Essence of Japan 2017

DR JER

We were planning to go on the Essence of Japan tour in 2017. The itinerary has just been published on-line and has changed significantly from the 2016 itinerary. Starts and ends in Tokyo, still with total of 3 nights (2 and 1). No Osaka. No Hiroshima. Question to anyone who went on 2015-2016 tour: Would you still go with the 2017 itinerary? Or would we be sacrificing too much to go with the lesser options?

Mikey1721

DRSMOOTHOPERATOR wrote:

We were planning to go on the Essence of Japan tour in 2017. The itinerary has just been published on-line and has changed significantly from the 2016 itinerary. Starts and ends in Tokyo, still with total of 3 nights (2 and 1). No Osaka. No Hiroshima. Question to anyone who went on 2015-2016 tour: Would you still go with the 2017 itinerary? Or would we be sacrificing too much to go with the lesser options?

Just got back from the 2016 tour. I was very happy with the current itinerary and certainly feel that Osaka and Hiroshima should still be part of the tour in the future. Hiroshima left quite an impression on all of the guests on the tour. I understand that the 2017 tour has significant upgrades on some of the hotels. I don't how they can do that since the hotels that we stayed in were all excellent. That would definitely be something to look forward to. I would still make the trip since it was very interesting to see how they live on the other side of the world. By the way, the cherry blossoms were at their peak the fist two weeks of April.

judy05

We took this tour in 2006 -- the first year it was offered. The 2017 itinerary is almost the same as the original one except that we started in Tokyo and ended in Kyoto rather than returning to Tokyo. I was actually sorry that we missed Osaka and Hiroshima when Tauck changed the itinerary. That said -- I would certainly take this trip if you want to see Japan. It really is a good one -- with a good mix of different areas of the country.

Jerry P

We went on the April 2015 Essence of Japan. The biggest loss in the new itinerary is the evening with a Geisha performance and visiting Nara (the old capital). You can probably go to Nara from Kyoto on your free time- though it is some distance - it is surely worth the effort - 50 foot high Buddha, beautiful grounds with deer walking around etc.
The Geisha performance was one of the most memorable experiences of any trip we have taken- so beautiful, serene so perfectly embodying Japanese culture. That said, I am planning to take the new Essence of Japan trip as the places it goes to are well worth the trip. The Japanese people are wonderfully welcoming and everything works seamlessly. You are going to love this trip and be so happy you went!

Pitt Traveler

Following up on the posting by "DrSmoothOperator", the 2017 tour eliminates stops in Osaka and Hiroshima. While there is a free day in Kyoto, it seems like it would be difficult to get out to Hiroshima and back in a single day. Has anyone added these destinations at the beginning or end of the tour, and if so, how much time did you allow?

Also, I'm curious as to why Tauck decided to eliminate these destinations?

Sandman1

Commenting on Pitt Traveler, we did Japan on our own this past October and took a one day tour to Hiroshima. I believe it was Viator, but there are many offerings. They all use the high speed bullet train from Kyoto to Hiroshima and usually take you to Miyajima Island as part of the tour. They have professional guides that meet you at the hotel next to the Kyoto RR station, and have pick-ups at some hotels in Kyoto. You are met at the end of the train ride by another guide that finishes the trip by bus and boat. The day trip is about 13 hours, but is well worth the cost and experience. Don't know why Tauck dropped this, but if you have a free day, I can't think of a better way to spend it. Not cheap, but no other way to do it all in one day. Enjoy Japan!

Pitt Traveler

Thanks, Sandman, for your helpful response.

voyager17

My husband and I took the Essence of Japan tour that started June 5, 2016. I've looked at the 2017 itinerary and wish I'd waited a year for it. It omits all the parts of the tour I disliked and spends more time at the places I liked best, Kyoto and Hakone. It doesn't stay at the hotels that I found disappointing such as the Okura in Kyoto or the Takayama in Takayama (although that hotel had a great onsen.) In a word, "Go." But if you find high humidity debilitating, don't go in June as we did. Having spent most of my life in Southern California, I found the humidity, coupled with the heat, to be a constant drain until we went up into the Alps. More specifically, the only places on the 2016 tour that aren't on the 2017 tour that I would miss would be Miyajima Island and Osaka Castle. But there is no point in going to Hiroshima if, like me, you grew up seeing the photos in the museum on television. Even if you consider yourself a traveler and not a tourist, I doubt you take a Tauck tour to be sickened. And if you don't go to Hiroshima, Miyajima is simply too out of the way. Osaka Castle is historically significant and is now a fascinating museum. I can only speculate that Tauck dropped it because flights from the US in to Osaka are not easy to arrange and without the long train ride to Hiroshima from there, they probably thought there isn't enough to see. We flew Japan Air Lines for the first time because it was the only nonstop from LAX to Osaka and found it fabulous. The fake ryokan we stayed in, fortunately for less than 24 hours, should have been billed as the Japanese Las Vegas. It was huge, noisy and not worth the long coach ride to get there. You won't mind missing it. You will enjoy having more time in Hakone and staying at the Hyatt, a lovely hotel that I regretted we spent only one night in. But Kyoto is the best part and absolutely worth spending the time the 2017 tour allots to it. You should consider using your free day there to go to Nara even if the tame sacred deer are much greedier than advertised. Count your fingers after giving them the approved cookies. Reading the other posts, I see that the evening with a Geisha has been dropped. Our evening was actually with a Mako, an apprentice Geisha, and was one of the most enjoyable of the entire tour. I plan to return to Japan in a few years and, even though I was hoping to visit other major islands such as Hokkaido and Kyushu, I would definitely consider doing Essence of Japan again if they still have the 2017 itinerary.

jteiii

Voyager17, Thank you so very much for your update comparing the 2016 with the new itinerary for 2017. We are signed up for this tour next year and have been upset that some things have been deleted. After reading your comments, we are no longer regretting our decision for our anniversary trip in 2017!

Linda Long

Just returned from this trip. Glad to see significant upgrades to hotels on 2017 trips, as a few were okay but nothing to write home about (Hyatt Regency Hakone and the Mandarin Oriental Tokyo were excellent). Too bad Hiroshima, Nara, and evening with a maiko (geiko apprentice) are eliminated for 2017; I would not have wanted to miss these. Maybe eliminated to cover for hotel upgrades? You'll have a free day in Kyoto, but as our guide said, you'll want to go to Nara. In Kyoto, be sure not to miss temples like Nanzen-ji and Eikando-ji at the end of the Philosopher's Path near the foothills (we visited these on a free afternoon and they were a highlight of our trip: not crowded (unlike most of our guided tours) and are very beautiful and evocative). Weather was hot and humid in Kyoto at the end of Sept so be prepared (most were not). Japan is a fabulous place to visit, and definitely worth one (or many) return trips to catch things you didn't visit before.