Nara Deer Park, Uji Matcha e tour di un giorno di primavera calda da Osaka

The pick up was well organized and easy to find. The bus ride out to Nara was quick and smooth. Our guide gave us her What App contact info which was helpful later in the trip. Nara was very beautiful and probably what you would expect. Lots to explore. Next we drove to Uji. It felt rushed and disorganized. We opted for the onsen experience (maybe don't do that). We had a quick 20 minutes to get lunch once we got to Uji which was impossible. Then we had to meet up again to walk to another meetup point where we got on a shuttle. That was another 30 minute ride across town (I guess I thought Uji was small?) to get to the onsen. The onsen was cool but there just wasn't enough time to spend there. Also there was no real food (unlike every other place in Japan) only ice cream and a few snacks. After out hour at the onsen we rode around in the shuttle for another 30 minutes back to the original shuttle stop. We had a little time in Uji at that point to explore which is very cute especially if you like green tea!

It was not made clear in the description that there were no tattoos allowed and that you have to be totally completely nude. It was only disclosed night before after it was too late to cancel. Also my son was lost on the tour the night prior and we tried to cancel the night before and it was not allowed.

- Good tour guide (Yuri) and her recommendation - Great experience at Nara deer park - Uji hot spring was very impressive - Schedule was very punctual.

The activity itself was great- I would Book an indoor viewing of the phoenix temple though. The Guide Eider Liao was the worst we ever had He hardly greeted and only told us (in a terrible English) Rules Rules Rules but nothing about the sights He is Chinese and clearly Only served the Chinese Touristen in the Bus All europeans and americans were second class for him Nara deer Park is Great and he couldnt do anything wrong there But we had no idea about uji and he could not tell us anything His spoken english cannot be understood

Great start to learn about Nara, all the temple we visited is worth the time and dime definitely highly recommended to my friends and family, kudos to Leo on his amazing navigational instruction and tidbits on places and temples to check in. This trip is highly recommended

I should have known it was going to be a problem when the night before the tour, the tour guide, Yoyo sent a QR Code for the meeting spot which led to a dodgy website instead of google maps. Either way we arrived at the appointed time and place and were pointed in the general direction of the bus. The first stop was Nara Park, which was generally nice, but tour wise we were just dropped in the middle, given a pack of cookies for the deer and told to meet back there at a certain time to walk back with the group to the bus or just meet back at the bus if you wanted to walk there at your own pace. Knowing that we would likely get lost trying to find the bus, we opted to meet at the appointed spot and walk with the group. Despite saying we were going to leave the meeting spot at 20 past the hour, the group didn't start walking until 35 past the hour, at which point the group walked very quickly. We were behind the pack, but still with other group members. Upon reaching the bus, the people in front of us got on the bus, the doors closed and the bus started pulling away. I had to chase down the bus at the end of the parking lot with my family to avoid being left behind. Upon getting on the bus, we were given a lecture about being on time, even though we were at the meeting point early, but fell behind due to the speed the group was moving. The tour guide Yoyo then had the gall to call us all family after almost leaving us and a few other people behind. The next stop was Uji where we were brought to the ticket counter and given vague directions and instructions to meet back at the parking lot at the appointed time. There was no actual tour and we were left to figure out where to go ourselves. Not wanting to be left behind again, we got back to the bus 30 minutes early. The last stop was the worst of all in that there was no explanation when booking the tour that if you had a tattoo that you would not be able to enter the hot spring. This was only explained after we left Uji on the way to the hot spring. Those that couldn't enter were told to go to the 7-Eleven or stay on the bus for an hour. There were no real alternatives at the location, as it was far from anything else to see. This was a complete insult and waste of money and the tour guide implied that only criminals and people that aren't normal had tattoos. Save your money and book with a reputable tour company that is actually geared to foreign tourists. The other tours that we took in Tokyo and Kyoto by Japan Panoramic Tours were much better organized.

Leo was such an awesome tour guide, he is extremely knowledgeable on ALL things Japan. The deer park was my our favorite, super cute and you get lots of time at this stop. The hot springs was a cool way to end the trip!

It's just a private shuttle. The tour guide doesn't really tell you what to expect or what to do at all, except that we have to be back by a certain amount of time. When we got to the deer park, there was not a lot of explaining how to get to deer park or the temple. We wandered for a bit before realizing there was much more. At Uji, he focused on the shrines rather than the matcha that was supposed to be the highlight of the stop. Most tours are informative and they speak so much, you're just wanting to go to the site. This tour was underwhelming

Amazing tour. Our your guide Etta was so fun and charismatic person. The deer at the Nara park are so cute and the Toda-ji temple amazing. At Uji, the matcha ice cream so good. Better way to finish the tour having a relaxing bath at a onsen. 100% recommended 👌

The tour was very good. Always punctual on departure times. The guide, Etta, was very friendly and lively. We love all the places we visit. I recommend!