We've traveled Japan with Mike's help six times now, and he still manages to surprise us every single trip. One time he sent us to a roadside station built into an old train tunnel that runs right under the ocean, connecting Aomori to Hokkaido. You'd never guess it was there unless someone told you. Another trip we ended up at the Tachineputa Festival in Aomori watching massive four-story floats go by, then found a tiny restaurant in Iwate known for sending dango flying across a gorge, of all things. We also stopped at a rice field where they'd grown an entire picture into the crops. We couldn't get over how something so detailed was done by planting each stalk of rice by hand. We have friends who grew up in Tokyo, and even they hadn't heard of half the places we went. Six trips in and Mike still finds things that amaze us. Honestly, we're already longing for more. If you want to see a side of Japan most people never do, he's your guy.

Can't recommend Mike enough as your guide to Japan. We had never been before and this was also our first time traveling internationally. Along with the custom itinerary, he gave an in-depth guide on cultural habits and ways to ease into the country as soon as you leave the plane. This is incredibly helpful if you're unaware of all the cultural differences and don't want to be rude. The itinerary itself was amazing, all sites and activities suggested to match what you're looking for. If you're looking to visit all the usual haunts, he can set you up. But go for the places off the beaten path, the more obscure and away from tourists. His endless research will take you to amazing places that most overlook. But there's so much incredible history, nature, architecture, food and people quietly tucked away on these less traveled paths. If you truly want an unforgettable experience, Mike is your man.

Ever since I was young, I grew up watching anime and Ninja Turtles, which inspired me to visit Japan. I loved the culture and the look, not only the architecture but how pretty it is. So when I finally got the money and time, I asked Mike for advice on my trip. He told me to come around the time of the summer festivals, and each prefecture has its own special event. Extremely well worth it. I stayed in Japan for three weeks: the first two were the festivals, and the last week was Tokyo DisneySea (exclusive to Japan), shopping in Akihabara, and one of my all-time favourite things, arcades. I have to mention the food — every place Mike suggested was amazing, and there were a lot of places I ate at, some really fun ones too, like a maid café, an Alice in Wonderland café, and a restaurant that had a small lake in the middle where you could fish up your food.

Mike coached me through my trip, helping me with transportation and where to stay so I would be in the center of the events, just a few minutes by train. Thank you so much, Mike, for your advice and support in making my first trip to Japan extremely memorable. One day I will go back to Japan, hopefully during sakura season, and I will definitely use Mike's services again.

Mike’s recommendations were extremely helpful in planning my trip. I travelled to Japan during Golden Week, and thanks to the advice I received was able to avoid the crowds and see things that normally visitors would miss. It truly made a difference going to places that don’t show up at the top of Google search results, and experiencing things more intimately known to the locals. The northern prefecture of Aomori definitely wasn’t on my radar, but I’m glad I decided to go up and visit the Hirosaki castle cherry blossom festival, as well as checking out some lesser known (but very beautiful) shrines in Hiraizumi on my way back to Tokyo. His advice was invaluable and helped me make the most of my limited time abroad.