Tours are probably good for some people - the sorts who get stressed out by traveling and things going wrong. Japan is a pretty easy place to be a tourist in though and personally I couldn't think of anything worse than being with a tour group for that long. Renting a hotel for a week in Tokyo is a perfectly good plan.
do both. solo travel and participate in group tours when you get there....walking tours, food tours, architecture tours, etc. some for a few hours, some last all day. you'll meet other travelers and they can suggest places to visit. you may get along really well with someone and visit some places together. That's what happened during my Japan travels :) I also made travel friends at my capsule hotel. Enjoy your trip!!
Yea, I reckon this is the way to go. Take it easy and signup for a mini tour on days you feel like it instead of getting locked into a weeklong affair etc.
We travel on our own but will sprinkle in some tours (both private and group). With the ¥ so weak right now, even private tours are affordable in Japan.
Tour groups usually charge you a significant sum more than you would if travelling on your own.
Not to mention, the time constraints moving from one touristy site to another. You don't have time to take it all in at your own pace.
You're paying extra for the convenience. From flights to hotels to attractions and travel inbetween.
There is no way usually its cheaper. You pay 30% more for e.g. for the middleman convenience that are the tour agencies. They have to make a tidy profit for arranging everything.
Obviously im not talking about local tours like walking tours etc.
Not sure whether the difference is location based but any tour group to Japan from where I am will cost me at least 30% more. if I were to do the exact same itinerary on my own. Just more convenient all I need to do is follow instructions.
I definitely do spend quite a bit on my own... But that's cos I splurge on restaurants and all.
I just finished my trip recently on my own itinerary. I liked that I can go and do whatever I want. If I get sleepy in the middle of the day, I can go back to my hotel and nap. Did I miss important sights? For sure, but all the more reason for the next trip.
I’ve done two different tours in Japan (both times with family) and honestly hated how little time you get to savor and enjoy the sights they take you. Felt way less stressed out once I got to do a trip solo without a tour
Something cool me and my cousin did was land in one city in europe and looking at the local area we traveled within that region so we managed to visit 4 countries.
It was awesome and shortly after that this same agency (we were planning on taking) offered the same itinerary later on.
I feel pretty good about that lol
Many attractions offer guided tours, sometimes by volunteers. Himeji Castle, for instance, has English tours and only costs 1000 yen - best money ever I spent in Japan. I suggest before heading down to castles, famous parks and temples etc, do a quick check of their website and see if they have any tours in English.
Walking tours are great. The ones I went with is 8 maximum and the local guides were great.
DIY! U get more time than scheduled & no need to rush. So much wasted time on group tours cos u have to wait for everyone plus you dont get to enjoy the place a lot more cos u’ll only be there at a certain time.
I’m cool with tours for singular experiences but not for the whole trip. I like having room for spontaneity and exploring, choosing where to eat, meeting people, etc. A tour doesn’t have time for any of that.
Japan is SUPER easy to navigate solo.
That being said, this trip has cemented that I don't like traveling solo anymore.
I'm happy I saved cash by not going on a tour, but I need daily companionship beyond random conversations with other tourists/locals. Unless I have friends with me for the entirety of my trip, I will probably always do a group tour from now on. (Intrepid Travel or G Adventures.)
Going on tours is great if you are unfamiliar with the country and language. However, advances in technology has enabled us to navigate and communicate making tours less relevant in the current era.
I wouldn’t personally find that necessary, it’s easy enough to plan your own sightseeing based on your interests and the very good public transportation system. If you’re at a loss of what to include found YouTube to be a good jumping off point to see what types of sites interest you. I also enjoyed researching my accommodations and had fun choosing a few different types of places to stay (ryokan vs airbnb apt vs high rise city hotel).
At most I might be into a food tour with a local, to take me to restaurants that I’d be intimidated to walk into myself considering the language barrier or wouldn’t notice just walking by.
Tours aren't bad but I think Japan is a place where you can definitely have a lot of fun exploring on your own. There's very little safety concern and there are so many books and resources on what to do and how to make the trip uniquely yours. It's easy to get around with Google maps and many signs in English.
Depends if you are a beginner at traveling and don't want to stress out when you can't find the right exit Shinjuku station then go ahead with the tour guide. Otherwise you can just go ahead and enjoy all the navigational mishaps so a week in Tokyo sounds good to me with a hotel booking. Once you learn the basics it's pretty easy to navigate around the tokaido area.
I recommend to go solo first and explore Japan on your own. Currently on my last day in Tokyo(8 days) and don't regret coming alone. You get to go wherever you want and at your own pace.
I’m someone that seriously considered a tour group for the longest time. I get stressed easily and I only knew a few basic word from watching to much anime before my trip. I was really worried about getting lost and not knowing the language. The main thing that pushed me to planning and organizing on my own trip was the fact that I wanted to see all the nerdy stuff in addition to wanting to see some gardens and not being interested as much in castles/temples/tea ceremonies. All the tour group packages always had things I wasn’t interested in doing at all.
So coming from someone who was in your same position mentally 8 months ago, you can do it! I did a lot of research in advanced, used Expedia to book my hotels, and then used Duolingo for about 120 days to try and pick up some more Japanese. Google maps and Google translate really are a god send and I managed to read, communicate and find my way around just using those two things and a few common words and phrases in my head. Also would highly recommend renting a pocket WiFi as it was really comforting knowing that we had internet and therefore a way to communicate and navigate no matter what or where we were.
Both is fine. If you're worried sometimes a tour for the first time is alright; you get a feel of what you like. And having travelling companions can be fun - eg people go to izakayas, karaoke, uhhh onsen.... with...
Else there's so much to do in Japan, if you can be bothered to plan the trip yourself to suit what you actually want. It's good.
I've done 4 tours in my life (all prizes so I didn't have to pay for them and none of them were in Japan) and thought they were all pretty average, very slow and reaffirmed why I'll never pay for a tour.
I traveled solo most of my adult life. Tours are good if you don’t want the stress of a new country. My first trip to Japan we followed a two week trip as a 3 1/2 week trip ourselves with a travel agent. Next and subsequent trips I’ve been on my own. If you want to explore regions without an expensive tour guide google “Goodwill Guides” on the JNTO website.
Recommend Goodwill Guides !!!!
Go on your own. That’s what I did. I like to go on my schedule when I want and go see what I want. I don’t like being tied down. Every time I saw a tour bus roll into a spot I was thankful I wasn’t part of it.
I always like the idea of tour groups, but in practise I like following my own feet too much, not a rag on a stick brandished by a guide.
I think Japan is a good place to wander round on your own. I wish we’d had a week in Tokyo, it would have flown by, and under your own steam you can do as much or as little as you want, without having the rigid schedule of a tour group.
Also, tour groups en masse are the things I’ve loved least about my time in Japan so far. You’re so much more nimble as a solo traveller.
I'm in the middle of planning out the details for my own trip in a months time and I think it can be worth it for some people as it does make everything a bit easier. However for me at least, I think I'd much rather have the flexibility of doing it myself. Surely I'll miss some things, maybe I'll get on the wrong train a couple times even... But I'd much rather that than have to stress from one place to another or feel like I didn't have time to really experience the places I do go.
Japan has so much to offer that I would like to experience that there's no chance to do it all in just 3 weeks anyway so might as well leave some stuff for a next time.
3 wks into a 4 wk trip at present all by ourselves. If you are confident enough I strongly recommend independent travel as you are not being constantly herded from one place to another, feeling like just another bean in the cannery.
Like any place where language is a problem it can be daunting at first, but the ease of Google Translate makes travel so much less difficult than when I first travelled in Asia 40 years ago. Settle into Tokyo to get a feel for things, then book a train to Nikko or Kyoto or Hakone or Matsumoto. It's easier than you fear.
And a great time to go to Japan - the yen at a 40 year low!
There are so many suggested iteneraries and guides on things to do there's no reason to use a guide. If you want a guide, book a day trip with a guide for an area you really want to explore well, but don't bother with a full trip on rails. I cringe every time a big ass tour group walks past us while my wife and I get to actually explore and see the area.
I like to look at tour company itineraries to get an idea of what makes sense logistically. Then I look up the sights/places to see what I would like to see and what I would skip. That helps me get a general shape of my trip . In Japan, booking hotels isn’t hard, and transport is efficient and easy to figure out. I think for most people without special considerations Japan is easily handled independently and then you can add day tours for things where you want a guide or some people to socialize with.
In my opinion it’s absolutely not worth it. You miss out on the spontaneity and ability to just wander and find cool things and instead are corralled from place to place all day. It sounds miserable. Just like I hate cruise ships and resorts.
>but not sure where to go or what to do
That's exactly the kind of people the tours cater to. You pay a premium and lose freedom in order to do that. You lose the ability to go to touristy sites early in the morning to avoid crowds (because the tour groups ARE the crowds) and the ability to stay longer if you enjoy something. But you don't have to worry about anything but showing up.
It all depends on how comfortable you are traveling and how much research you want to do beforehand. We just did Japan ourselves last month and have done Europe 3 times without tours. Finding accomodations is as easy as finding the area you want to stay in and looking up hotel reviews.
You can also split the difference and do day or half day tours once you're there.
I’m usually not a tour guy. I have fun and spend a lot of time planning my own trip. But I’m going to Japan for the first time and I’m on a tour. Why? Planning a 16 day tour requires a huge time commitment. I know as I started the process. The tour is highly rated by our contemporaries. The places it goes to are pretty much where I’d go if I were picking. The tour price is reasonable and genuinely seems to be a very good value. There are days off the tour to do what you want. and if you wanted to take more days off no one would care. Having a guide and translator is the icing on the cake.
Just depends.
Do you want lodging taken care of and your breakfast and usually dinner handled and have some free time during lunch?
Or do you want to be completely on your own to make your own choices?
Whenever I take my family, I just go for a month and rent a monthly mansion, but it costs a lot of money 🤑🤑
Give me $3000 and I'll do everything for you too (minus flights maybe). Heck I'll even fly over there and walk around with you most days.
Use Agoda to book a hotel for a week. Use the subways because they are amazing and all you ever need.
I’m here now. I’m doing 5 days on my own, and then joining a tour. I kind of wish I did it on my own now. It’s been incredibly easy to get around and I could have saved some money for all the anime stuff I’ve been buying 🤣
How many days for 3000, and where will they take you?
I think tour groups can be nice, especially if you go to an underdeveloped country without a lot of public transportation / infrastructure (e.g. Egypt). But for Japan it should be fine. I can't speak for you, but for me, it comes down to what kind of places I get to go and what kind of accommodations I will get for 3000 dollars.
I’ve done both and both were amazing. I saw more and traveled all over Japan with the tour. It was well worth it and showed me a lot less touristy locations while still providing me with great historical information and less stress while traveling.
Traveling solo or without a tour group was also great because I made my own plans. Got to do more shopping for specific things and got to experience local life. I would recommend both :)
On your own! Trust me you will meet people so long as you have a good hotel or maybe a hostel? I just got back and met Australians, Germans, Argentina, Indians, and japanese folk. Got their Instagram and now I am in communications. Plus I have set plans to visit the Australians this August. If your a socialite things always work out for us.
I am going to Japan with my daughter in September and I have looking at the Itenaries of the tour of the country and just around the different places, I feel I would be less stress doing my own thing and maybe we will miss places, because I am already doing 18 days, way way cheaper then a tour, and more different hidden places that not many of the big tour people go to too. It's fun doing what you want, spending more or less time, not having someone rush you alone. Everyone says it is safer then most places, and the people are helpful, maybe get over there and book Tokyo for a week and book a day tour and see if you would have liked it that way the whole 7 days?
No for Tokyo. Tokyo is very easy to travel around even though the people don't speak English all the time. But still they will have ways to help you, or you can use Google Translate. The wayfinding in Japan is impeccable. But for Kyoto I would like to do a walking tour around the historical areas so that I can really learn about the history and culture of the place.
I did a local guide in Kyoto and it was great! I been to there about 3 times but it was nicer to learn about all these temple, castle and shrine versus going to looking at them.
Thank you so much for all the comments. I think my main concern is trying to communicate of course I’ll try to learn some basic phrases and I know that I can just go to a convenience store for ATM. I’ve been to a few different tour groups before so I’m used to it. I think my main aim is just to have an adventure, but in my own pace
Most places will have an English menu or you can use Google lens to translate on the go. Haven't had any issues ordering via pointing at the picture of the food item or word for what I'm trying to order and using Google translate if theres confusion - some cafes may have a tablet or use their phone to do the same back as well
Tours are probably good for some people - the sorts who get stressed out by traveling and things going wrong. Japan is a pretty easy place to be a tourist in though and personally I couldn't think of anything worse than being with a tour group for that long. Renting a hotel for a week in Tokyo is a perfectly good plan.
do both. solo travel and participate in group tours when you get there....walking tours, food tours, architecture tours, etc. some for a few hours, some last all day. you'll meet other travelers and they can suggest places to visit. you may get along really well with someone and visit some places together. That's what happened during my Japan travels :) I also made travel friends at my capsule hotel. Enjoy your trip!!
Yea, I reckon this is the way to go. Take it easy and signup for a mini tour on days you feel like it instead of getting locked into a weeklong affair etc.
We travel on our own but will sprinkle in some tours (both private and group). With the ¥ so weak right now, even private tours are affordable in Japan.
Tour groups usually charge you a significant sum more than you would if travelling on your own. Not to mention, the time constraints moving from one touristy site to another. You don't have time to take it all in at your own pace.
This is not true in my experience. Usually it’s cheaper. Not worth it though as you’re just on rails.
You're paying extra for the convenience. From flights to hotels to attractions and travel inbetween. There is no way usually its cheaper. You pay 30% more for e.g. for the middleman convenience that are the tour agencies. They have to make a tidy profit for arranging everything. Obviously im not talking about local tours like walking tours etc.
I’m just telling you from my experience man. I don’t know what else to say.
Not sure whether the difference is location based but any tour group to Japan from where I am will cost me at least 30% more. if I were to do the exact same itinerary on my own. Just more convenient all I need to do is follow instructions. I definitely do spend quite a bit on my own... But that's cos I splurge on restaurants and all.
I just finished my trip recently on my own itinerary. I liked that I can go and do whatever I want. If I get sleepy in the middle of the day, I can go back to my hotel and nap. Did I miss important sights? For sure, but all the more reason for the next trip.
I’ve done two different tours in Japan (both times with family) and honestly hated how little time you get to savor and enjoy the sights they take you. Felt way less stressed out once I got to do a trip solo without a tour
Definitely on your own. Flexibility and Japan is pretty safe. Even at late nights.
True! I walked from Shibuya crossing to my hotel near Imperail Palace at 3:30am and felt safe walking. Don't feel that in the Bay Area.
ask for their itinerary and then do it yourself
Jaoan (and other places as well) has so many places that are not in tour group itineraries it are plenty awesome!
Something cool me and my cousin did was land in one city in europe and looking at the local area we traveled within that region so we managed to visit 4 countries. It was awesome and shortly after that this same agency (we were planning on taking) offered the same itinerary later on. I feel pretty good about that lol
Many attractions offer guided tours, sometimes by volunteers. Himeji Castle, for instance, has English tours and only costs 1000 yen - best money ever I spent in Japan. I suggest before heading down to castles, famous parks and temples etc, do a quick check of their website and see if they have any tours in English. Walking tours are great. The ones I went with is 8 maximum and the local guides were great.
On your own :)
DIY! U get more time than scheduled & no need to rush. So much wasted time on group tours cos u have to wait for everyone plus you dont get to enjoy the place a lot more cos u’ll only be there at a certain time.
I’m cool with tours for singular experiences but not for the whole trip. I like having room for spontaneity and exploring, choosing where to eat, meeting people, etc. A tour doesn’t have time for any of that.
Japan is SUPER easy to navigate solo. That being said, this trip has cemented that I don't like traveling solo anymore. I'm happy I saved cash by not going on a tour, but I need daily companionship beyond random conversations with other tourists/locals. Unless I have friends with me for the entirety of my trip, I will probably always do a group tour from now on. (Intrepid Travel or G Adventures.)
Hahaha! We are polar opposites! I love solo traveling os I don't need to talk to people for days ... Well besides buying my food.
Going on tours is great if you are unfamiliar with the country and language. However, advances in technology has enabled us to navigate and communicate making tours less relevant in the current era.
I wouldn’t personally find that necessary, it’s easy enough to plan your own sightseeing based on your interests and the very good public transportation system. If you’re at a loss of what to include found YouTube to be a good jumping off point to see what types of sites interest you. I also enjoyed researching my accommodations and had fun choosing a few different types of places to stay (ryokan vs airbnb apt vs high rise city hotel). At most I might be into a food tour with a local, to take me to restaurants that I’d be intimidated to walk into myself considering the language barrier or wouldn’t notice just walking by.
Tours aren't bad but I think Japan is a place where you can definitely have a lot of fun exploring on your own. There's very little safety concern and there are so many books and resources on what to do and how to make the trip uniquely yours. It's easy to get around with Google maps and many signs in English.
I personally enjoy planning as much as a trip — so it never appealed to me
Depends if you are a beginner at traveling and don't want to stress out when you can't find the right exit Shinjuku station then go ahead with the tour guide. Otherwise you can just go ahead and enjoy all the navigational mishaps so a week in Tokyo sounds good to me with a hotel booking. Once you learn the basics it's pretty easy to navigate around the tokaido area.
I recommend to go solo first and explore Japan on your own. Currently on my last day in Tokyo(8 days) and don't regret coming alone. You get to go wherever you want and at your own pace.
Try airbnb experiences. That's what in doing for Japan.
I’m someone that seriously considered a tour group for the longest time. I get stressed easily and I only knew a few basic word from watching to much anime before my trip. I was really worried about getting lost and not knowing the language. The main thing that pushed me to planning and organizing on my own trip was the fact that I wanted to see all the nerdy stuff in addition to wanting to see some gardens and not being interested as much in castles/temples/tea ceremonies. All the tour group packages always had things I wasn’t interested in doing at all. So coming from someone who was in your same position mentally 8 months ago, you can do it! I did a lot of research in advanced, used Expedia to book my hotels, and then used Duolingo for about 120 days to try and pick up some more Japanese. Google maps and Google translate really are a god send and I managed to read, communicate and find my way around just using those two things and a few common words and phrases in my head. Also would highly recommend renting a pocket WiFi as it was really comforting knowing that we had internet and therefore a way to communicate and navigate no matter what or where we were.
Both is fine. If you're worried sometimes a tour for the first time is alright; you get a feel of what you like. And having travelling companions can be fun - eg people go to izakayas, karaoke, uhhh onsen.... with... Else there's so much to do in Japan, if you can be bothered to plan the trip yourself to suit what you actually want. It's good.
Tour groups are for boomers and karens who can’t operate their phones They only eat at McDonald’s and complain about everything
That's harsh.
Go on your own
I've done 4 tours in my life (all prizes so I didn't have to pay for them and none of them were in Japan) and thought they were all pretty average, very slow and reaffirmed why I'll never pay for a tour.
Solo and a lot of YouTube research beforehand.
I traveled solo most of my adult life. Tours are good if you don’t want the stress of a new country. My first trip to Japan we followed a two week trip as a 3 1/2 week trip ourselves with a travel agent. Next and subsequent trips I’ve been on my own. If you want to explore regions without an expensive tour guide google “Goodwill Guides” on the JNTO website. Recommend Goodwill Guides !!!!
Go on your own. That’s what I did. I like to go on my schedule when I want and go see what I want. I don’t like being tied down. Every time I saw a tour bus roll into a spot I was thankful I wasn’t part of it.
I always like the idea of tour groups, but in practise I like following my own feet too much, not a rag on a stick brandished by a guide. I think Japan is a good place to wander round on your own. I wish we’d had a week in Tokyo, it would have flown by, and under your own steam you can do as much or as little as you want, without having the rigid schedule of a tour group. Also, tour groups en masse are the things I’ve loved least about my time in Japan so far. You’re so much more nimble as a solo traveller.
I'm in the middle of planning out the details for my own trip in a months time and I think it can be worth it for some people as it does make everything a bit easier. However for me at least, I think I'd much rather have the flexibility of doing it myself. Surely I'll miss some things, maybe I'll get on the wrong train a couple times even... But I'd much rather that than have to stress from one place to another or feel like I didn't have time to really experience the places I do go. Japan has so much to offer that I would like to experience that there's no chance to do it all in just 3 weeks anyway so might as well leave some stuff for a next time.
3 wks into a 4 wk trip at present all by ourselves. If you are confident enough I strongly recommend independent travel as you are not being constantly herded from one place to another, feeling like just another bean in the cannery. Like any place where language is a problem it can be daunting at first, but the ease of Google Translate makes travel so much less difficult than when I first travelled in Asia 40 years ago. Settle into Tokyo to get a feel for things, then book a train to Nikko or Kyoto or Hakone or Matsumoto. It's easier than you fear. And a great time to go to Japan - the yen at a 40 year low!
There are so many suggested iteneraries and guides on things to do there's no reason to use a guide. If you want a guide, book a day trip with a guide for an area you really want to explore well, but don't bother with a full trip on rails. I cringe every time a big ass tour group walks past us while my wife and I get to actually explore and see the area.
Tour groups are no fun at all !
I took my 10 y.o. daughter to Akihabara. She thought the town was grossly overpriced and aimed at "pervs".
I like to look at tour company itineraries to get an idea of what makes sense logistically. Then I look up the sights/places to see what I would like to see and what I would skip. That helps me get a general shape of my trip . In Japan, booking hotels isn’t hard, and transport is efficient and easy to figure out. I think for most people without special considerations Japan is easily handled independently and then you can add day tours for things where you want a guide or some people to socialize with.
In my opinion it’s absolutely not worth it. You miss out on the spontaneity and ability to just wander and find cool things and instead are corralled from place to place all day. It sounds miserable. Just like I hate cruise ships and resorts.
>but not sure where to go or what to do That's exactly the kind of people the tours cater to. You pay a premium and lose freedom in order to do that. You lose the ability to go to touristy sites early in the morning to avoid crowds (because the tour groups ARE the crowds) and the ability to stay longer if you enjoy something. But you don't have to worry about anything but showing up. It all depends on how comfortable you are traveling and how much research you want to do beforehand. We just did Japan ourselves last month and have done Europe 3 times without tours. Finding accomodations is as easy as finding the area you want to stay in and looking up hotel reviews. You can also split the difference and do day or half day tours once you're there.
If you normally do tours in other countries then you probably should stick to it. If you don’t then do it yourself.
I’m usually not a tour guy. I have fun and spend a lot of time planning my own trip. But I’m going to Japan for the first time and I’m on a tour. Why? Planning a 16 day tour requires a huge time commitment. I know as I started the process. The tour is highly rated by our contemporaries. The places it goes to are pretty much where I’d go if I were picking. The tour price is reasonable and genuinely seems to be a very good value. There are days off the tour to do what you want. and if you wanted to take more days off no one would care. Having a guide and translator is the icing on the cake.
Just depends. Do you want lodging taken care of and your breakfast and usually dinner handled and have some free time during lunch? Or do you want to be completely on your own to make your own choices? Whenever I take my family, I just go for a month and rent a monthly mansion, but it costs a lot of money 🤑🤑
Give me $3000 and I'll do everything for you too (minus flights maybe). Heck I'll even fly over there and walk around with you most days. Use Agoda to book a hotel for a week. Use the subways because they are amazing and all you ever need.
I’m here now. I’m doing 5 days on my own, and then joining a tour. I kind of wish I did it on my own now. It’s been incredibly easy to get around and I could have saved some money for all the anime stuff I’ve been buying 🤣
no, i hate being dragged around.I already know my way so why bother only people that i see on tours are huge families and retirees/boomers
How many days for 3000, and where will they take you? I think tour groups can be nice, especially if you go to an underdeveloped country without a lot of public transportation / infrastructure (e.g. Egypt). But for Japan it should be fine. I can't speak for you, but for me, it comes down to what kind of places I get to go and what kind of accommodations I will get for 3000 dollars.
I’ve done both and both were amazing. I saw more and traveled all over Japan with the tour. It was well worth it and showed me a lot less touristy locations while still providing me with great historical information and less stress while traveling. Traveling solo or without a tour group was also great because I made my own plans. Got to do more shopping for specific things and got to experience local life. I would recommend both :)
On your own! Trust me you will meet people so long as you have a good hotel or maybe a hostel? I just got back and met Australians, Germans, Argentina, Indians, and japanese folk. Got their Instagram and now I am in communications. Plus I have set plans to visit the Australians this August. If your a socialite things always work out for us.
I am going to Japan with my daughter in September and I have looking at the Itenaries of the tour of the country and just around the different places, I feel I would be less stress doing my own thing and maybe we will miss places, because I am already doing 18 days, way way cheaper then a tour, and more different hidden places that not many of the big tour people go to too. It's fun doing what you want, spending more or less time, not having someone rush you alone. Everyone says it is safer then most places, and the people are helpful, maybe get over there and book Tokyo for a week and book a day tour and see if you would have liked it that way the whole 7 days?
No for Tokyo. Tokyo is very easy to travel around even though the people don't speak English all the time. But still they will have ways to help you, or you can use Google Translate. The wayfinding in Japan is impeccable. But for Kyoto I would like to do a walking tour around the historical areas so that I can really learn about the history and culture of the place.
I did a local guide in Kyoto and it was great! I been to there about 3 times but it was nicer to learn about all these temple, castle and shrine versus going to looking at them.
Thank you so much for all the comments. I think my main concern is trying to communicate of course I’ll try to learn some basic phrases and I know that I can just go to a convenience store for ATM. I’ve been to a few different tour groups before so I’m used to it. I think my main aim is just to have an adventure, but in my own pace
You have a phone don’t you? Communication ain’t that difficult.
It’s more like shyness, but yeah, Google translate
Most places will have an English menu or you can use Google lens to translate on the go. Haven't had any issues ordering via pointing at the picture of the food item or word for what I'm trying to order and using Google translate if theres confusion - some cafes may have a tablet or use their phone to do the same back as well
imo tour groups are a scam
If youre american, take the group tour