Context Travel (Tokyo) — Local services in Tsukuba

Nikko tour: Itsuko was extremely knowledgable, engaging, and personable! I loved the information that she presented and the energy that she brought! She is truly passionate about Japan's history and culture. She even answered my husband's questions without hesitation (he's a bit of a Japan buff)! Also, the lunch tasted OUTSTANDING! It was honestly one of the best Japan noodle experiences we've had! BIG shout-out and thank you to Itsuko for being so fantastic through the trip. Can't wait to book more tours when we return to Japan (for a third time)! Such a delight. Very memorable experience.

Sake Tasting Tour w/ Food Pairing: Fabian was AWESOME! I know that language wasn't the focus of the tour, but I marveled at Fabian's mastery of English and Japanese (I like language, so that stuck out to me). And the sake that we sampled + the unique food pairings were excellent. There were plenty of sweet sakes for me to enjoy (I have a sweet tooth)! Just like the other guides that we've had on our Context Tours, Fabian was incredibly friendly and engaging. And needless to say, he truly knows his sake/wine/food/other spirits! It was really cool to listen to him explain both the sake-making process and the label specifications that teach buyers about the content of the bottle. I only hope that I can find a career/calling that I'm so passionate about. This was an excellent tour and my husband and I can't wait to return to Japan to book some more tours. Thank you!!

Tokyo Night Food Tour: We toured with Jefferson, who was sooo nice and cool and friendly. Just like with the other guides we had, I could tell how very passionate he was about Japanese culture and sociology and OMG, the food was absolutely delicious. We had outstanding nigiri, okonomiyaki, and tasty tasty diner fare (which I initially thought I didn't have room in my stomach for, but I was wrong!). The place with the nigiri had free green tea that was the best I've tasted, and I am not a green tea fan (unless that tea is sweetened). Also, Jefferson's knowledge bank is incredible. He really knows his food/culture/history. Again, my husband had questions and Jefferson brought the answers, no sweat! We learned a ton (especially me, as I don't know as much about Japan). This was an unforgettable night and a delightful experience! Jefferson even helped us figure out how to get back to our ryokan as we were leaving! I even saw him assist a stranger with...

I went on a Tokyo all day tour with Aquiles. I've never been to Tokyo before and I didnt know what to expect. I'd had time to orient myself and see some big shopping areas before the tour. Tokyo is quite easy to get around so I didn't want to waste time on a tour that showed me places I could go by myself. I also wanted to learn more about Tokyo than was obvious from Google and easy to find out. I was about to spend 7 days in Hokkaido so getting a up to speed on Japan's cultural and social context was also important to me. This tour met all those objectives.

Aquiles was a very knowledgeable guide and took me to the more interesting streets and neighbourhoods of Tokyo. In our day trip we covered many miles and saw cultural, historic, and urban artefacts that gave me a deeper understanding of the geographical and political foundations of Tokyo as well as the impact of religion and history on Japanese society. We visited places I'd never have found or have realised their importance if I had. I also got to understand the reasons behind several artifacts and practices in use today in modern Japan. We ate a Tokyo speciality for lunch and visited many shops to buy some very local gifts. I know that Aquiles will endeavour to mould the tour to the person's interest. I found the day useful, engaging and enjoyable.

If you are interested in understanding the true context of Tokyo "from the ground up", the tour is...

The guide that Context provided for our tour in Tokyo was not Japanese, did not speak Japanese, except for a few words, and did not know anything more about Japan than anyone would know from a cursory look at a guidebook. The guide also had no specialised knowledge about the subject of the tour. Context does not provide the service they claim to provide, and I say this as a long time customer who has used them for many years. When the guides are good they are excellent but you may end up with a guide that is not qualified and in that case the tour will be unprofessional, rambling and boring, as was my latest experience. Of course the prices are outrageous because they are supposed to be providing a highly specialised service which some people, me included, are willing to pay for if it is provided but not if it is not. Even worse than the guides and the tours however, is the customer service, which is haughty and unresponsive to customer complaints....