Japan with General Tours

I want to thank all the ITN readers who answered my “Person to Person” request for tips regarding an economical way to visit Japan. I chose General Tours (53 Summer St., Keene, NH 03431; phone 800/221-2216 or visit www. generaltours.com) and took their 9-day “Japan Sampler” tour, Sept. 18-26, ’04.

Tokyo, Hakone (for Mt. Fujiyama), Osaka and Kyoto were on the itinerary. All the hotels were excellent, with full breakfasts daily. One of the hotels had four restaurants to choose from.

There was free time to explore. I would suggest trips to the large department stores’ lower floors to enjoy the way food is displayed.

The weather during the trip was very warm, with record heat during the last days.

$2,500 included round-trip air from Chicago, city tours, one dinner and a ride on the bullet train.

This was an exciting and unique experience.

— NEPP O’NEILL, Palm City, FL