Our past participants will do a better job of letting you know how they felt about their Nagomi Visit so make sure to look around for reviews scattered all over the internet, whether it is on Trip Advisor, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, blogs, books, television, about their Nagomi Visit so take a look. But remember, as a past participant put eloquently "[a Nagomi Visit is] an interaction between friends...partially dependent on how you make it" so get creative with these tips because there are many ways to enjoy a Nagomi Visit. Our Facebook page will also give you a feel of what our program is all about.
This was definitely an unforgettable experience! Everyone should try it! Food has always brought people together and Nagomi Visit did just that. We could share each other's cultures and had a great time. Our hosts were superbly welcoming and we have no words to describe how much we enjoyed the visit. Thank you so much!
Helinton from Brazil with family of three
It was perfect, 1 of my best moment in Japan! My host (Yukari and her husband) was a family with 3 kids, living in suburb of Tokyo. The mother dated me for an earlier time to visit them before dinner so she could bring me to see the marvelous Christmas Lighting in the theme park just near her home. It's been a long time since I visit a theme park and I enjoyed it with her and the kids. It was a very warm and lovely evening since I really experienced the life of Japanese people. I knew how they enjoy their Xmas holiday, enjoy the lighting. It made me feel young and back to my younger age! The short trip to theme park is absolutely nothing can be found in my home town. Yukari also prepared very delicious Japanese home dishes for me. She and her husband cook with heart. My dinner came with many good stuffs, but I specially love the sashimi she prepared. Her son also taught me how make the roll with rice, sashimi and a special leaf, which is a tasty leaf and match the seafood superbly. We spent a very long time to enjoy the dinner together. We talked about everything, about Japan, about Tokyo, about my trip, about the living of each other. Yukari and her husband were very interested in my home town (HK) too. I deeply thanks for Yukari's hospitality as her warm welcome and treat me an excellent dinner was the brightest spot for my trip in Tokyo. Meanwhile, her 3 kids are all lovely and the elder son gave me a show of kendama, he was just fantastic!
Alessandro from Hong Kong visits as solo guest
Mie family is so much fun! Especially Leo-kun!! Too bad Rico is sick~ We love love love spending time at their home~ And also with Rie~! It was a great night and the food is delicious~! I specially like the dango. And as a Muslims, they have tried their best to provide us a dinner accordingly~ We're so thankful!
Diyana from Malaysia
We enjoyed every minute of the visit! We learned a lot about Japan and living here. Our hosts were friendly, hospitable, welcoming and understanding, and the food was immaculately prepared. Our Nagomi visit was one of the most memorable part of our trip to Japan and an experience that we would definitely recommend to anyone traveling to this beautiful country. A special thanks to our hosts (Kazuya and Hiromi) for the wonderful evening! Looking forward to seeing them again & of course doing another Nagomi visit when we will come back to Japan.
Konstantin & Alexandra from Russia
The number one highlight of our trip to Osaka (November 28, 2014) was the family dinner we shared with the Yoshioka family! It was a first experience for both of our families which remains memorable both for the charm of the family and for the splendid food. Kokoro graciously picked us up in her car from the subway stop and we immediately felt at ease by her delightful personality. As we entered her home, we were welcomed by her husband Keita and their two sons, Rikuta (age 7) and Rikita (age 4). We were impressed by their English fluency and their enthusiasm. As we sat for dinner, we noticed that Kokoro had written a description of the 8 course meal and her son Rikuta introduced each course in impeccable English. Kokoro explained that this was a common meal for their family and we appreciated the opportunity to share a Japanese meal with such variety of tastes. I must mention that each course was served on beautiful individual portion sized d ishes which allowed us to savor each scrumptious bite! We enjoyed Japanese beer and Chosu cocktails as well as tea. Our conversation over the 3 hour meal was instructive as well as entertaining as we each talked about our travels, interests and family members. At one point, as we discussed films and TV, we were surprised to identify common favorites like the TV series "24" with the characters Jack Bauer and Chloe and the animated films from Ghibli Studios! Toward the end of our time, I appreciated watching the boys and Dad play the English vocabulary card games I had selected as a thank you gift. Four year old Rikita won several games as he demonstrated his quick wit! As we bade farewell, Rikuta said, "When I am 15 years old, I will visit you in Tucson, Arizona". We look forward to that reunion!
Diego from the US
Our Nagomi visit was amazing beyond words. Our hosts were friendly, hospitable, welcoming and understanding, and the food prepared was both new to us, and immaculately prepared. We had a marvellous time sharing food and experiences with our hosts. I will be recommending Nagomi Visit to anyone I know or meet who is travelling Japan.
David from Australia
Exceptional on all aspects: our hosts were very welcoming, kind and sweet; the cooking was exceptionally good; and the apartment just had a stunning view on Tokyo! We talked about many different things starting with rock music we shared the same passion for, continuing with respective culinary traditions between France and Japan, japanese calligraphy, etc... It was altogether a very delightful moment. We eventually traded addresses and telephone numbers and hopefully will stay in touch. We invited them over to our place should they ever come to France.
Didier from France
Our Nagomi visit was one of the most memorable part of our trip to Japan and an experience that we would definitely recommend to anyone traveling to this beautiful country. Hiro and Nanako welcomed us in their home and prepared us a variety of dishes for us to sample so that we could experience a broad range of traditional Japanese foods. The menu was composed by appetizers like Chikuwa Kyuri, Gomame, Gobo and Ninjin Yawatamaki, followed then by Yudofu (warmed tofu),Miso soup, Rice and Pork, tomato, cheese fries. Of course sake wasn't missing and our host always kept us entertained teaching and explaining us different aspects of the Japanese culture and tradition. We hope that other people will be able to have the same opportunity we had and experience local Japanese foodies and families. A special thanks to our amazing hosts (Hiro and Nanako) for the wonderful evening and even for driving us back to the train station closer to our hostel.
Frances from Australia
I've recently come back home to Australia after a wonderful time in Japan & I must say, That one would have to be Crazy! not to experience a Nagomi visit. What a highlight to my trip, it's one that I will never forget. The hosts were lovely, friendly, welcoming & funny...Oh did I mention the food? What an abundance! it just kept on coming out, there was no end to it & the host definitely went above & beyond to accommodate me, what more could one ask for...I would have loved to stay longer but just like everything, it must come to an end, as we departed we exchanged details & now I have lovely friends in Japan...Looking forward to seeing them again & of course! doing another Nagomi visit when I make my way back to Japan...Domo arigato gozaimasu
Dale from Australia
Thank you, Nagomi Visit Staff for this wonderful experience. Everything was perfectly prepared by my host, Yuko-san. I felt so welcomed at her home! Besides the delicious meal, I had the pleasure to be taught about Japanese history by Toshiaki-san, and play with Koushin-kun. It's been, for sure, one of the highlights of my trip to Japan. Thanks again. Hugs,
Livia - from Brazil
When we were leaving the metro our Nagomi host was already waiting and waving to us. A very warm welcome in her house with her family where we had one of the best meals in Japan. After 3 weeks in Japan it was very nice to speak with locals, to have the questions answered about the daily life in Japan which arose during our travelling here. It was great to share experiences and find how we live very similar back home, though it might look different since we are simply not used to the way of living here. I can truly recommend every one in Japan to do a Nagomi visit! Not only you make new friends in Japan, you also taste new things and learn a lot about the culture. More than books, guides or your own experience will learn you.
Floor from Netherlands
We enjoyed two Nagomi visits. First in Tokyo with a delightful hostess and one of her friends and their 4 children. We were collected at the station and taken to visit the supermarket and 100 Yen shop, lots of fun discovering all sorts of different foods with two expert cooks! Back at the hostesses apartment we enjoyed preparing some cartoon character rice balls, a sushi "cake" and doing origami with the kids while the mums finished cooking. Our hostess and her friend prepared a wonderful meal of Japanese specialties and the children made shaved ice desserts. After dinner the children had prepared some traditional Japanese party games for us to play with them. Our second visit, in Matsumoto was different but equally wonderful. Our host family lived in a small town in the mountains. Their son had prepared a menu blackboard for us. We helped to make Takoyaki and then had make it yourself sushi and a wonderful traditional Japanese dessert. Both our host families went to an enormous amount of effort to prepare a delicious dinner and make us feel very welcome. Our two Nagomi visits have been the highlight of our 3 week long Japan trip. I strongly recommend the programme to anyone visiting Japan.
Sandy from Australia
This is our family’s first trip to Japan and I wanted my young kids to experience Japan realtime. So when I read about [Nagomi Visit], I was determined to squeeze it into our schedule…Nothing beats warm food and warm smiles in a foreign and cold [winter] country. We enjoyed ourselves very much and would highly recommend a home visit to anyone who wants to experience Japan realtime. A great program!
Daniel, Joann, Sarah and Samuel from Singapore
I have worked with Japanese people for decades in business and have Japanese-American friends here in the US. When you get to Japan the overall impression of Japanese that I got was extremely polite yet somewhat reserved. Very kind people (strangers helped us out when we were lost for example) but maybe not as boisterous as some cultures. Well, experience a dinner with people in their home and it just blows those impressions out of the water! At least it did for our experience. We found Yoko and her boyfriend to be amazingly warm, FUN, full of laughs!! We didn't want the night to end. It was a fantastic time!
Thyra and David from U.S.A
My husband and I decided to inquire to have a first hand lunch experience with a local Japanese family, The whole precedure was so easy and exciting. First applying, very easy and Nagomi were so helpful and efficient. All of our questions were answered quickly and we felt very comfortable from the beginning to the end of the precedure. Our lunch on the day was so enjoyable, not only the food but the lovely family we have met. The best part of this experience we now have a extended Japenese family. Meg and her gorgeous, talkative little boy met us at the station with her bike and we walked about 10 mins through a lovely park to their home. A great memory and one of our highlights on our visit to Japan.
John and Chris from Australia
Amazing family and very good company. We had the chance to cook Gyoza with them. It was a pleasure time.
Miriam from Spain
At first, I wasn't sure about this experience. It seemed a little odd to me. But once my host met me at the train station, we hit it off right away. She was an absolutely sweetheart and we walked back to her family's house and she had all this cultural and educational stuff laid out for me to learn about the country I was in. It was awesome. While we talked about literally everything, she cooked a very traditional lunch for the both of us. I enjoyed every part of the meal and she was more than gracious. I stayed for quite a while and we just talked and laughed and learned. She walked me back to the train station and was as polite and friendly as she could be the entire time. I couldn't have asked for a better experience. Thank you!! I will definitely do this again on my future vacations.
Cameron from USA
The food was amazing and host's friendly chat was even better. It is, the definitely, one of my best experiences in Japan so far.
Isaac from Mexico
We really enjoyed our time with host! Especially enjoyed the opportunity to wear a Kimono.
Tiffany and Mike from Australia
It was really nice to spend time with our host and eat lunch with them. The family was so lovely and friendly. Okonomiyaki is our favorite. We have had this dish a couple of times before but this was the best and we got to choose our own ingredient which was great!
Michaela from Australia
Our host looked after us from the time we met at station. They prepared a wonderful meal. Sashimi and soup were our favourite dishes. We also enjoyed the tonkatsu cutlet, beef, nori rolls, salads and other condiments. Our children enjoyed playing video games with their boys. Our host were especially charming by communicating with us in English as we knew no Japanese.
Ken from Australia
Our host was lovely. Beautiful food and a lovely home. She was very kind and caring towards my 13 years old nephew. Our favorite dish was Kimpira, Daikon Toriniku dish and miso soup.
Emma from Australia
Great food + hospitality. I would recommend it.
Felix & Sarha from Australia
It was a very good dinner. We enjoyed the company and conversation with Hanako. It's very interesting to have the possibility of knowing people from the country you are visiting.
Mireia and Lluis from Spain
Everything was enjoyable from the time we met at the station. I enjoyed everything! Karaage, Sashimi, Potato salad & the stew. And ice cream!
Jarryd from Australia