Tokyo Tour Policies: What Happens When Something Goes Wrong

Policy: Full refund for cancellations ≥ 24 hours before tour start time.

Cancel 24 hours or more before your tour starts and you get a full refund. Cancel later than that and you don't.

Our guides are independent contractors who give up their whole day for your tour. By the time you're inside 24 hours, they've blocked the day and turned down other work, and we can't give that back to them.

Moving your tour to another date or time 24+ hours ahead counts as a free change, not a cancellation. No money comes back; the booking just moves. The refund policy only applies when you cancel outright.

As soon as you book, we block your guide's calendar for that date and they can't take anyone else. With 48 hours notice we can sometimes fill the slot again. At 24 hours it's too late.

We ask you to commit to the day the way the guide does. If you're unsure of your dates, hold off booking. Once you book, that day is held for you alone. (Our booking lead time guide helps with timing.)

The latest you can book is 18 hours before the tour starts. A same-day or next-day booking is therefore non-refundable from the start.

In peak seasons (cherry blossom in late March/early April, autumn foliage in November), book 2-4 weeks ahead. Our prices don't go up in those weeks. Guides get booked out.

Policy: Refunds processed within 5-7 business days via the original payment method.

Refunds go back to the card or account you paid with, within 5-7 business days. Payments run through Stripe, so the exact timing depends on your bank, though 5-7 business days is typical.

You pay in full when you book. We take all major credit cards. There's no deposit; the full payment up front secures your tour slot.

Your card details never reach our servers. Stripe handles payment. It's a PCI Level 1 certified processor that moves $1 trillion+ a year for companies like Amazon, Google and Shopify. Your card data is encrypted and tokenized, and we never see your full card number. If our systems were ever breached, there'd be no card data in them to steal, because Stripe holds it.

Policy: One free reschedule up to 24 hours before tour. Subsequent reschedules subject to date availability; no refund for price differences.

Rescheduling is free if you do it 24 hours or more before your original date. We check guide availability for the new date and confirm. If your original guide can't make it, we assign a comparable one.

To add people, email us. We'll adjust the price and check the guide can take a larger group. Guides are comfortable with up to 8 people. (Group size considerations change how a tour feels.)

To remove people, tell us 24 hours or more before the tour and we'll adjust the price. Say you booked 4 people at $552 and one can't come: we move you to the 3-person rate of $489 and refund the difference.

The consultation is where you change the itinerary. Up to 24 hours before the tour, it's flexible. Want Shimokitazawa instead of Asakusa, or food markets instead of temples? Say so in the consultation. (How customization works walks through the whole process.)

Inside 24 hours, we can only make small adjustments. Your guide has already prepared, and we can't reroute a whole day at that point.

Real scenario: A guest booked our 6-hour tour, then realized their teenager would be worn out by hour 5. Four days before, they emailed: "Can we do 4 hours instead?" We switched them to our 4-hour tour, refunded the 2-hour difference, and rerouted the itinerary around the highlights.

Policy: Tours proceed in rain. Cancellation only for JMA-issued typhoon warnings or extreme-weather advisories. You may voluntarily cancel up to 24 hours before.

Tours run rain or shine. If the weather is unpleasant but manageable, your guide works indoor options into the day.

If a typhoon or severe weather makes the day unsafe in our judgment, you choose a full refund or a reschedule. If we're happy to run the tour and you decide it's too risky, the standard cancellation policy applies, so cancelling inside 24 hours means you lose the payment. (Our rain day guide covers how we adapt to weather.)

For a natural disaster, a government-ordered evacuation or a public emergency, you get a full refund with no questions.

Policy: If your assigned guide becomes unavailable, we substitute a guide of equivalent rating. You are notified 24+ hours in advance when possible.

If your guide gets sick, we send a substitute. If we can't find a suitable one in time, you choose a full refund or a new date.

In practice our guides rarely cancel at short notice.

Policy: No refund for no-shows. Guide waits 30 minutes at meeting point before departing.

If you don't turn up at the meeting point, your guide waits 30 minutes. If you haven't been in touch by then, the guide leaves and the booking is forfeited, since you're well past the 24-hour cancellation window.

If your flight is delayed and you'll miss the start, tell us right away. If we can move the tour to another day of your trip, we'll do it at no charge. If the delay rules the tour out entirely, say you land late in the evening before a morning tour, you get a full refund. The earlier you tell us, the more room we have to adapt.

If you're not sure, email us and we'll tell you whether it qualifies.

Policy: All channels (email, WhatsApp, Instagram, chat) route to the same team. Routine: 24-48 hours. Urgent: same business day.

Every one of these channels reaches the same concierge team. There's no ticketing system and no outsourced call center:

• Email: service@hinomaru.one
• WhatsApp: Direct message
• Website chat: Live chat on hinomaru.one
• Social media: Facebook or Instagram DM

Email at 3am or message us on Instagram, and the same person sees it. You don't have to remember which channel you booked through, because they all end up with your concierge.

Private tour operators work by email and WhatsApp. A small team running a limited number of departures a day in one city can answer a direct message faster, and more personally, than a call center reading from a script. (Our planning guide explains how the private tour model works.)

We're small and focused on one city, so we answer fast. Email us at 10pm Tokyo time about tomorrow's tour and someone will see it. You'll always get a reply, though not instantly at every hour. All our guides speak fluent English, so language won't get in the way on tour day.

Real scenario: A guest emailed 36 hours before their tour: "My flight's delayed 6 hours. Can we still make this work?" Within 90 minutes we sent back a new plan. The guide would pick them up at the hotel instead of meeting at the station, start later, skip the morning market that only works early, and spend the afternoon in the neighborhoods. The tour went ahead on the booked date.

Plenty of people get buyer's remorse. It tends to peak 1-3 weeks after you've paid. You've put real money on real dates, and part of your brain goes looking for proof it was a mistake.

Within 24-48 hours of booking, our concierge emails or messages you on WhatsApp to start your consultation. There's nothing to sell you at that stage; it's how you find out a real person is looking after your booking.

In the consultation we settle your pickup location, meeting time, group size and preferences, and you find out who your guide is. Most of the nerves go once that conversation has happened.

You can cancel for a full refund until 24 hours before your tour. Use that if you need it.

The "No Red Flags" Test

After booking, you should find that:

• Someone responded quickly to your booking
• The consultation felt like a conversation, not a script
• Meeting your guide felt like meeting a real person with a personality

If any of these didn't happen, tell us. That's a fair concern and more than ordinary nerves.

If your guide hasn't arrived 15 minutes after the agreed meeting time and you can't reach them, contact us straight away by email or WhatsApp.

Our quality guarantee: "If guided tour experience falls short of promised care and quality, we'll either refund in full or offer your next private tour free." A guide not showing up is clearly covered.

Our guides arrive 10 minutes before the start time as a rule. If yours isn't there when the tour is due to start, something has gone wrong.

End the tour on the spot. If you need, our concierge will arrange to get you picked up. You get a full refund. This has never happened with our guides, and if it ever does, we'll handle it as an emergency.

Sometimes the guide is professional and knows their stuff, and you still don't click. You have options:

Real scenario: A guest felt the guide was "talking too much history, not enough about daily life" and texted our concierge partway through. We texted the guide: "Guest wants more street-level insights, less dates and emperors." The guide changed course and the rest of the tour went well.

You can ask for a bathroom break, sit down for 10 minutes, skip a shrine that doesn't interest you, stay longer in a neighborhood you're enjoying, or ask the guide to explain something another way.

The itinerary is a plan, and you're allowed to change it. If you have mobility concerns, our accessibility guide covers what's possible.

If you'd rather not say it to the guide's face, text or WhatsApp our concierge. We can step in for you.

Hinomaru One carries professional liability insurance for guide services. It covers negligence during tour activities, advice that causes harm, and professional errors in planning. Your travel insurance should cover trip cancellation, medical expenses, evacuation, personal liability and baggage.

For Japan, policies from World Nomads, Allianz and IMG Global cover the country well. Look for $100,000+ in medical coverage and clear medical evacuation terms. Our insurance covers our professional liability. Yours covers your health, your belongings and what you've spent on the trip.

(Note: Tipping in Japan works differently from elsewhere. Guides never expect tips, though a gratuity for exceptional service is appreciated.)

That's what happens if things go wrong. If you're ready for the version where they go right, book a private Tokyo tour.

What's the cancellation policy for Tokyo private tours?

Across the industry, free cancellation runs from 24 to 72 hours before the tour, and most operators give a full refund if you cancel within that window. Inside 24 hours, bookings are usually non-refundable because guides have already blocked out the day.

What if my guide cancels?

Good operators have a backup plan. Companies whose guides are employees can reassign someone. Platforms that rely on freelancers may struggle to find a same-day replacement. Ask before you book: "If my guide becomes unavailable, what's your backup process?"

Does rain affect the tour?

Tours go ahead unless the weather is dangerous, as with a typhoon. Guides switch to covered options like underground shopping, museums and covered markets. You see a different side of Tokyo, and it's still a good day. Rain on its own isn't grounds for a refund or cancellation.

What's a satisfaction guarantee?

It depends on the company. Some give a full refund if you're unhappy, others a partial refund or credit toward a future tour. Some give nothing, and your only recourse is a negative review. Ask directly: "If I'm not satisfied, what happens?"

How do I contact someone if something goes wrong during the tour?

Good operators give you direct contact (WhatsApp, phone) during the tour so problems get sorted in real time. Bookings made through platforms may go through a customer service queue. Ask before you book: "If I have an urgent issue on tour day, how do I reach someone who can help immediately?"

We care more about how fast we can respond than about the refund percentage. All our contact channels reach one concierge team, so an email and an Instagram message land with the same person. We keep track of guides during the day, so a problem mid-tour gets sorted within minutes, while you're still out. Your consultation starts within 24-48 hours of booking, before worry has time to build.

At Hinomaru One we design private Tokyo tours for first-time and returning travelers. They're unrushed, customized to you, and built to take the stress out of the day.