Questions
Everything people ask before they book.
If yours isn't here, write to us — you'll get a person, usually the same day. That is rather the point of the whole thing.
The ones we're asked most
Is it really just us?
Always. One booking, one guide, one day — and that can be one person; solo travellers are very welcome. You never share the day with strangers.
How many people can come?
The walking days book for up to ten guests, the night tour for five, and the day trips for six. More of you than that? Tell us — days that size are built by enquiry, and past six or so we plan the day differently anyway: different counters, sometimes a second guide.
Can we change one of your days?
Yes — that's the point. Take one as it stands, or start from it and we'll rebuild the parts that aren't you.
What if it rains?
Rain doesn't cancel the day — Tokyo has plenty to do indoors, and your guide knows all of it. If genuinely severe weather makes the day impossible — a typhoon, a transit shutdown — we move it or refund it in full. We decide it with you, on the forecast, before you're ever standing in it.
Do you arrange hotels or transport?
No. We're guides, not a travel agency — we sell our own day with you, not flights, hotels or cars. We'll happily tell you where to stay and how to get about.
How do we pay?
For a single day, you pay when you book. For several days or an itinerary we build, a deposit confirms it and the balance is settled before you travel. On the day itself there's nothing to pay us.
Your guide
Who will our guide be?
One of a small team, matched to the day you're doing rather than to whoever is free. You'll know their name before you arrive, and you'll have their number from the moment the day is confirmed — not an office, not a dispatcher.
Do they speak English?
Fluently. Every day we run is in English, and nothing on it depends on you speaking Japanese.
What about other languages?
Ask us. Tell us what you'd prefer and we'll tell you honestly whether we can do it for your dates rather than promising and reshuffling later.
Can we ask for a particular guide?
You can ask, and we'll say yes if they're free. Some days suit some guides better, so if we think another one is the right fit for what you want we'll tell you why rather than quietly swapping them.
What it costs
How much is a day?
It depends on the day, on who's coming and on how long it runs — and it is always one number for all of you. The full list is on one page, including what each price covers and what it doesn't.
Is that per person?
No — you'll never pay a seat price times a head count. We quote one number for your day; how many come and how long it runs shape it, and adult-and-child columns and door surcharges don't exist.
What's included, and what isn't?
Your guide is included from start to finish, plus what each day's page lists as included — temple and shrine entry on the walking days and day trips, dinner and drinks on the night tour. Beyond that list, food, tickets and travel during the day are yours — at the counter and at the door, at what they cost. Nothing goes through us and nothing is marked up.
Do we tip?
Tipping isn't part of the culture in Japan and it is never expected. It does happen in tourism, and if you want to, that part is between you and your guide. Telling us the day landed is worth more to us.
Cash or card?
Japan takes cards far more widely than it used to, but a good many of the small places we take you to are still cash only. Bring some. Your guide will tell you when you'll want it.
Booking and changes
How do we book?
Our set days you book right on the day's own page — pick a date, see one price for everyone coming, pay by card, and the day is confirmed that moment. A custom itinerary, or anything you'd rather talk through first, starts with telling us what you're after; we come back — usually the same day — with what we'd suggest, what it costs and which dates are open.
How far ahead should we book?
As early as you can for cherry blossom and for the autumn colour — those two fill first, and cherry blossom is a two-week window rather than a season. The rest of the year is far more forgiving, and last-minute is always worth asking.
Can we change the date?
Tell us as early as you can and we'll move what we can. Inside 24 hours of the start we can't, unless we agreed it beforehand — by then your guide's day is committed to you.
What if we have to cancel?
More than 72 hours before the start, everything you've paid is refunded. Between 24 and 72 hours, half. Inside 24 hours, nothing — your guide has held the day and turned other work down. If something has genuinely gone wrong, tell us anyway.
What if you cancel?
You get everything back, whatever the notice. That covers us as well as the weather — if your guide falls ill and we can't put someone equally good in their place, that's our problem rather than yours.
What about severe weather?
Rain never cancels a day — the day flexes indoors. If genuinely severe weather makes it impossible — a typhoon, a transit shutdown — we move the day or refund it in full. We decide it with you as the forecast firms up, not on the morning you're already dressed for it.
On the day
Where do we meet?
Your hotel lobby, or anywhere in the city that suits you better — you tell us where when you book your day.
What if we're running late?
Message us. Your guide will wait, and we'll rework the day around the time that's left rather than simply cutting the end off it.
How much walking is there?
Enough that comfortable shoes matter more than anything else you pack. The walking days are genuinely walking days — but the pace is yours, and sitting down somewhere good is part of it rather than an interruption.
Can we bring children?
Yes, and a good many of our days are family days. Children simply count among your guests — no adult and child columns, no separate rates — and your guide will shape the day around them without turning it into a children's day.
What if someone can't walk far?
Tell us before the day. We'll be honest about which parts work as they are, which we'd change, and which we'd quietly drop — that conversation is much better had in advance than at the third staircase.
Any dietary restrictions we should mention?
All of them, and as early as you can. Vegetarian, vegan, halal and allergies are all workable here with notice and genuinely difficult without it — a lot of the best counters have one menu and no substitutions.
Practical things
Do you arrange hotels, flights or trains?
No. We're guides, not a travel agency, and we sell our own day with you rather than anything we'd book on your behalf. We'll happily tell you where we'd stay and how we'd get about — you book it.
Do we need travel insurance?
We'd recommend it, for the trip as much as for us. We're guides rather than an insurer, and what we're responsible for is set out plainly in our terms.
Can you build something that isn't on the list?
That's half of what we do. Tell us who's coming, what you're curious about and what you'd rather avoid, and we build the day around that instead of starting from a menu.
What do you do with what we tell you?
We use it to answer you and to run your day, and nothing else. No list, no marketing. Enquiries are deleted after two years; booking records stay as long as tax law says they must. The whole notice is short and worth the minute.
Plan your trip
Tell us what you're curious about.
Take one of our days — confirmed the moment you book — or start a custom one, built with a person who usually replies the same day.