What you can expect,
and what we ask of you.

These terms apply between you and TheTokyoTravel whenever you book a private tour or a private transfer with us, through this website or by message. Making a booking means you accept them on behalf of everyone travelling in your group.

Choose your tour or transfer, select the group size or vehicle, and complete the secure checkout. Payment is taken at the time of booking unless we have agreed otherwise with you in writing.

Your booking is confirmed when payment succeeds and a confirmation email reaches you. Please check the service, date and guest count when it arrives. If the email has not appeared, look in your spam folder and then message us.

Your guide is introduced to you once the booking is confirmed, before the day itself.

Prices are per group, not per person. The group size you select is the price for everyone travelling.

Included in a private tour

• Planning and coordination of your day.
• A professional English-speaking guide.
• Private transportation through our licensed partner, with a professional driver.
• Fuel, highway tolls and parking.
• Bottled water.
• Pickup and drop-off as stated on the tour page — for most Tokyo-based tours, one pickup and one drop-off within Tokyo's 23 wards.

Not included

• Attraction admissions, ropeways, cruises and optional activities.
• Meals, drinks and personal purchases.
• Accommodation.
• Travel insurance.
• Pickup outside the stated area, which can usually be arranged for an agreed additional charge.

Airport and cruise terminal transfers are a transportation service rather than a guided tour, and are booked separately. Any charge beyond the displayed price is set out and agreed with you before it applies.

A 5% transaction and refund-processing fee is deducted from all approved refunds. The percentages below already account for it.

Refunds are returned to the card or account used for payment, and the time it takes to appear depends on your bank rather than on us.

If we ever have to cancel a confirmed booking, you receive a full refund of everything paid, with no fee deducted.

Dates can usually be moved, subject to availability. Message us with your booking details and the new date as soon as you know. A difference in price may apply if the service, vehicle or group size changes.

If your group grows after booking, tell us before the day. Vehicles have fixed passenger and luggage limits, and a driver cannot carry more people than the vehicle is registered for.

A private day is planned in advance and adjusted as it goes. Your guide may reorder stops or substitute one for another because of weather, traffic, crowds, seasonal access, closures or how the group is feeling. This is how a private day is supposed to work, and it is done to give you a better day rather than a shorter one.

Tours run in rain as well as sun. Where conditions are genuinely unsafe, we contact you to agree what to do.

Some sights depend on the weather. Mount Fuji is not visible every day of the year, and no operator can promise otherwise.

Most full-day tours run 10 to 11 hours door to door. Nagano runs to 12. The duration for your tour is on its page and in your confirmation.

Give us your flight number when booking an airport arrival, so the pickup can follow the actual landing time. Scheduled hotel and resort transfers do not carry included waiting time, because parking is restricted in those areas.

If your group is significantly late without contact, the driver may be unable to wait indefinitely, and the booking may be treated as a same-day cancellation.

Vehicle capacity depends on luggage as much as on passengers. Tell us your passenger and bag numbers before booking and we will confirm which vehicle fits.

• Toyota Alphard or Vellfire — up to 5 passengers. With 5 passengers, backpacks only. With 4 passengers, up to 4 standard check-in bags.
• Toyota HiAce — up to 9 passengers, with up to 10 standard check-in bags plus hand-carry.

Child seats are provided free of charge on request. Give us each child's age and approximate weight when booking — child seats affect passenger and luggage capacity, which is why we ask in advance. Japanese law requires them, and a driver cannot carry a child without the correct seat.

Tell us before booking about wheelchairs, walking aids or any assistance needed, and we will build the day around it. Accessibility varies a great deal between temples, gardens and viewpoints, so some stops may be substituted for others.

Seatbelts are required by law in Japan and are worn at all times in the vehicle. Your driver and guide may decline to continue where behaviour puts the group, the vehicle or themselves at risk, or where local rules at a temple, shrine or attraction are not respected. In that situation the booking ends without refund.

Smoking is not permitted in the vehicle. Please tell us in advance if anyone in your group needs particular consideration on a long day.

Transportation is arranged through our licensed partner, Nini Travels, using licensed professional drivers and properly registered green number plate vehicles for commercial passenger transport, insured as Japanese law requires. Your guide and your driver are two different people.

We strongly recommend travel insurance covering medical treatment, personal belongings and trip cancellation. Personal items remain your responsibility throughout the day, including in the vehicle.

Neither of us is responsible for failing to perform where the cause is genuinely beyond control — earthquake, typhoon, flood, heavy snow, volcanic activity, fire, epidemic, strike, civil disruption, government restriction, or the closure or suspension of a road, railway, ropeway or attraction.

Where such an event prevents a booking going ahead, we will offer an alternative date where we can, or discuss a fair resolution with you.

We are responsible for arranging your tour or transfer with reasonable skill and care, and for the conduct of the guides and drivers assigned to you.

We are not responsible for the acts of independent third parties whose services you use on the day — attractions, ropeways, cruises, restaurants and activity operators, each of which operates under its own terms and safety rules.

Except where Japanese law does not allow it to be limited, our liability in connection with a booking is limited to the amount you paid for that booking. Nothing in these terms limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or for anything else that cannot lawfully be limited.

These terms are governed by the law of Japan, and the courts of Japan have jurisdiction over any dispute arising from them.

If any part of these terms is found not to apply, the rest continue to apply.

For anything at all — before booking, after booking, or on the day itself — message us on WhatsApp at +81 90-7246-3822, email info@thetokyotravel.com, or use the contact page. Enquiries are answered every day between 8:00 and 20:00 Japan time.

Our full legal disclosure under Japan's Specified Commercial Transactions Act is on the commerce disclosure page. How we handle your personal information is set out in our privacy policy.