Five adults are seeking names/websites of good tour operators offering
1-week package tours of highlights of these 3 cities, including
intra-Asia airfares, departing Tokyo 17 May 2004.

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Request for Question Clarification by journalist-ga on 01 Aug 2003 11:38 PDT

Greetings Louray:

Do you mean one week in each location or one week total for all three
destinations?  All clarifications you offer will assist a Researcher
in finding the most accurate information.

I visited Kyoto many years ago and the Imperial Palace was the
highlight for me.
"The palace can be visited only on tours held by the Imperial
Household Agency, which has an office in the Kyoto Imperial Park. In
order to join a tour, you need to apply for permission at the agency's
office in advance (usually 30 to 60 minutes in advance is okay) and
bring your passport. English tours are currently held twice a day on
weekdays and on some Saturdays. No tours are held on Sundays."
From http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e3917.html

Best regards,
journalist-ga

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Clarification of Question by louray-ga on 06 Aug 2003 14:20 PDT

6-7 days total is all we'll have over there:(

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Request for Question Clarification by ephraim-ga on 25 Aug 2003 09:46 PDT

Louray,

I don't have a problem looking for this, if it's what you want, but
please be aware that if you've only got 6 days, you'll be spending two
of those days getting to the airport, flying, and travelling to the
city. You may want to focus on only two (or even just one) of these
destinations. FYI, flights from Osaka -> Seoul and Seoul -> Beijing
are 2 hours each, plus travelling to the airport, plus getting there 2
hours early, plus getting your luggage, plus travelling to your
destination, plus delays. I realize you really want to see those 3
cities, but you may get a lot more "bang for your buck" if you focused
on less.

/ephraim

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Request for Question Clarification by ephraim-ga on 25 Aug 2003 13:42 PDT

I spoke with one company who gave me the following information: 
 
They would be willing to discuss putting together a tour like this for
you. They don't have a specific itinerary for travelling to these 3
cities in one week, since they recommend 10 days per country, but
would be willing to work with you on this. You need to keep in mind
that given a one-week itinerary, you would have only 1-3 days to see
each city.
 
I'm assuming that for the price offered, you want more than one
company as a response. Based on my conversation with this company, it
would be extremely helpful if you could give me a general idea of what
you want to do in these cities. What would you like to accomplish?
What do you like to see? Is this mainly a shopping trip? Sightseeing?
Birdwatching? Food tasting? The more information you provide, the more
questions I can ask to the tour operators.
 
/ephraim

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Clarification of Question by louray-ga on 28 Aug 2003 14:03 PDT

Ephraim, I realize we are biting off a lot, but even if we can only do
a full day tour of the 2 or 3 highest of the highlights of each city,
it will have to do. If I have to eliminate one city it would be Tokyo
--- although we have to depart from there on Monday, 17 May, 2004.
Thanks for your efforts. Louray

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Request for Question Clarification by ephraim-ga on 28 Aug 2003 14:23 PDT

Louray,

So, would you accept a list of travel specialists who have indicated
to me a willingness to work with you on an itinerary?

Obviously, you'll have to work with them yourself to come up with
something specific. But would it be appropriate for me to answer this
question with the names and contact info of places that seem to be
familiar with the cities you wish to travel to?

/ephraim

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Clarification of Question by louray-ga on 29 Aug 2003 13:11 PDT

Ephraim, Yes and yes. Thank you. Louray

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Request for Question Clarification by ephraim-ga on 29 Aug 2003 15:08 PDT

Louray,

I'll try to work on this, but be aware that this is a 3-day weekend in
the USA, so most of my contacts are closed for the holiday.
(Obviously, if a non-USA researcher has access to information over the
weekend, they may be able to get you an answer faster than I can.)

In addition, your question is set to expire at the end of business on
Monday. If there's a way for you to extend the deadline on this
question, I'd advise you do that (or repost it after it expires).

/ephraim

You really don't need package sightseeing for Japan. We managed a week
in Kyoto on roughly three words of Japanese (please, thank you etc).
English is very widely spoken. Public transport is excellent and most
destinations have their names up in romanji (our letters) as well as
in characters.

The train from Tokyo to Kyoto is sleek, fast, and has a news ticker in
English in the carriages. Kyoto railway station has (had?)a multimedia
show to help you orient yourself. tourist maps are very clear, and a
guide such as the Lonely Planet guide lists all the tourist
attractions and how to get there.

The Holiday Inn is western style, very slightly out of the CBD near
the conference centre, and much cheaper than the traditional ryoken
which are proabaly over-rated unless you can afford the very best.

Don't miss a day trip to Nara (or an overnight. Feed the deer and
visit the temple - very impressive.

Also do the down river boat trip and the philosopher's walk.

In Beijing you will need to use official tours, but your hotel desk
can probably organise and recommend them for you. Go for the Palace
and of course the Great Wall. But I thought the Ming Tombs boring (all
the contents have been removed to museums so you're looking at what
feels and smells like a series of cellars). Our Wall/Tombs tour -
booked from Australia - also took in lunch at a cloisonne factory
(good lunch, mildly interesting factory) and then high-jacked us to a
so-called Chinese medicine centre, which put on a sort of snake-oil
sales pitch including lighting light bulbs with bare hands (no
electricity - apparently), then "diagnosing" the tourists with various
ailments and selling over expensive remedies.

Since my husband was just out of hospital we knew he didn't have
narrowed arteries; we could have bought the products at a third the
price at out local health food shop; and anything we had bought there
would have been confiscated by customs on our way home. Avoid that
part of any tour.

I can't help on Seoul.