Last updated: February 2026
1. Introduction
Hinomaru One (“we”, “us”, or “our”) operates private guided tours in Japan. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and protect your personal information when you interact with our website and services.
If you have any questions about this policy, please contact us at service@hinomaru.one or visit hinomaru.one.
2. Information We Collect
When you book a tour or contact us, we may collect the following personal information:
- Name — to address you and personalise your tour experience
- Email address — to send booking confirmations and correspondence
- Phone number (including WhatsApp) — to communicate about your booking
- Travel dates and number of guests — to arrange your tour
- Special requests and preferences — to customise your experience
- Payment information — processed securely by Stripe; we do not store your card details on our systems
3. How We Use Your Information
We use the information we collect to:
- Process and manage your tour booking
- Communicate with you about your booking, including via WhatsApp and email
- Send booking confirmations, reminders, and itinerary details
- Process payments through Stripe
- Respond to your enquiries and provide customer support
- Improve our services and website based on feedback
We will only use your personal data for the purposes for which it was collected, or for closely related purposes that you would reasonably expect.
4. WhatsApp Communications
We use the WhatsApp Business API to communicate with customers before, during, and after their tour. By providing your WhatsApp number, you consent to receiving messages from us through this channel.
WhatsApp messages may be processed and stored through Chatwoot, our customer support platform. Message content is retained to maintain accurate booking records and to provide consistent support across our team.
You may opt out of WhatsApp communications at any time by notifying us at service@hinomaru.one. Opting out will not affect your booking or our ability to communicate by other means.
5. Data Sharing
We do not sell your personal data. We share your information only with the following third-party service providers, and only to the extent necessary to deliver our services:
- Stripe — for secure payment processing. Stripe is PCI-DSS compliant and handles all card data on our behalf. See Stripe's Privacy Policy.
- Chatwoot — our customer support platform, used to manage and respond to enquiries including WhatsApp messages.
We do not share your data with any other third parties, and we do not use your information for advertising purposes beyond communicating directly with you about our services.
6. Data Retention
We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes outlined in this policy, or as required by law:
- Booking records — retained for 7 years for legal and accounting purposes
- Support messages (including WhatsApp) — retained for 2 years to maintain service continuity and resolve disputes
When data is no longer needed, it is securely deleted or anonymised.
7. Your Rights
You have the right to:
- Access — the personal data we hold about you
- Correct — any inaccurate or incomplete information
- Request deletion — of your personal data, subject to our legal obligations
- Withdraw consent — for communications such as WhatsApp messages
To exercise any of these rights, please email service@hinomaru.one. We will respond within 7 days.
8. Security
We take reasonable and appropriate measures to protect your personal information against unauthorised access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. These include industry-standard encryption (TLS/HTTPS) for data in transit and secure access controls for our internal systems.
While we strive to protect your data, no method of transmission over the internet is completely secure. If you believe your data has been compromised, please notify us immediately at service@hinomaru.one.
9. Contact Us
If you have any questions or requests relating to this Privacy Policy, please email service@hinomaru.one. We will respond within 7 days.