Inside Japan Tours (0117 370 9751, insidejapantours.com) offers a week's trip from £684pp, including three nights' B&B in Tokyo, city tour, three nights' half-board at Brown's Field and airport transfers Ninety minutes by train from Kyoto, the old imperial capital of Japan, lies the mountain town of Ayabe, known for fireflies and hot springs.
Compact Facts How to get there Susie Rushton was a guest of Inside Japan Tours (0117-314 4620; inside japantours.com).
So I meet up with Inside Japan Tours' American guide Tyler, who decides my next stop needs to be the Kawaii Monster Café.
Several operators have new itineraries, including Inside Asia Tours' Southern Burma Uncovered, a 15-night trip with time in Mawlamyine and Macleod Island, from £2,385pp, excluding flights.
Inside Japan Tours has a package including Tokyo and Kyoto and a one-night stay in a Japanese ryokan in Obama.
In Tokyo, coffee shops don't just dispense caffeine – they come with cats, maids, monsters, My Little Ponies or policewomen, as Chris Cox discovered Getting there Chris Cox travelled with Inside Japan Tours (0117 370 9764; insidejapantours.com).
Getting there Inside Vietnam Tours (0117 2443370; insideasiatours.com) offers the 10-day Red River cruise (bit.ly/PandawVietnam), transfers, three nights in a Hanoi hotel, private transfers and international return economy flights from Heathrow to Hanoi from £3,165pp.
Inside Japan Tours offers a 14-night Traditional Japan self-guided trip from £1,360pp (based on two sharing) including 14 nights' B&B accommodation, some meals, and all domestic transport (excludes international flights).
A less expensive option is offered by Inside Japan Tours, a British company, which offers a nine-night rail trip with a similar itinerary, with stops at Kamakura, by the sea, and Nara to see its temples and sacred deer.
We'd been introduced to Everett by Bristol-based Inside Japan Tours, which now recommends Jiji's for a relaxing few days at the beginning or end of a trip (it's less than an hour from Narita airport).
