Testimonials



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Testimonials: Dream Tours Japan


“During my visit to Japan in April 2012, I spent a day with Shannon. He picked us up at our hotel in the Unzen Hot Spring Resort and showed us around the area. Places included the volcano (the mountain that erupted) a school that was partially destroyed and a village that was covered by the volcanic ash. Shannon was very knowledgeable about the area, its volcanic history and the effect of the eruption on the people. He brought the volcano to life and enabled us to see what it is like for the residents of the area living with the history and wondering about what the future will hold.

Shannon also knew about interesting (and inexpensive) places to eat and buy souvenirs–important for the tourist!”
- Inge Fryklund, Bend, OR, USA




"For anyone planning to visit Nagasaki and having a Private tour, Shannon is a jewel of a find. Our group can only speak highly of him and he was the highlight tour guide of our 30 day Asian tour. It was such a pleasure and rare find to have an individual that is passionate about his tour of Nagasaki Japan and what he is showing, he is knowledgeable of the history, culture and people in depth. We covered all of the following during our one day tour; Firstly we visited the Isahaya Spectacle Bridge. Then headed to the Isahaya Bay Dike Road. Next location was the Samurai Street and Castle in Shimabara. After this the Preserved Houses that were destroyed in the 1992 Volcanic Eruption were visited. 
We headed to the Mikado Restaurant for lunch and then walked around the Unzen Jigoku (Hell ponds). Restaurant was outstanding and Shannon guided us thru the food selection. This was one of the best lunches we had during our trip. 
The next and most outstanding highlight was Shannon's hometown of Obama where we met his delightful wife, who brought towels for us to use while we had a natural hot springs foot bath whilst enjoying some wine and snacks, with Shannon and his delightful wife and the fantastic scenery. We stopped at the Tachibana Shrine for a Shinto blessing before heading back to Nagasaki City to the Peace Park with a nice walk around before checking out the epicenter and finally the museum.

The last part of our tour was the Sanno Shrine where the broken torii (shrine gate) and Camphor trees were viewed as an example of mother natures ability to repair itself even after a atomic explosion. Lastly it should be said that Shannon is Australian married to a lovely Japanese girl and needless to say their command of the English language is impeccable and totally understandable and pleasure to converse with as opposed to other guides we had during our trip."
Joseph Limansky- Boca Raton Fl USA





 

Dear Shannon, 
Both Sheila and I want to add our praises of you for the tour you gave the 8 of us during our one day visit to Nagasaki. Your devotion to your city and concern for the people you were leading was wonderful. In addition, you have a beautiful wife. Please thank her again for her hospitality. 
We wish you and your family much health and happiness for the coming years.
Sincerely, 
Alan Feller






 

One of the highlights of our East Asia cruise was the day we spent with Shannon in Nagasaki.  He picked us up at the Nautica's berth to show us the city's sights. 
We visited the Peace Park where the atom bomb actually exploded. This was awesome. We also visited the 1992 volcano eruption site to see what I considered to be unique partially buried buildings in volcanic ash including the former school and several.homes. Shannon was exceptionally knowledgeable in the area's volcanic history and the effect the eruption had on the local population. The museum visit was excellent. 
The next visit was also unique where we enjoyed a footbath in 40 degree water flowing from the hot springs. This visit included snacks with wine - very enjoyable. The last visit was the Tachibana Shrine for a shinto blessing and see the start of the cherry blossoms before returning to our ship.  
Truly a great tour.  Alan Greig Brisbane







 

Nagasaki Japan. I organized a private tour here for eight of us with Shannon who met us at the ship. The guide an Australian married to a delightful Japanese lady gave us a wonderful tour. He treated us like long lost friends. We drove directly to Isahaya to visit the beautiful Spectacle Bridge before heading toward the Shimabara Peninsular then on up the mountain to Unzen. We walked around the Jigoku area (Hell ponds) and drove up to the volcano lookout point for a spectacular photo opportunity. Then to Shannon's home town of Obama (Hot Spring town), where we had snacks and drinks to relax our weary feet at the longest foot bath in Japan at 105m long. Shannon's wife met us here with a delightful picnic. We then passed the Tachibana Shrine and received a Shinto Blessing before heading back to the Nagasaki City area where we visited the Peace Park. This was a fantastic tour and we felt like we had learnt so much about life in Japan.

I know all 8 of us felt your tour was a highlight of the cruise. 
Kind regards 
Ros & John

 






 

Not sure where to begin in describing our tour experience with Shannon, but as they say it's always best to start from the beginning! To say that Shannon was by far one of the best tour guides we had on our 3 week cruise is an understatement. All my emails were answered quickly and no stone left unturned. I left the whole day in his capable hands and what an amazing day it turned out to be. We did and saw so much, I can't imagine doing Nagasaki and her beautiful surroundings without Shannon. Going to the footbath in his hometown of Obama and meeting his lovely wife and having snacks she prepared and drinking wine was the highlight of our day. Hopefully our paths will cross again. 
Cheers 
Michelle Hugh plus gang of 6 from Jamaica






 

Dear Shannon, 
The pictures are wonderful and I so enjoyed the entire day. It was lovely to meet your wife, please thank her for the refreshments again. Next time we have to sample the baths where we get to go right in. Thank you for making this one of the most memorable stops on the trip. 
Hope you and your family make it to Jamaica one day soon. 
All the best, Annette.






 

Hi Shannon, 
We had such a great day-thanks to you and your charming Wife. Hopefully our paths will cross again sometime in the not too distant future-until then-Best of luck and all best wishes. 
Again-many thanks for the lovely memories. 
Michael and Bonnie.







 

Hello Shannon, 
Many thanks for the pictures, you gave us such a good time - thanks. 
We certainly covered a lot of ground... 
Stafford and I are back at work, telling our friends about the great "foot bath" and the lovely touch in meeting your wife for lunch. 
Hope that one day you will come our way - keep in touch 
All the best,
Marilyn









 

Hello, Shannon, 
We had a wonderful three week trip in Japan, thanks especially to you! We all agreed that the Shimabara Peninsula was one of our favorite spots. We experienced so many different things and gained so much information from just talking with you. It was truly a wonderful and memorable experience for all of us. Thank you so much, also, for going the extra mile to retrieve Lauren's iPhone. Please give our thanks to your wife, also, for providing the wonderful snacks in Obama. Next time we come to Japan, we will certainly put Kyushu on our list of "must-see" places, and we are certainly going to tell all of our friends to visit the Nagasaki area and to contact you. Because of you, we have some wonderful memories of the "real" Japan, not just the big cities of Tokyo and Kyoto. We are so glad that we came across your website and found you. Thank you so much once again for a truly fantastic tour of your region. 
Regards,
Jere Okada













Hi Shannon.

We are now back in Sydney. 
What an adventure we had.  All of us truly loved Japan.  Nagasaki was great.  Tokyo is just crazy. and Kyoto is just amazing.

Unfortunately we were a bit rushed at the end as you dropped us off for the ship.  I didn't get to say how much we really enjoyed the day with you showing us around Nagasaki.  We got to see areas where a bus would not have taken us, and probably got to see twice as much.  Your knowledge and information you gave us during the day was great, and the present for the kids at the end was a wonderful gift.  Green tea Kit Kats is something new, but the kids loved them!

If I ever have anyone ask about Japan, I will be sure to tell them to visit Nagasaki if they can, and will definitely be recommending you to show them around.  We were talking with others from the ship that night and the next day and said how wonderful you were and everyone was so jealous of what we were able to do.

I am sure Wendy and will visit Japan again, we might wait until the Kids are older so it is just us.  Also, Thomas and Charlotte will visit one day I am sure.  They had the greatest time.  We asked them what their favorite day was of the entire 3 weeks we were away.  They both said dressing up as Ninja's with you was the best.

On a personal note, the tour we had with you was our first taste of Japan, and it could not have been any better.  Being able to meet your wife just showed us the personal touch of your tour, and the true nature of Japan.  I truly thank you for providing me and my family a day that we will never forget. Domo arigato gozaimasu!


Again, thank you so much for the day, it was definitely the highlight of our trip.
Regards,
David Mynard


Here is a video highlight from the Family Tour:















Shannon Lefebvre loves what he is doing and it shows--from the first time we corresponded until receiving a summary by e-mail after taking the tour. Being cruise ship passengers with limited touring time, Shannon maximized the time we had yet the tour seemed to have spontaneity rather than a following a rigid schedule.  Throughout the tour Shannon was very open to questions.  His tour provided a great opportunity to see Japan through an ex-pat’s eyes.  He is a great host, very personable and upbeat, knowledgeable, and bi-lingual (English native language and Japanese).  The tour cost was a bit more than several other Nagasaki tours we investigated but his tour was most definitely worth the difference.  The tour was truly a highlight of our entire Asia cruise.  Highly recommend.
Kind regards,
Ann, USA













We arrived Nagasaki, Japan at 8:00 AM and had to clear Japan Immigration as this is our first stop in Japan but it was efficiently done and we were in the first 25 folks off the ship to meet Shannon, our guide today who is Australian married to a Japanese. The transport was a Toyota van seating Shannon and our group of 6 and we were quickly out of the city proper into the countryside on our day’s activities. Our first stop was at Isahaya to see the Spectacle Bridge (stone) from the 1400’s rebuilt after a flood destroyed it in the middle of the town with a reflecting pool showing how it might have looked centuries ago. Continuing to the Isahaya Bay we drove across the controversial land reclamation dike built to stop flooding. It separates the sea from the original bay that is now fresh water for irrigation. Then we headed toward the Simabara Peninsula. Here we visited the Shimabara Castle built by the feudal lord in the 1600’s where it withstood attacks from invaders and earthquakes and a giant tsunami in 1792.   The castle fell into disrepair and was dismantled and finally rebuilt in 1964. This area is also infamous for the rebellion by Christians in 1637 due to persecution by the feudal lord, however, the Christians were defeated and some 37,000 were executed on this site.

Unzen was next to walk around the Jigoku area (Hell Ponds) where the sulfur bubbles up from the earth along with the hot water that is piped to all the buildings to provide heat and hot water. Then a visit to the Old Yamamoto House, a samurai whose family served the local lord in the 1700’s. A startling view of the houses buried by the Mt. Heisei Shinzan volcano in 1990 plus views of the volcano itself included a walk around the park established to honor those that perished in the blast and lava flow. One story houses had lava up to the roof and two-story houses had lava covering the first floor. Sad!

A stop for a picnic prepared by Shannon’s wife at Obama (means little beach) where Shannon lives with his lovely wife and two children. The picnic was at the park where hot springs flow through town. Sushi, eggs and sweet potatoes boiled in the hot springs, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, hummus, cheese, crackers, pineapple, strawberries and sparkling red wine eaten with chopsticks made a delightful lunch. We then took off our shoes and joined the locals by putting our feet into the hot water for a few minutes in the longest foot bath in Japan at 105 meters long, really hot. This stop was a highlight of our day.  Leaving here we decided a Shinto blessing was required so a stop at the Tachibana Shrine provided the blessing and some great photos. From here to the Peace Park and Atomic Museum was about a 45 minute drive. The park is dominated by the statue of Peace by Seibo Kitamura showing the right hand pointing up to represent the atom bomb, left hand pointing out representing peace, right leg curved representing meditation and left leg poised for action. The actual bomb site is several feet below the current level and one stone and brick column remains of the Catholic Cathedral that was destroyed in the blast (A new cathedral was built some years later on another site). We were told that the bomb detonated about 500 meters above the ground to effect the most damage and based on the photos it did just that. Everything was leveled and all the water was vaporized in a flash thus the reason for people leaving bottles of water at the shrines at the site. It was touching to realize the destruction.

Our day with Shannon was really special and he was very accommodating even emailing our itinerary to us so we remembered everything we saw.

Regards,
Bob & Iris Spears
Georgetown, TX











Hi Shannon,

Firstly I want to thank you for a wonderful tour on the 23rd May of Nagasaki and beyond.  They all wanted me to tell you how much they enjoyed the tour and saw so much more than the ships tours.  John (he sat in the front with you) said he did a private tour in Hawaii and thought nobody could ever surpass that, but you did by miles.  The lunch that your wife prepared for us was delicious, a little more than a snack.

The ship did a tour to the castle, Samurai village and the preserved houses plus lunch, and that cost about $15 p/p more than your tour, we saw a lot more for less money and only had 9 people instead of 40.


We will all have fond memories of our day in Nagasaki.  Once again thank you Shannon.  

Regards
Margaret and Neville Carlos














"Six of us had an absolutely wonderful tour in Nagasaki with Shannon!  It was considerably better than the typical on-the-bus/off-the-bus tours offered by many cruise ships.  Shannon customized the day for us, and we saw and did many things -- such as a delightful picnic among cherry blossoms -- that were certainly highlights of our visit to Japan."

Donn Pearlman
Las Vegas















It is my absolute pleasure to recommend, Shannon, as a tour guide of Nagasaki Japan.  As a dedicated and knowledgeable citizen of Nagasaki, my new found love of Nagasaki is more than I ever expected.  Shannon’s expertise in the history of this city, along with his honest, conscientious & courteous delivery of information, made it possible to think about the time we spent, the importance of the itinerary chose for us and how we captured everything that Nagasaki had to offer to us outsiders.  Shannon went beyond what we expected in terms of a city tour.  His wide range of knowledge was a huge advantage to our visiting the best places that Nagasaki has to offer. 

Without a doubt, I confidently recommend, Shannon, as your man to introduce you to city of Nagasaki and all it’s history & beauty.   

Please feel free to contact me at, cmilarczyk@yahoo.com, should you like to discuss Shannon’s experience & knowledge and an all-around great person.  I’d be happy to expand on my recommendation.
Regards,

Cathy Milarczyk












I could not have picked a better tour guide to show us Nagasaki than Shannon. He picked 6 of us up at the port in a very comfortable and roomy SUV. It was a full day tour that extended after dark. He was kind enough to stop on the bridge back to the ship so we could take a night picture of beautiful Nagasaki. We covered all the highlights and more of Nagasaki. Learned about the culture of the people and ate authentic food of the area. Best tour ever!!
Debra Barnes












A Great Tour Option for Nagasaki, Japan

We had a wonderful and educational private tour on our visit to Nagasaki, and we highly recommend Shannon, our very professional tour guide. We were able to spend a full day with Shannon, who introduced us to some of the most intriguing sites to see in the Nagasaki area. Shannon had a great enthusiasm for the culture and sites we visited, and he was able to add a lot in terms of historical perspective. Shannon provided a very comfortable van for our small group and our snack and meal breaks were a real treat and focused on the local fare. Hat’s off to Shannon for a tour we thoroughly enjoyed.

Jim and Evie Bradley
October 2016













Hi Shannon,

I wanted to drop you a note to say thank you for a truly lovely tour yesterday. Having been to Nagasaki once before, it was a treat to be able to get out of town to see the surrounding sights.

I don't know if I had a particular highlight, as I enjoyed all of our stops equally. But the food market and the foot baths were probably the most fun

Thank you again for a wonderful day.

Cheers,

Sherita











Just wanted to drop a note to say a big thank you to Shannon for making our visit to Nagasaki so memorable.  He met us promptly and being a party of all Australians it was wonderful to have an Aussie show us around.  A drive to Isahaya and the Spectacle Bridge, drive to Isahaya Bay, Obama hot springs, beautiful lunch provided by his gorgeous wife and many other attractions and photo stops on the way back to our cruise ship.   Thank you Shannon...

Regards,
Sandra Gaunt 














This is a magnificent tour. From the first email correspondence Shannon was terrific and easy to work with. We had a wonderful day exploring Nagasaki. The tour was very informative and Shannon is just a fantastic guide. He is friendly, capable, knowledgable and timely for our departure.  He is also very professional, and it was lovely to meet his wife, who joined us for a short while and even provide very impressive refreshments

And, most importantly, Shannon provides a quality tour in a limited time frame. In our case, we just had one day in Nagasaki. Shannon planned a perfect day and we felt that we saw so much. It was a memorable day and one, we will never forget. 

Just an absolutely amazing tour - there were 4 of us and we travelled in comfortable and saw much more than the rest of the folks on our cruise ship.  We have fantastic photos and unforgettable memories -one of the highlights of trip to Japan. I strongly recommend this tour.


Warm Regards, 

Carol Carpenter 












Our group of six from Las Vegas hired Shannon for our first visit to
Nagasaki in 2016. We happily hired him again in 2019 to guide us to different
delightful sights there for our second visit.
(Ask him to take you to see the lobby of the Henna Hotel,
where robots check you in at the front desk!)
Shannon is highly recommended! 

Donn Pearlman

Attachments area








Dear Shannon
PLEASE LET ME THANK YOU on behalf our group of 8 persons

FOR ENJOYING TOUR IN 

NAGASAKI JAPAN

WAS MOST INTERESTING AND HOSPITABLE

BEST REGARDS
DAVID SNAPIR






















Dear Shannon
We just wanted thanking you again for a wonderful day tour, in which you compiled both your skills
and your heart.
The outcome was outstanding!!
All the best for you and your nice family. When you will include Israel in one of your future tours worldwide
please don't forget letting us know about that so we could see you again!
Ari










It was a great pleasure to meet you today and thanks from all of us for an interesting day full of Japanese
and Nagasaki experiences. You made it an enriching experience. 
A highlight of the trip was meeting you, going shopping, bathing our feet and learning about 
Nagasaki.
And thanks for the video. 
Wonderful service.  Wished we could have had you with us in other ports.  
John









We had a half day tour around Fukuoka with Shannon. Shannon does his best to ensure that
we got to see everything we wanted and made sure that we felt very comfortable during
the trip! Highly recommend if you would like to enjoy Fukuoka fully!
Jen






















We had an amazing time with Shannon in Karatsu. Our ship was delayed in arriving to Karatsu
and Shannon was able to make changes on the fly. We saw beautiful floats, shrines and he
even got us a private sake tasting with the owner of a great sake producer. 
Wonderful day!
Shannon is an excellent guide! 

Regards,
Lina
























Shannon is knowledgeable, friendly, and drove safely. The tour was well organized and he
was flexible due to the changing weather.
Richard









Shannon was hands down our best guide while visiting Japan. He not only created a day for us based 
on our interests, but threw in some surprises, including a sake tasting, hot springs foot-bath, and a 
local market shopping trip so we could pick out our own freshly made lunch. 
We felt very well taken care of and left knowing that we just had the best tour of our 2 week vacation
in Japan.
Thanks Shannon!
Robert Hazzard






















This was a wonderful full-day tour, with an English-speaking Australian who lived for 15-years in
Kyushu and Japan. We appreciated the packed & practical 
itinerary going to, and coming from Nagasaki; with time to rest & recover on the way back to 
Fukuoka– many thanks, Shannon!





















Hey Shannon,















We are back home in Germany.
Just wanted to say again, that we had a fantastic trip with you!
Everyone loved it and we had great fun. My family talked a lot about the trip during 
the following days. Felix didn't want to touch any Sushi for days so as to not forget 
the delicious Japanese sushi we had on the day.

Best wishes,
Julian






We had a great time. Shannon was excellent. Very enjoyable tour, he was very knowledgeable 
and helpful to mother and baby.
Calvin L









Nagasaki Cultural and WW2 History Tour
Our tour guide Shannon was amazing. Being that he also spoke English and 
Japanese it made the tour that much better. He could help us communicate with 
locals to ask questions and give us accurate translations. Shannon took us to many 
amazing places including the epicenter of the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb 
(very humbling to see). Shannon took us to a Sake Brewery where we were given 
an impromptu tour of the facility by workers where they explained how they make 
their sake, shochu, gin, and the brewery was just starting to make whiskey 
(we have to come back in 3 years to taste the first batch). We also tasted many many 
many of the sakes, shochu, and gin that the brewery makes. Shannon took us to a 
market to pick up fresh food and drink so we could have a picnic. We were able to 
explore Old Sasebo Wireless Transmission Facility and Kawatana Historical Heritage 
Site Torpedo Launch Test Site Ruins. We went explored a shrine, checked out a robot 
hotel, went to Ceramics Park Hasami where they have an entire 
history of kilns to check out, and we went high up on the peak to look out over our ship.

We highly recommended Shannon as a tour guide. When we return, we will definitely
hire him again! So much information and so many sites to see. Loved every minute of it!

                     Tamika











Shannon Lefebvre
Full day of fascinating Nagasaki. Peace park, ceramic works, picnic and sake tasting, 
and of course Mount Inasa and the incomparable views. Shannon was very 
communicative about our meeting place at the port, was great at answering questions, 
and gave some insight about living in Japan as a foreigner. Would book again.
Phil




















Shannon Lefebvre
We booked Shannon's excursion in and around the Nagasaki area as a private 
excursion while we were on a cruise. Shannon was knowledgeable and as an Aussie,
he was a native English speaker. He managed to get to everything on the itinerary 
even though we had believed that time would not allow that.