The useful stuff.

Koko Doko is Japan trip-planning support for travellers who want useful help without handing their entire holiday over to a traditional travel agency.

We can check an itinerary you've already made, build a personalised Golden Route trip, provide Travel Buddy message support while you're in Japan, and offer ready-made digital guides.

We're especially focused on making first-time Japan trips feel realistic, understandable and much less overwhelming.

Quick Check is for travellers who are already fairly happy with their itinerary and mainly want a knowledgeable second opinion.

We'll look at the overall route, flag obvious pacing or area-grouping problems and give you the most important changes we'd make.

Full Check is much more detailed. We review the itinerary day by day, including routing, pacing, travel days, unrealistic plans and what we'd keep, move or remove.

Yes. Our Personalised Golden Route service is for travellers who would rather have us build the route instead of starting from a blank page.

It focuses on Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, with additional destinations such as Hiroshima, Miyajima, Nara or Hakone included where they make sense for your trip.

The itinerary is shaped around your dates, interests, pace, priorities and travel style.

Messy is completely fine. We don't need a beautifully designed itinerary — we just need to understand what you're planning.

• Google Docs or Google Sheets
• PDFs or Word documents
• Spreadsheets
• Notes app plans
• Screenshots
• A clearly written email
• A shareable itinerary link

The important parts are your dates, where you're staying overnight and what you're hoping to do each day.

Itinerary Checks are normally completed within a few business days once we've received payment and everything needed to review your plan.

Personalised Golden Route plans take longer because we're building the itinerary rather than reviewing something you've already created.

We'll confirm the expected turnaround before work begins, particularly for longer or more complicated trips.

No. Koko Doko isn't a traditional travel agency and we don't purchase flights, hotels, trains, restaurant reservations, attraction tickets or activities on your behalf.

We can point out things that may need booking, explain relevant options and include useful official links where appropriate, but you remain responsible for making and paying for reservations.

Our personalised planning currently centres on the classic first-time route through Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka, with additional destinations added where appropriate.

For Itinerary Checks, we can often review trips that include other parts of Japan too.

Very long, unusually complex, rural or specialist routes may need to be assessed individually before we confirm whether we're the right fit.

Japan Travel Buddy is friendly message support for the confusing little moments that can happen while you're actually travelling in Japan.

You can message us about things like train routes, signs, menus, hotel messages, luggage lockers, ticket machines, simple Japanese phrases or those “what do I do now?” moments.

It's best for travellers who want some extra reassurance while still exploring Japan independently.

Support is usually online and message-based. In-person support may occasionally be possible in the Tokyo area depending on timing, location and availability, but it isn't guaranteed.

Travel Buddy is not an emergency service, tour guide, medical service or guaranteed instant-response concierge. Availability and pricing are confirmed before you book.

Not yet — Explorer is currently being built.

It's designed to help you discover Japan based on your interests, find useful places and save what you like without keeping everything across TikTok, screenshots and hundreds of Google Maps pins.

Early-access signup will be available through the Explorer page.

We look at how a place fits into the actual trip rather than simply adding another “must-do” to the list.

That means considering location, route flow, travel time, what else is nearby, the traveller's interests and whether something genuinely makes sense for the day.

We also use Japanese-language information and local context where useful. Opening hours, prices, booking rules and transport information can change, so important live details should always be checked with the relevant official provider.