial Park - Hiroshima. It was very solemn. Koko-en Japanese Gardens, Himeji were a peaceful oasis. Umeda Sky Building was extraodinary. Amazing arcitecture. Everywhere in Japan is a cultural eye opener. It can be fast paced or very slow and tranquil. The optional excursions were great, but not doing all of them also allowed us to take our time sight seeing. All in all an excellent tour that strikes a good balance and pace. Our tour guide Joi was fantastic.Show more
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  Traveled in July 2025
  

  Reply from: Costsaver

  Thank you so much for your review. We're absolutely delighted to hear that you and your son had such an enjoyable time exploring Japan with us. It sounds like you experienced the perfect mix of cultural heritage, modern wonders, and peaceful moments from the grandeur of Mount Fuji and the serenity of Koko-en Gardens, to the moving visit to Peace Memorial Park in Hiroshima. We're so pleased to hear that the tour pace suited you and that you appreciated the flexibility to enjoy both optional excursions and time to explore at your own rhythm. We’re especially thrilled to know that your Travel Director made a fantastic impression we’ll be sure to pass on your kind words to them. Thank you again for sharing your experience. We hope to welcome you both on another adventure in the future.

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• C

  Carolyn

  January 5th, 2025
  5
  The 10 tour of Japan was amazing. Our tour director Yama was excellent- organised, approachable, knowledgeable. The...
  The 10 tour of Japan was amazing. Our tour director Yama was excellent- organised, approachable, knowledgeable. The bus drivers incredibly polite. This tour gave a snap shot of Japan incorporating the castles, shrines, ancient customs, modern innovations. We loved every minute of it. This tour involved coaches, bullet trains, tram, we did the subway. The accommodation was in the areas most would want to explore. The rooms small however who needs large rooms. The opt in extras were great. We found the tour was a great snap shot of Japan, well organised with a brilliant guideShow more
  Traveled in December 2024
  

  Reply from: Costsaver

  Thank you for being our guest and travelling with us to Japan. We are so pleased to know you have enjoyed your travel experience and found the service provided by your Travel Director excellent. We would love to host you again,

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  Ann

  October 29th, 2024
  3
  Lovely considerate bus driver. Your director needs re education on customer service.
  Traveled in October 2024
  

  Reply from: Costsaver

  Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. We apologise if the Travel Director did not meet your expectations in terms of being personable. However, we are glad to hear that the Coach Driver was professional. Your feedback has been forwarded to the appropriate department for further review.

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• K

  Kim

  May 22nd, 2024
  5
  Locations, hotels, food excursions, and especially the guide were all first rate
  Traveled in April 2024
  

  Reply from: Costsaver

  Thank you for your great feedback, it is wonderful to know you have enjoyed your travel experience with us. Thank you for being our guest we would love to host you again.

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• M

  Mike

  April 27th, 2024
  3
  Here's our recent experience having booked with CostSavers through Costco. We went to Japan for 10 days, stopping in...
  Here's our recent experience having booked with CostSavers through Costco. We went to Japan for 10 days, stopping in Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Himeji, Osaka. Overall we enjoyed the country and the people, who are extremely polite and friendly. You will enjoy how clean everything is and the courteous people. This review is of the CostSaver tour. Our Travel Director Hiroko was great, with insights and historical knowledge of the cities and sights we visited. When we booked an optional excursion through CostSavers that wasn't led by Hiroko, the local specialists were harder to understand and moved quickly, with little time to enjoy the attractions we visited. One of them didn't wait for the last of our group until my wife spoke up for him to stop and wait. First off, there was nobody to pick us up at the Tokyo airport as promised. After an hour on the phone we ended up taking two trains and walking to our hotel. This was totally unacceptable, and the start of our vacation. Then, when we left Osaka, they simply provided bus fair to the airport. I wish we would have been told up front that this was the arrangement. The dinners that were included with our tour were average, mostly buffet style. We had much better meals when we went out on our own eating at local restaurants. All the local food was great, no worries about getting sick from sushi, sashimi or noodles. Most of the attractions we went to felt rushed, with only 30 to 60 minutes of free time to enjoy the site. I understand it's hard to get most people to leave earlier in the morning to get to sites earlier, but the site visits often felt rushed. For good photo opportunities, you will probably need to leave early on your own to take less crowded photos of the bamboo forest or some of the more popular attractions. Another thing that could have been done better is to have a website or group text indicating the meeting and departure time for the next day if you were not part of the optional excursion the day before. We often had to ask our travel director at breakfast when we were departing that morning. The hotels were generally okay, but our room in Hiroshima had a bad smell every time we entered the room. We had to run the air conditioning to circulate the air and try to eliminate the smell. I expected a little better for a travel agency associated with Costo.Show more
  Traveled in April 2024
  

  Reply from: Costsaver

  Thank you for taking the time to share your valuable feedback with us. We truly appreciate having you as our guest, and we understand the importance of a great Travel Director who can ensure your overall enjoyment and comfort on our trips. This is why we carefully select our team members based on their passion for travel and their in-depth knowledge of the regions they serve. We are sorry that you did not fully enjoy your tour with us and that some aspects could have been improved. We are also sad that the unpleasant smell in your hotel room caused you discomfort. Please know that we hold all of our hotels to high standards, and we have shared your feedback with our Quality Control team to ensure that the accommodation continues to provide the best experience for our guests. Once again, thank you for travelling with us. We hope to serve you again in the future.

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  Anthony

  April 17th, 2024
  4
  Itinerary was comprehensive and well planned, original tour guide was replaced twice during trip due to personal...
  Itinerary was comprehensive and well planned, original tour guide was replaced twice during trip due to personal emergency, hotels (with one exception) were generally okay and located near main train stations and shopping.Show more
  Traveled in March 2024
  

  Reply from: Costsaver

  We want to express our gratitude for your support of our business. We appreciate that you chose to travel with us, and we are sorry that your trip did not meet your expectations. We understand that replacing the Travel Director during your trip was an inconvenience, and we apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused you. Additionally, we understand that the hotel accommodations needed to meet your expectations. We take this issue seriously, and our Partnership Team will review the conditions with the hotels in question to ensure we always offer our guests the best possible travel experiences. Once again, we apologise for the inconvenience and thank you for your feedback. Your insights are invaluable to us and will guide us in improving our services for all our guests in the future.

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