Help save my honeymoon to Japan!

April 16, 2012 8:54 PM

Japan Honeymoon Disaster--need guidance. Travel agent I selected to book things is awful and the clock is ticking. Need guidance on finding a solid travel agent to book a honeymoon to Japan. I'm in Chicago if it matters.

About a month and a half ago I contacted a travel agent who I was referred to through some folks. It is not working out and I'm considering switching travel agencies.

First, can anybody clarify whether it matters if I work with a local travel agent or not? I wasn't planning on necessarily going in there in person as I have a really busy job with crazy hours so I'm reliant on short phone calls or back and forth via email to convey my feedback.

Also, I'm looking for travel agent recommendations for agents/agencies that specialize in Japan trips, and not standard guided tours either--I'm talking customized itineraries. If they are in Chicago, great. If not, and its fine to work with someone even if they aren't local, I'm up for it. Feel free to post their site or PM me their info but I'm desperate here.

If you recommend anyone, I'd also appreciate knowing what you liked about them and any things to watch out for. Thanks Hive Mind!

posted by Elminster24 to Travel & Transportation around Japan (4 answers total)

Hmm, about a decade ago I got a startlingly cheap round-trip ticket from Chicago to Narita for around $600 though JTB (Japan Travel Bureau). They have a physical branch in Chicago. They do custom itineraries, as I recall, and I never had any problem with them, so that is probably a solid place to start unless this is where you've struck out already.
posted by vetala at 10:22 PM on April 16, 2012

JTB is fine, but just know that they're the largest travel agency in Japan. So just know that walking in. You're not going to get a bad trip from JTB, and if it's your first trip, they should be fine. If you want something niche or really specific, they probably aren't the right agency for you.
posted by gen at 10:57 PM on April 16, 2012

Why do you need a travel agent at all? Just figure out where you want to visit, book hotels online (okay, this requires a slight leap of faith if the websites are mainly in Japanese), and figure out trains when you get there. That's what we did for our Japan honeymoon (Tokyo-Hiroshima-Osaka-Kyoto-Tokyo) and it worked out fine.
posted by univac at 9:33 AM on April 17, 2012

Response by poster: Thanks for the feedback guys. I was wondering about JTB, good to know. We do want a custom itinerary and not just big brand name places/hotels, but we'll see. Anything else I should watch out for with them?

Planning/booking everything myself isn't really feasible given my work schedule unfortunately as I have crazy hours.
posted by Elminster24 at 3:50 PM on April 18, 2012