Riviera Travel The Best of Japan Tour Review

We were very kindly invited by Riviera Travel to take part in their The Best of Japan Tour. In this post we show you what Riviera Travel and Japan have to offer so you can decide if a trip to Japan would be for you!

Rivera Travel The Best Of Japan Tour Paul and Carole Love to Travel

It is the first day of our Riviera Travel The Best of Japan Tour, and it has been a busy and fabulous one!

Our group of 44 are being well looked after by tour manager Bernie and Japanese guide Yri. Both are full of local knowledge, and both have a great sense of humour, too! Today, we are doing a city tour of Tokyo by coach and on foot, and the first stop was the Tsukiji Fish Market. Mega busy with tourists and locals alike, we saw creatures we didn’t know existed and realised just how much the Japanese love their sea food and that they pickle most foods too!

The next stop was the Imperial Palace, which sadly can only be viewed from the outside and across the moat. We walked through the peaceful gardens there before heading for our included lunch. Our Bento Box lunch had 9 different items for us to try both savoury and sweet plus rice and Miso soup. It was definitely interesting, which caused lots of fun banter in the group and it was good to try some foods we would never have ordered for ourselves…or probably never will again!

Moving on, we headed to the famous Shibuya Scramble Crossing. This place is legendary on social media, where up to 2500 people cross this particular junction every 2 minutes, making it the busiest pedestrian crossing in the world, It is absolutely bonkers and fascinating to see!

Scramble crossing is also where you will find a statue of the dog Hachico, a Japanese Akita who was famous for his unwaivering loyalty, Hachiko would wait at the same time every day at Shibuya station to greet his master who was travelling home from his daily commute from work, even after his master had sadly past away Hachico waited outside the station at the same time every day for 9 years until he also sadly passed away.

We then visited the home of the latest wackiest Japanese fashions at Takeshita Street before the last stop of the day, which was at the Shinto Meiji Shrine. Dedicated to Emperor Meiji, who was deemed responsible for the modernisation of Tokyo.

There are 14 million people in Tokyo, and we are sure we saw most of them today! We have had a fabulous first day. It has been fun getting to know more of the group, and we look forward to seeing what tomorrow brings!

fish market odd food
Scramble crossing 2
strange shoes shitsu street
Bento box imperial palace lunch
Hachico
Rivera Travel The Best Of Japan Tour Paul and Carole Love to Travel

Our second day in Tokyo on our Riviera Travel The Best of Japan Tour, started with original Japanese curry, pain au chocolat and maple syrup bread for breakfast. Can you guess who had what?

Bernie, Yri and our wonderful bus driver who always greets us on and off the bus, were waiting for us at 9 to start our morning tour. Our first stop was to Senso-ji, the oldest Buddist temple in Tokyo and as we found yesterday with the majority of tourist attractions, they get crazy busy. This temple attracts 30 million visitor’s per year. The queues were so huge, we decided to just explore the grounds.

We perused the area around the temple that was full of food stalls. We passed on the purple squid, the beef tongue and settled for some fried chicken!

We also happened upon a promotion where they were having a tasting event for Choco Monika Jumbo. A type of wafer icecream which they were giving out for free. We couldn’t resist and they were delicious! In Japan you are not allowed to walk and eat so we enjoyed our ice cream in the designated eating area. Do make sure after reading this you check out our top tips for Japan video where you will find out exactly what behaviours are acceptable when visiting this fascinating country.

It was then time for a boat trip down the Sumida River to Ginza. Not the most picturesque river cruise but lovely to see the city from a different perspective. Our last stop was to the Hama-rokyu Gardens which is just a beautiful oasis of peace in this city. A fabulous park and definitely worth a visit.

After our morning excursion we were dropped off in a district called Ginza and had free time for the rest of the day. We wanted to see what the Tokyo subway (metro) was like so Yri kindly showed us, and those who wanted to know how to get tickets. It was fairly easy to navigate but so busy. Packed in like sardines we made our way to Akasaka-mitsuke station, which thankfully was only 3 stops away.

With free time on our hands we had a few drinks at our favourite watering hole The Mermaid before heading back to the hotel to get packed and sorted for our move tomorrow. The alarm is set for 0630, cases have to be out for 0730 and the coach leaves at 0830!

We are heading to Mount Fuji and have been told our hotel tomorrow in Hakone is small, quaint and has some lovely lake views too.

Senso-ji temple
us on the river
senso-ji food stall beef tongue
Senso-ji Paul_chicken
Hama Tokyo gardens

Today, we left Tokyo on our Riviera Travel The Best of Japan Tour and headed towards Mount Fuji. Seeing this spectacular view for the first time was very special! The weather is notoriously unpredictable around Mount Fuji, and thankfully for us, the weather has been just perfect. There are 5 lakes around Mount Fuji, we stopped at Lake Kawaguchi and were given time to soak up all the amazing views.

We then stopped for lunch at a cafe/supermarket complex. Yri took charge and helped those who wanted to order Udon Noodles. Carole decided on classic, and I chose curry udon. Both were really delicious. With sides of tempura onions and tempura prawns, the whole lot came to £7.50, which was an absolute bargain.

It was now time to head to Hakone Lake for a boat ride to our hotel, and it was quite a surprise when we were told that we would be arriving at our hotel by Pirate Ship! After a fun boat ride, we arrived at Hakone Hotel in time to watch the sun go down over Mount Fuji and enjoy a really tasty included dinner.

After another full day, we are absolutely shattered and off to bed! The alarm is set for 0630, another early start, though it should be worth it, as we are going on the Bullet Train to Hiroshima!

Rivera Travel The Best Of Japan Tour Paul and Carole Love to Travel
Mount Fuji and us
Noodles and tempura
Pirate ship
Fuji sunset
starter at hakoni hotel

Today on our Riviera Travel Best of Japan Tour, we had our first Bullet Train experience!

After only just 17 hours in our latest hotel in Hakone, it was time to move on, and we were back on the coach at 0810 for a drive to the bullet train station and our journey to Hiroshima.

The world famous bullet train (Shinkansen) reaches speeds of 186 mph which was pretty amazing to say the least, not saying bullet trains are reliable but over the course of a year each individual train has less than 1 minute of delays! From a comfort point of view, they are superb. Loads of leg room, reclining seats, very clean toilets, and also an electric socket. No refreshments are available on board unless you book a green ticket (first class), so we were encouraged to bring our own.

It’s crazy to think that in just over 4 hours we have travelled the equivalent by road of 698 kms = 434 miles, which is what our cases are currently doing with our coach driver Kamata as we speak! After a very comfortable journey on the bullet train, we have now arrived in Hiroshima, ready to explore!

Bullet train
Bullet train refreshments
Rivera Travel The Best Of Japan Tour Paul and Carole Love to Travel

On arrival to Hiroshima we headed straight out to the Peace Memorial Park Museum dedicated to August 6th 1945. Educational and emotional seeing what actually happened on that day and thereafter.

We also had the privilege of meeting one of the last living survivors who was only 14 years old when the bomb dropped. He talked all about that fateful day and how a change of plan meant that he was just outside the city instead of where he was originally meant to be, which would have resulted in certain death. The museum was so well respected and seeing people openly weeping really bought home the impact of such an atrocity.

Unfortunately, the rain then arrived in Hiroshima just in time for our trip to Miyajima Island, which is one of the most beautiful places in Japan. After a short bus, then ferry ride, we arrived at the island in the torrential rain. The island is the site of the beautiful Itsukushima Shrine and the floating Torii Gate. The rain was incessant, the wind made it hard to control our umbrella and we were soon very cold and grumpy. We stuck it out for as long as we could before we headed for the nearest place of warmth, a Starbucks.

It’s such a shame as this place is regarded as one of the top three prettiest places in Japan, and we definitely didn’t see it in all it’s glory. It was so wet even the wild deer there were hiding in the doorways!

Back at the hotel, we dried off and headed out for an evening in Hiroshima, a great city with a really nice vibe. Plenty of shops, restaurants, bars and we had a fun night out with some of our lovely group. If you are heading to Hiroshima we can highly recommend Sam’s Cafe 13, run by Sam who is 80 and the loveliest man and Molly Malones an Irish bar is also worth a visit too!

Bombed building and plaque
Survivor at museum
Sam and Paul sam's cafe
Torri gate Mijajima
Mijajima buildings
Rivera Travel The Best Of Japan Tour Paul and Carole Love to Travel

We have been exploring Kyoto on our Riviera Travel The Best of Japan Tour and experienced our first Japanese Tea Ceremony.
It was an informal one, a formal ceremony can take around 4 hours, and we must say it was fascinating. Our tea mistress taught us how to bow appropriately, the importance of the ceremony, the history, and finally how to make and drink the Matcha Tea. It was really fun and very educational. The little nuances of how to properly whisk the tea to create the most bubbles, rotating the cup and which part of the bowl to drink from. The tea is accompanied by a sweet and red bean cake to take away the bitter tea taste. It was seriously bitter, and the tea was truly awful, but the experience was absolutely fabulous!
tea ceremony tea mistress
tea service equipment

Our Riviera Travel The Best of Japan Tour excursion in Kyoto then took us to Rokuon-ji Temple, Golden Pavillion and Bamboo Forest. We have a new Japanese guide for Kyoto called Katy and not only is she an expert about all things Kyoto, she was really funny and even sang us a song too!

Kyoto is the number one place that is chosen by tourists when they visit Japan and everywhere is extremely busy. We certainly packed a lot in this morning and it was great seeing all these stunning places and also spotting our first bit of blossom! However, by the time we got to the Bamboo Forest we were really fed up with the crowds.

With each excursion you get some free time so we spotted a quieter side street and looked for somewhere for a bite to eat. We found a little family run restaurant which did original Japanese curry with pork cutlet which was absolutely delicious. The drinks menu was limited, Paul ordered a beer and I ordered what looked like a strawberry soda but actually turned out to be a Japanese Whiskey and soda! Before we came we had been told that Japan was very expensive but in reality there are lots of places you can go that are very reasonable. This meal cost us £8.50 each including the drink which was excellent value and the food was absolutely delicious too!

Bamboo forest us
Katsu curry house
Katsu curry
whisky carole
Rivera Travel The Best Of Japan Tour Paul and Carole Love to Travel

Our Riviera Travel The Best of Japan Tour continues in Kyoto, but sadly, the weather was definitely not playing ball! Looking out of the window didn’t inspire us for the day ahead as it was chucking it down but we are so glad we pulled our now very weary limbs out of bed.

First up today was the Fushimi Anari Shrine, which has hundreds of orange Torri gates that really was quite a sight to see before our visit to a Saki brewery. After a very interesting film about the process of making Saki, we were given some tasting opportunities. We didn’t have high hopes, but we have to say it was very good and the perfect warmer to a cold, wet day!

We then headed for Nara, and after enjoying some delicious noodles for lunch, fried chicken noodles for Carole and wagyu beef curry noodles for me, we headed for Todai Ji temple. This was a true wow moment even in the pouring rain. The biggest wooden structure in the world, and to say it was spectacular, would be a massive understatement. Both inside and out were a real treat for the eyes.

Nara is also famous for its incredibly friendly deer who, over the years, has learned to bow to you in the hope of getting food, another amazing sight!

The final stop of this very full day was Kasutagaisha Shrine, where the pathways to the shrine are lined with thousands of stone statues, with each one being slightly different to the last. 3 times a year, all the lanterns are lit, which must be something really special to see. The friendly deer were everywhere here too, and to top the day off nicely, we had a deer ice cream too!

torri gates Paul umbrella
Saki tasting Carole
deer and paul

Sadly, our Riviera Travel the Best of Japan Tour has come to an end. In the last 12 days, we have been immersed in the best of Japan and have seen and experienced so much.

It has been an extremely busy schedule that has worked really well. Our Riviera tour manager Bernie, along with our fabulous coach driver Kamata and all the Japenese guides, have looked after us brilliantly, and the organisation has been superb. All the hotels have been of a very high standard and centrally located, our luggage magically appears in our rooms and the transport arranged has been spot on.

We have come away feeling that in a short space of time, we have got to know Japan well. Japan has been on our bucket list for such a long time, and we are glad to say it didn’t disappoint. It has been such a pleasure travelling with Riviera Travel, and we can highly recommend it!

Check out Riviera Travel’s Website here.

Below you will also find our Tokyo Hotel Review and Our Top Tips for Japan videos, so if you are planning a trip to Japan you will be well prepared!

Rivera Travel The Best Of Japan Tour Paul and Carole Love to Travel
Bernie
Kamatasan bus driver
us with yri
Guide 1
Katy tour guide
Rivera Travel The Best Of Japan Tour Paul and Carole Love to Travel

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