Oct 14, 2024
Best part of our trip! - Mike was an amazing tour guide!!! He took us to all the best spots and had great views! He answered all our questions and gave insider tips and knowledge. This was the best part of my week long trip in Japan! 10/10 would do again!!!
Review provided by Viator
Oct 12, 2024
Maiku (Mike) is the best!! - We had Maiku as our tour guide and he was simply outstanding! He contacted me via whatsapp the day before to confirm hotel pickup and was also providing updates on his arrival that same morning. Maiku asked us for preferences on some options such as seeing a museum vs shrine or a pirate ship vs cable car. He was great at letting us know how long it takes between locations and roughly how long the day would take. Total time for us was 8:30-18:30 and because we were pretty quick, we were able to hit every location(and then some!). Unfortunately the day we went was cloudy since it was raining all week but Maiku REALLY did his best to try and wait for the best time to try and see Mt Fuji by switching up the itinerary a bit.
He’s an extremely friendly and easygoing person so we felt very relaxed all day. He stopped when asked to pick up lunch and food for us and was ready and willing to help take photos throughout the day!
Excellent experience with Maiku and we would love to do a tour with him again in the future!!!
Review provided by Viator
Oct 6, 2024
Fuji - Driver was friendly and knew the best way to explore the trip. Can met up to our request. Thank you, would definitely recommend this tour.
Review provided by Viator
Oct 4, 2024
Excellent tour to Mt Fuji area--the highlight of our trip! - We had a fantastic private customized tour to the Mount Fuji and Hakone areas with Mike of ABC Travel. Booking was quick and easy through the Marriott Bonvoy activities site, and Mike connected with us via email and WhatsApp the day before the tour to confirm time and details. Pickup was right on time, and the vehicle was spotless and extremely comfortable. Mike asked about our specific interests for the day—the sites we wanted to see and the ones we wanted to skip—and he customized the perfect itinerary for us. We enjoyed wonderful Mount Fuji views from Chureito Pagoda and Oishi Park, and at Mike’s recommendation, we stopped at the Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen Shrine, which was a true highlight of the day. After a stroll through the bustling Oshino Hakkai village, we headed to the Hakone area for a visit to the Hakone Open Air Museum. We wrapped up the day at another spot recommended by Mike, the lovely Venetian glass museum in Hakone. Mike was friendly, knowledgeable, and a great driver! Really just the perfect guide for the day—we enjoyed this tour immensely. I highly, highly recommend this tour with Mike and ABC Travel!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sep 30, 2024
Fantastic guide who was knowledgable, friendly and flexible - A wonderful guide who was willing to customise the itinerary to suit us and the conditions
Highly recommeded
Review provided by Viator
Sep 27, 2024
Best trip of my life in Japan! :) - I enjoyed the trip to Mount Fuji and Hakone, as I took many amazing pictures of the amazing scenery! Thanks to Mike, my tour guide and driver who is very friendly to talk too, highly recommend to anyone who wishes to check out Mt Fuji and Hakone with Mike, amazing to talk about the culture of Japan! ☺️
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sep 27, 2024
Wonderful tour of Mt Fuji and Hakone! - We had a wonderful tour with Mike as our guide to shrines and gardens around Mount Fuji and Hakone! He was very patient and easy going. He went out of his way to make sure all of our requests were accommodated. He has extremely good English and is very enjoyable to talk to. I totally recommend taking one of his tours. I am sure, you will have a very enjoyable and relaxing time!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sep 19, 2024
Great family day at Mt Fuji and surrounds - Great trip with Mike who was both informative and accomodating to change itinerary due to weather. Nothing was a trouble and his manner made the day very enjoyable. Would highly recommend
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sep 17, 2024
Great Private Tour of Mt Fuji and surroundings - We (a family of 2 adults and 2 children) had a great time touring Mt Fuji and Hakone with our guide, Mike. Mike was very reliable and friendly. He sent a reminder the day before the trip and also updated us when he's on the way in the morning itself. He was very punctual and arrived at our hotel at the time specified. He was also very considerate as he made suggestions to adjust the itinerary to suit the needs of our children. He provided an explanation and told us interesting facts about each place we visited and was always around in case we needed assistance with Japanese translation. We had a great day and really appreciate Mike for looking after us during the entire trip. Will definitely book other trips with him during our next trip to Japan.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Sep 13, 2024
Puscal was our Tour Guide - Good:
- Tour Agency replied quickly
- Tour Guide Puscal texted 2 days before (compared to others who only text 1 day or less than 1 day before)
- Puscal has a good command of English
- Puscal is very pro-active (compared to usual private tour guides) to tell us information when we pass by certain landmarks and places
- Itinerary is customisable and Puscal will accommodate the changes. Just make sure to let him know your full itinerary beforehand so that he has time to plan the route if you are adding or removing any of the Tour Agency's suggested itinerary.
- Puscal speaks loudly so everyone in the car can hear him, even at the back.
Things to Note for Newbies on TripAdvisor private tours:
- We changed our itinerary a lot from the Tour Agency's recommendations so this review is based on our experience for the places we visited only.
- Communicate clearly, enunciate your words and be loud because the car is big and sound cannot travel well if you are soft or have a low voice. Make sure you confirm with Puscal the name of every place you are visiting just to make sure there is no miscommunication (just a precaution since you are paying money for this tour and prevent disappointment due to your lack of diligence).
- The standard with all of such private-driven tours (there are a lot on TripAdvisor) is that they usually drive you to the places you want with a brief introduction of the place and will stay in their car to wait for you. You yourself must be pro-active to ask questions and make your needs & wants known to the Tour Guide to make the most of what you are paying for. So make sure you ask questions to know more information. If you want the Tour Guide to follow you around to take pictures or recommend places, you must tell them explicitly from the start (like driving to the 1st stop).
- Puscal is more familiar with Mt Fuji than Hakone when it comes to Japanese Restaurants. So unless you do your research beforehand & have a restaurant in mind, I suggest to have lunch at Mt Fuji area instead of Hakone.
Review provided by Tripadvisor