TLDR: World Vegan Travel and Joyful Vegan have spoiled us for traveling any other way but with them. Going to Japan was my husband's lifelong dream and he said our WVT experience was "even better than I had expected from my first Japan trip and I had high expectations." The WVT trip gave us a shiny Whitman's Sampler of many of the bonbons of Japanese culture in a short time and left us more educated on how to possibly come back on our own later for a slower, deeper exploration. But now we're reluctant to do it ourselves because we couldn't do what Seb & Brighde and Joyful Vegan did for us: Plan the perfect variety and whirlwind of activities, scheduled seamlessly and have them come off without an apparent hitch*. We signed up partly because Colleen Patrick-Goudreau would be on the trip and her warm company, sunny hosting, and ability to give context to many culinary aspects elevated the experience. Seb unexpectedly ended up being the sole WVT logistical leader on the ground for this trip and he admirably kept up his high energy and good humor while meticulously managing everything and giving attention to each of us. The many well-organized, thoughtful, informative emails they sent, along with the WhatsApp group and Zoom they set up beforehand minimized the prep and research we had to do ourselves. The accommodations were gorgeous and left us feeling we got more than our money’s worth. Also, we enjoyed the company of the other travelers in the group and appreciated that everyone could keep up quite well. It wasn’t a physical adventure trip but it took a little stamina to keep up with everything. The two days before and after that we spent in Japan on our own impressed on us how much WVT must have had to do to get us so many varied, sumptuous vegan meals across Japan. Managing meal logistics on our own left us cranky and tired and took energy away from other cultural explorations. WVT had left us spoiled. You’ve been warned. ;) *Well, okay, we did have to wait for our bus once for five minutes.

This trip was outstanding in everyway. Every detail was taken care of prior to us arriving. If you are interested in 100% concierge treatment on a trip this is for you. We saw so much in just 10 days. We were on the move most of the time but it was worth seeing all the things we were able to experience. The food, the organizers, the fellow travelers were all wonderful. We left with priceless memories, new friends, and eager to travel with World Vegan Travel again! Until we meet again, Thank You!!

The vegan Japan tour was a wonderful experience where I got to see the culture and beauty of Japan and enjoy delicious Japanese vegan cuisine. The tour was set up that we had local tour guides to show us the local tourist attractions of that area. All travel and meals were taken care of so that I could immerse myself in this cultural experience. One of the best parts of this tour was the private geisha performances and samurai and ninja performances. These cultural experiences would not happen if I had traveled to Japan on my own. The restaurants that offered vegan meals were varied from shoes off sit on the floor traditional experience, to less traditional environment. A fun surprise activity was karaoke in Tokyo, a first for me! This tour is not for someone in fragile health, as the days are long and tightly booked with lots of walking. If I could change one thing of the tour it would be to visit less shrines and temples. They were all beautiful and special, but look basically the same in every city. We visited too many. I liked the samurai castle and gardens in Kanazawa the most. So beautiful! The tour hosts and attendees made the experience super!