Tokyo Private Tours
You're paying now for an experience weeks away, in a country you haven't visited yet. That's a leap of faith. This page explains what's guaranteed, how protection works, and how to reach us if something goes wrong.
November 30, 2025
8 mins read
Booking a private tour means paying now for an experience you won't have for weeks—in a country you haven't visited yet, with a company you've never met. That's a leap of faith, and you're right to want clarity on what's protected before you commit.
Here's what happens when you book:
Payment is due immediately via Stripe (all major credit cards accepted, charged in USD). This isn't a deposit or hold—it's the full tour price, paid at booking.
Why payment now? It secures your specific guide for that date and time. Unlike marketplace platforms where you might get matched with a guide 24-48 hours before your tour, we assign your guide at booking. Payment confirms your intent and blocks that guide's schedule for you.
You get instant confirmation through our Google Calendar-integrated system. No waiting period, no "we'll confirm availability and get back to you." You book, you're confirmed.
Minimum booking window: 18 hours before tour start time. For peak seasons (cherry blossom season in late March through early April, and autumn foliage in November), book 2-4 weeks ahead—guide availability fills quickly.
This isn't a reservation. It's a commitment: from you to show up, from us to deliver the tour as designed.
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before your tour start time. Full refund, processed within 3 business days via Stripe back to your original payment method.
The 24-hour window means you must cancel 24+ hours before your scheduled tour start time. If your tour starts at 9:00 AM on Saturday, you can cancel any time before 9:00 AM on Friday and receive a full refund.
You can modify your booking within the same 24-hour window. Want to change the date, time, or even switch to a different tour entirely? That counts as a cancellation and rebooking—full refund on the original, full payment for the new tour. As long as you're outside the 24-hour window, you're protected.
Scenario | Refund Policy | Processing Time |
|---|---|---|
Cancel 24+ hours before tour | Full refund | 3 business days via Stripe |
Modify 24+ hours before tour | Full refund + new booking | Immediate (subject to availability) |
Book within 24 hours of departure | Non-refundable | N/A |
Cancel within 24 hours of departure | No refund | N/A |
Why 24 hours? Because that's when we've committed the guide's full day to you. At that point, the guide has declined other bookings and planned your specific route. Canceling inside 24 hours means the guide loses a day of work with no way to fill it.
If you're booking close to departure and uncertain about your plans, wait. Don't book until you're sure.
Tours start on time. If you're late, the tour still ends at the scheduled time—you lose that portion of the experience.
But: approximately 15-20% of international travelers experience delays that affect arrival times. We know this happens.
If your flight is delayed or you're running late for reasons beyond your control, contact us immediately:
Contact Method | When to Use | Response Time |
|---|---|---|
Email: service@hinomaru.one | Non-urgent delays (4+ hours before tour) | Within 1-2 hours |
WhatsApp (from booking confirmation) | Day-of delays or urgent situations | Immediate during tour hours |
We handle these situations case-by-case with human judgment, not rigid policy enforcement. If you notify us early with a documented delay (flight info, hotel issue, etc.), we'll work with you.
Possible accommodations:
Option | Availability | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Start late and extend tour | If guide's schedule permits | Not guaranteed during peak seasons |
Reschedule to another day | Subject to guide availability | No additional charge |
Issue refund | Last resort for severe delays | Case-by-case basis |
We cannot guarantee accommodation. Guide schedules don't always allow extensions, and peak seasons have limited flexibility. But communication helps. A guest who emails at 7:00 AM saying their flight was delayed has a very different outcome than a guest who simply doesn't show up.
If you're just running a bit late (10-20 minutes due to navigating to the pickup location), let us know via WhatsApp. The guide will wait a reasonable amount of time.
The default is simple: if you're late without warning, the tour runs on the scheduled timeline and you miss the beginning. If you're late with early communication and a good reason, we'll try to help.
Your guide arrives 10 minutes before tour start time at your hotel lobby (or your preferred pickup location—Airbnb, specific address, etc.).
In 500+ tours, we've had zero actual guide no-shows. Zero times has a guide forgotten or failed to show up.
What we've had are 3-4 "perceived no-shows"—situations where the guest and guide couldn't find each other:
Guest was at the wrong hotel entrance (large hotels have multiple lobbies)
Guest was in their room instead of the lobby
Different building in a hotel complex
Misread meeting time
After booking, your experience coordinator reaches out via email or WhatsApp to confirm:
Exact pickup location
Meeting time
Number of guests
Any special requests
The guide also contacts you directly (usually via WhatsApp) the night before or morning of the tour to confirm they're on the way.
If 15 minutes past scheduled start time and you haven't seen your guide:
Step | Action | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
1 | Check your phone for messages | Guide may have texted/called about location |
2 | Confirm you're at the agreed location | Verify against booking confirmation |
3 | Contact service@hinomaru.one or WhatsApp | Get immediate assistance |
We'll either locate the guide and guide you to each other, send a replacement, or issue a full refund. This is not a "we'll look into it and get back to you in 3-5 business days" situation. This is handled in real-time.
The actual risk isn't that the guide won't show up—it's that in a city where hotels have 4 different entrances and buildings are numbered counterintuitively, finding each other can be trickier than it sounds. Stay in the agreed location, keep your phone on, and communicate if there's any confusion.
Your guide is assigned at booking, not 24 hours before the tour. You're not getting matched from a pool—you're getting a specific person.
If that guide gets sick or has an emergency, we work to find an equally qualified substitute. All our guides are:
Fluent English speakers
Trained in cultural context and Tokyo history
Experienced with international travelers
If we cannot find a suitable substitute, you get:
Full refund, OR
Reschedule to a different date at no additional cost
We commit to notifying you as soon as possible—not the night before or morning of the tour. If we know 3 days ahead that your guide can't make it, you'll know 3 days ahead.
Reality check: We're a small team. We don't have 50 guides on standby. If multiple guides are booked and one needs to cancel, we may not have backup coverage, especially during peak seasons. We're transparent about this risk rather than promising something we can't always deliver.
What we won't do: send you a random substitute who doesn't speak fluent English or hasn't worked with international guests, just to avoid refunding. Quality over false availability.
This is the most uncomfortable scenario to address, but it needs clear protocol.
If something doesn't feel right during your tour—the guide seems unprepared, the experience isn't matching what was promised, or you feel unsafe—you need a way to escalate in real-time, not just leave a bad review afterward.
During the Tour
You have direct contact to the experience coordinator via WhatsApp or phone (number provided in your booking confirmation). You can step away from the guide, send a message, and get immediate response.
Issue Type | Response Protocol | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
Quality concern (guide disengaged, itinerary not working) | Coordinator speaks with guide to adjust approach; modify itinerary; discuss post-tour resolution | During tour, real-time |
Safety concern (feel unsafe, inappropriate behavior) | End tour immediately; arrange safe return to hotel; full refund | Immediate action |
The difference matters: quality concerns get worked out with adjustment and discussion. Safety concerns get you out of the situation right now.
After the Tour
If the experience fell short of what was promised, contact us within 48 hours: service@hinomaru.one
Our quality guarantee: If the guided tour experience falls short of promised care and quality, we'll either refund in full or offer your next private tour free. This applies to the tour itself—what we personally craft and stand behind.
What This Covers | What This Doesn't Cover |
|---|---|
Guide was unprepared or disengaged | Weather made outdoor plans difficult (we adjust itinerary, but can't control rain) |
Promised customization didn't happen | You realized mid-tour you wanted a different kind of experience (preference mismatch, not quality failure) |
Experience was significantly different from what was described | External factors like restaurant being unexpectedly closed or attraction having long lines |
Your time in Japan is precious. Choosing how to spend a day takes trust. If we didn't earn it, we make it right.
Payment Detail | Information |
|---|---|
Processor | Stripe |
Accepted methods | All major credit cards |
Currency | USD (United States Dollars) |
When payment is due | At booking (secures tour slot and assigns guide) |
Refund timeline | 3 business days to original payment method |
Refund processing | Automatic via Stripe (not manual transfer) |
Why Stripe matters: Your payment goes through Stripe's secure infrastructure, which includes buyer protection and dispute resolution, fraud protection, and PCI compliance for card security.
You're not sending money directly to a foreign company and hoping they honor their refund policy. Stripe acts as the intermediary with established buyer protections.
Contact Method | Best For | Response Time |
|---|---|---|
Email: service@hinomaru.one | Non-urgent questions before booking; cancellations/modifications; post-tour feedback | Within 24 hours |
WhatsApp: (in booking confirmation) | Day-of coordination; real-time issues during tour; emergency contact | Immediate during tour hours (Tokyo business hours) |
When to contact us:
Timing | What to Contact About |
|---|---|
Before your tour | Questions about which tour fits your interests; booking modifications or cancellations; special requests (accessibility, dietary restrictions, etc.) |
Day of your tour | Running late or delayed; can't find guide at pickup location; any real-time coordination needs |
During your tour | Something feels wrong (quality or safety concerns); need to adjust itinerary; any issues needing immediate attention |
After your tour | Feedback (good or bad); quality concerns needing resolution; questions about booking another tour |
One principle: When in doubt, reach out. We'd rather address concerns early—before your tour, at the beginning of your tour, during your tour—than find out afterward that something was wrong and you didn't feel you could say anything.
Now that you understand what's protected and how our policies work, you can compare tour options to find the experience that fits your interests.
Clear policy transparency with real human judgment for edge cases. You know exactly what's protected before you book—no vague "satisfaction guarantee" language. Payment at booking assigns your specific guide, not a marketplace match 24 hours before. Direct coordinator contact during your tour for real-time issue resolution.
At Hinomaru One, we design culturally rich, stress-free private Tokyo tours for first-time and seasoned travelers. Unrushed. Insightful. Always customized.
