Whenever I go visit my family in Japan, I always buy my airline tickets from IACE. As I elaborate…read morebelow, their prices are very competitive and their service is unparalleled. Fare prices: As it's expensive, I always do my homework: I check airfares online and call a couple of Japanese travel agencies in the US. Since 2008, I have only bought tickets from IACE when I travel to Japan. Japanese travel agencies tend to have better deals than airlines or other online venders, at least slightly. They also give you different rates for children, which I never get online (e.g., airlines webpages or other third party sites, like Kayak). I've always saved money buying tickets from them. Service: The agents are knowledgeable, professional, and courteous. As they are knowledgable, they can search for the best deals. Something unique about IACE is that they have a call center, which is open 24/7. Almost a decade ago, my son was hospitalized in Japan, and I had to change our tickets coming back to the US multiple times. As their call center is always open, I was able to call them without worrying about the time difference. Customer Care: When the big earthquake hit northern part of Japan in March 2011, we had planed a trip to Japan in the same month. As we were not sure if it's safe, we decided to postpone the trip (indefinitely). Under the special circumstances, we requested Delta Airlines to refund our money. They refused despite our multiple requests. IACE contacted the airline on our behalf, but they didn't budge. In the end, IACE Travel gave us back $100 per ticket out of their pocket. Although it was a fraction of what I had paid for the tickets, their gesture was priceless. Ever since, I'm a loyal customer of IACE! Recommendation: Their prices are very competitive. They also go above and beyond to help their customers. If you're planning on a trip to Japan, I strongly recommend you to give them a call. They'd be very happy to help you. They never pressure you to buy anything until you're ready. Unqualified 5 stars! ****************************** If you found something useful in my review, please hit "useful" so that I can improve my reviews. If you love food and traveling, follow me, or better yet, let's become friends on Yelp! Thank you and happy Yelping!

I have not visited this location in person, but spoke to a customer service representative. She was…read morefriendly and very professional. I gave 4 stars because unlike the previous reviewer from 2022, IACE does NOT sell JR pass exchange vouchers in person at their Torrance office. They require you to purchase online from their IACE.com website and then you have to have the pass shipped to your home address and pay for that shipping. If you are in a time crunch in leave for Japan in a few days, you should just purchase the tickets in Japan or through the official JR pass website. FYI the fees are a bit higher if you purchase the passes in Japan or through the JR website.

We've enjoyed working with Sanjive and his team for about 15 years, planning school trips, weekend…read moregetaways, and extended family vacations. Their dedication, expertise, and exceptional service continue to be unsurpassed. They consistently go above and beyond to ensure every detail is perfect, making our travel experiences seamless and memorable.

Sanjive is awesome. He is helpful, knowledgable and super nice. Turn around is very quick too…read more Highly recommend!

I really don't know where to begin with how wonderful my experience with PacSet Tours was. If…read moreyou're traveling on a budget, their prices really can't be beat, nor the experience. If visiting a country from a tour bus is more your bag, then PacSet probably isn't for you. Walking through the city and jockeying for a spot on the trains during rush hour will really accelerate your cultural immersion, and while that can be intimidating for some, it only contributed positively to my experience. The way PacSet is set up strikes me as especially friendly for folks who have never traveled before. The level of their tour prep went a long way to making a complete control freak like me feel completely at ease. Upon signup, you get a whole series of e-mails with various helpful information - e.g., what to pack (particularly helpful for those who have never traveled internationally before), what to consider health-wise, how to budget your spending money, etc. Not only that, but the information is presented in a very appealing infographic rather than as blocks of text (Lanny is also an artist!), making it much easier to read than this review. They also did a livestream Q&A session on Twitch and set up a forum just for the tourgoers to "meet" and introduce ourselves prior to the tour proper. In addition to all this prep, Evan and Lanny were extremely patient with any questions I had for them and always responded promptly to my e-mails. They will even go the extra mile to help you set up outings that aren't included in the itinerary - one group of folks went to an aquarium, another attended a Kabuki theater performance. Evan and Lanny helped them set up both excursions. (They also helped my brother order a Hanafuda deck online when he couldn't locate the one he wanted in stores. They're seriously great.) I can't go into the tour itself without first mentioning their outstanding guidebook, which is full of incredibly detailed information - not only does it include maps and points of interest for each prefecture you visit, it includes rudimentary Japanese phrases for communicating with locals, information on restaurant chains, train stations, visiting an onsen, what to do if you get sick and need to visit a pharmacy, using the fancy bidet you'll likely find in your hotel bathroom, and more. All with visual reference, by the way. The amount of work that goes into this guidebook is staggering. When I wasn't people-watching on the trains, sometimes I'd read the damn thing just for fun. But I guess that doesn't tell much about the Animated Spring tour itself. This particular one was more pop culture themed, which I believe PacSet has cornered the market on - none of the other companies I looked at do tours quite like theirs, only adding to how special they are. If you're an otaku or self-professed weeb, you're going to love PacSet. And even if you're only a casual viewer of anime (e.g., me), you're still likely to have a great time. There is an itinerary, which you can see at their website, but there's also a lot of flexibility for individual exploration if you don't feel like tagging along with the group, which I took fair advantage of. This means you get ample opportunity to explore whatever city you're in (in my case, Tokyo) at your own pace. PacSet Tours is a genuine small business, run by Evan and Lanny alone, but the level of attention they put into the company and your experience is grand-scale stuff. They have my highest recommendation and are going to be my first (and only) stop when I'm looking to visit Japan again. Some parting words! I have two protips for any Yelpers considering taking the plunge w/PacSet (you definitely should, but with a couple of caveats below): 1) Be ready to WALK. I believe the Animated Spring tour is rated as a 3 on their 1-5 scale, but chances are the average US citizen doesn't walk NEARLY as much as is necessary to do this tour comfortably on a day-to-day basis. They mention this frequently in their prep e-mails and guidebook, but it is important enough that I feel it bears mention here. If walking sounds just awful, you may want to seek out their more easygoing tours, perhaps 1-2 on the walking scale. 2) After you sign up, READ ALL THE LITERATURE THEY PROVIDE YOU. If you're excited about traveling to Japan and having the best experience possible, reading the e-mails should only get you more excited about it! The less you have to worry about the minutiae of things like what to pack and what to budget, the more you can enjoy yourself, but you need to do the prep work necessary to enable it. Wait, I lied. I have one more caveat! 3) If Sega Joypolis in Odaiba is on the itinerary and you get the all-day pass, get in line for the Half-Pipe IMMEDIATELY. The ride is - much like PacSet Tours itself - incredible. Trust me.

An unforgettable experience. Evan the guide was funny and attentive. He was great at supporting the…read moregroup and showing us unique and lesser known spots. The group bonded and became fast friends. Truly an incredible trip

Joseph Chan is very capable & professional. One time we have a group of 10 people. He got us a…read moregroup rate. Save all of us $$. I highly recommend him.

I am looking for a adventurous trip, and Travel design seems to be a great choice.read more

The place I go to get my China visas. It isn't cheap for visa services - I believe it is…read moreadditional $40 for regular China visa and additional $70 for rush service - BUT than again I don't have to drive out, find parking, wait in line, and waste a day at the China embassy for a visa so it probably worth it. I have never actually booked a tour or plane ticket through them so I can't comment on that but at least for the visa service they are pretty fast and knowledgeable about the process. Moreover, even though it is mainly a Chinese place, they speak pretty good English and will be able to walk you through the process in English. I would recommend using them if you want to avoid the day-long wait at the embassy.

Booked a trip to China with China Discovery Tours. The tour itself was good; the itinerary was…read morethorough and covered all the major sites--Forbidden City, Temple of Heaven, Great Wall, etc. You do have to make obligatory trips to factories that sell silk, pearls, and jade. I got a tour of Beijing and shanghai, and added Guangzhou (the ancestral home) and Hong Kong. The trip to Hong Kong was a three day extension and was the only part of the trip I was dissatisfied with. Day 1 was spent in the Guangzhou airport waiting for a late afternoon flight so I didn't arrive in my HK hotel until after 5 pm. The next day was fine with a half day tour of HK and the rest of my day to myself. The next day I was on a bus to the airport before 9:00 am. So that "3" day extension was a total waste of money.

Don't do it, I had the most horrible, expensive, experience ever with Linda M. and there is NO…read moreREFUND when the driver and tour guide don't show up. Get a professional, who knows about your destination, not a fake who ruins a very expensive trip. You can NEVER get that time, money, and trip back. Linda will not refund your money. She will make you sign a ( no money back ) contract BE AWARE AND BOOK IT YOURSELF ! She will not help you when your long away from home and already paid ! DON'T let her sell you a Yalla Tour package either BE AWARE !!

My friend is in with me for the 12-21-12 trip to the Chichen Itza Pyramids. We stopped by this…read moremorning to take a look at updated airfare. Beach Travel was still closed=( But we will be back to close this deal.

ChrisVil Travel helped my wife and I find the perfect honeymoon spot in Fiji. They helped with…read moreeverything from the resort to flights. Booking rental cars through their website vs other booking websites has saved us money.

Chris handles all of my travel needs. He's very responsive and knowledgeable. For example, I…read moreneeded a recommendation for a nice hotel in Amsterdam. He gave me several options in different price ranges, which helped me pick the right one.

In 2015 I thought there'd be no need to use a travel agency. I've been to 5 continents and felt…read morewell adept to plan my own vacation. However Blue Sparrow was recommended to me by a friend and I am forever grateful. Not only did I save 20+ hours of my time by not having to sort through tedious details, but far more importantly, my trip was the best I've ever had. I will be using Blue Sparrow again, guaranteed.

Booked my honeymoon through Blue Sparrow Travel to the Yasawa Islands of Fiji,…read more Price-wise they got me the best deal available in the market. Andrew, the owner, is very informative and helpful in fitting us into our dream honeymoon. It was such a blast. One of the best features, I felt was the detail oriented analysis of how I envisioned my honeymoon to be like. He literally showed me the door to walk through. It was a great experience, Kudos.

5 star service! 5 star food! 5 star sightseeing! 5 star hotels!…read more If you want to enjoy your trip without any worries, signet is your choice.

Went to Vietnam for 9days. Excellent tour guide, 5stars…read morehotels. wonderful food. Trip arrangements were suit for the weather.