Mt Fuji or Hakone Private Day Tour

Milkyway's private tour had real highlights — the boat ride and the shrines and temples along the way were beautiful, the car was comfortable, and being able to customise our pickup and drop-off was convenient. Communication before booking was easy too. The guiding is where it fell down. Our guide rushed us through several stops, which was disappointing on a private tour we'd expected to set the pace for, and we questioned a lot of the information he gave us — after the tour we verified several of his claims as flatly untrue. He also came across as holding a fairly negative view of Japan, which coloured his commentary. He brought up more than once how overworked he was, with days running from 4am to 8pm, and mentioned customers leaving him bad reviews. Whether or not it was intended that way, it left us feeling we were being asked to feel sorry for him rather than give honest feedback. If those hours are accurate, Milkyway should look at them, because his driving got noticeably worse as the day went on and felt genuinely unsafe by the time we reached the winding mountain roads. A guide that tired shouldn't be behind the wheel on those roads. Worth noting that lunch and the boat tour aren't included in the price. Good itinerary, but the guiding and the scheduling behind it need attention.

Attary did a great job and was very knowledgeable!

Was an awesome experience catered to our personal wishes. Hadid our driver was very friendly and accommodated all our needs and what we wanted to do. Was cloudy in the morning, but the beauty of Mt Fuji appeared in the early afternoon!

Great experience, our driver Atary was perfect and gave us very good explanations about the places visited and about Japan in general; the visits are inspiring and allow you to really soak in the places while offering beautiful views of Mount Fuji, even though it was hidden by clouds for a large part of the day during our excursion. Highly recommended!

We wished we had a different guide. He was difficult to communicate with, made me uncomfortable with his driving and by heavily pressuring me for a good review. He told us if we leave a bad review he will be fired. He heavily pressured us on the ride back twice while in the car and sent a follow up WhatsApp messages during the night asking for a review. His driving felt unsafe. While driving he pulled out pictures on his phone of previous tours (we did not ask to see them) and was swerving a bit while doing so. He told us also that he is banned from Japanese citizenship for a driving infraction which didn’t make us feel great especially since he was driving our kids. He did not seem to know the area we went to well although he said he had been there many times. I am vegetarian and he confirmed this on the car ride but said the only vegetarian options would be at one Indian restaurant. We said we did not want Indian food. He did not know any other restaurants or have any other recommendations. He kept just pushing this Indian place. There is a cute area we drove by post lunch on the way to the shrine with restaurants by the water, I wish he had mentioned this, we would have definitely eaten there had we known (again why we wanted a guide). Another example of poor communication was that he told us 20 minutes only at the shrine, it was about 2pm, we had to hurry and I was really disappointed. Then I asked if we could have 5 minutes more and he said of course! It’s your time! Confusing as he told us only 20 minutes initially. After the shrine he pulled into a convenience store and told us he was getting a drink before driving us back. My kids by this time were exhausted and were melting down in the back seat. It was not a great time to stop. I wished he had anticipated his own needs and gotten a drink while we did the shrine or brought one. I wished his English was better as it was hard to understand with his WhatsApp messages and in person. He did not speak or read Japanese which would have been helpful as we don’t either and one of the reasons we wanted a guide. Overall we loved the area and are glad we travelled there but wish we had a different guide. I feel bad leaving this review because I don’t want him to lose his income, but I also don’t want another group to have this experience.

The speedboat ride on Lake Kawaguchi and Windy Cave were highlights for us. Our guide, Attary, was great. He took photos of us throughout the day -- and he is a very good photographer! Knowledgeable and easy to be around, he provided background and information on all the sights. We were able to add and subtract items from our itinerary as we desired. He is a good driver, calm and sane, but still manages to hustle. All his recommendations worked out well. The vehicle provided was large, clean, and in good repair. We had a great day and recommend booking this same tour with the same guide.

Speedboat ride around Lake Kawaguchi and Windy Cave were highlights for us. Our guide, Attary, was great. Full of good advice and pleasant to be around. He shared plenty of area history and included just the right amount of background information. He added and subtracted items from our itinerary as we requested. The vehicle provided was large, clean, and in good repair. A great day with no complaints.

Mr. Attari is wonderful and took such great care of our family. During the trip, he explained the history and details of each place we visited, which helped us understand and appreciate everything so much more. We had a fantastic time today!

The driver Attary has been very patient and informative. He listened, guided ans advised us along our journey with care,respect and honesty.

Great trip Attary was great. 12 noon to 930