Before You Book:
If you’re interested in attending a tour, but aren’t quite ready to commit, join our no-obligation trip list. You’re assured a spot on the tour if you decide to go…and you begin to receive our trip information emails.
There is truly no obligation. There are no deposits. If you find you cannot go on the tour, no worries. The list simply allows us to plan better and assures you a place on the tour.
For most tours, we’ll ask for a deposit around six months before the trip. This prepayment is a credit towards your final trip payment (not an additional charge) and serves to reserve your place on the tour. Typically, the bulk of the tour payment is not due until about 45 days before departure.
Our refund policy is the best in the business. If you cancel after payment is completed, you’ll receive a full refund of your trip payment (less anything that isn’t transferrable) if your space can be filled from a waiting list.
If your space cannot be filled from a waiting list, you’ll receive a 75% refund of the amount paid, less the cost of any game tickets we are not able to resell on your behalf and/or any already paid for services or items, such as your hotel rooms – for which we may not be able to get a refund.
Interested in spending more time in Japan? We are happy to help! Many of our guests arrive a day or two early to acclimate to the time change and get their bearings. However, we do recommend doing most of your personal travel after our tour because we take pride in teaching our guests how to get around on their own, and that will make your personal travel more enjoyable.
HOTEL: If you wish to stay at any of our tour hotels, we can make those arrangements and include such on your trip invoice.
If you plan to travel beyond our tour hotels, we recommend our Japan travel agent to obtain out-of-tour hotels and travel. Contact Katsumi Mamiya at 425-373-5626 for a no-obligation quote and information. He is available from 9 to 5 Pacific Time. His email is: k_mans@msn.com.
TICKETS: Sometimes guests have friends in Japan they would like to have join them at one of our games. We’d be happy to add them to our ticket group – let us know ahead of time and add the additional ticket when booking your tour package.
RAIL TRAVEL: For many of our Japan tours, we provide you with a 7, 14, or 21-day Japan Rail Pass, depending on your chosen tour. If you desire a rail pass before or after your tour, let us know so we can help you get the best rail travel value.
We recommend that Americans traveling to Japan review the following three resources before their departure. For non-US citizens, check the correspondending departmental website for your country.
As part of the tour, you will receive a wealth of pre-departure information via email to thoroughly prepare you for your visit and the people you will meet. Plus, we are always available to answer questions. We invite you to contact us with any questions you may have.
Planning Your Trip:
You may fly in and out of either Narita (NRT) or Haneda (HND) airport. Choose the option that has the best price and itinerary for you.
That said, Haneda provides faster, easier, and cheaper access to our hotel in central Tokyo; if the price and timing are comparable between a Narita and Haneda route, I’d go with Haneda.
We encourage you to investigate the services of our Japan travel agent who strives to get the most cost-efficient fare. Contact Katsumi Mamiya of K-Man’s Travel Expert at 888-557-5022 or k_mans@msn.com for a no-obligation quote and information.
Don’t be concerned about getting in touch with Katsumi and then not using his services. He’s no-pressure and he’ll be the first to tell you if you can do better somewhere else.
If you buy airfare and can’t go, the airlines will often give you a credit on that ticket for at least a year. If you get the ticket with your air miles, the miles simply go back into your account – often with little, if any, penalty.
We provide detailed instructions that take you through the airport and on to the hotel, and then from the hotel to the airport at the conclusion of your trip.
At Narita Airport your transfer consists of a high-speed train that you board in your airport terminal and take into Tokyo. From there it is a short taxi ride to your hotel. Your arrival instructions include a directional card written in Japanese for the taxi driver.
At Haneda Airport your transfer consists of a short monorail ride that takes you into Tokyo where you take a taxi to the hotel.
Budget about $40 each way. It can be less since we are sometimes able to use your rail pass to offset some of the transfer costs, depending on the date of the transfer. We take care of that calculation during the trip planning.
Read our article on Travel Insurance vs Travel Medical Insurance.
Most private health insurance is not place specific, meaning it will cover you anywhere, including Japan, which has modern health care services.
Unfortunately, most such private health insurance will require you to pay on your own by credit card or cash for such medical services and then be reimbursed by your insurance company upon your return home. Check with your health insurance provider.
Medicare and other similar public insurance has extremely limited coverage, if any, for health care services outside the U.S.
Some guests avoid any guesswork by purchasing health insurance for travelers. An insurance agent or travel agent can give you more information about buying such insurance. Travel insurance does not always include health insurance, so be sure that is included in your purchase.
You generally can buy a plan for a limited period of time or keep a policy in force year-round if you travel frequently.
Katsumi Mamiya, our US-based travel agent can assist. His email is: k_mans@msn.com.
For citizens of most countries, including the U.S., the U.K., Canada and Australia, a valid passport is all that is required for entry into Japan. No visa is needed. Please be sure your passport is valid for six months after your return date.
Prior to some tours, we will purchase a voucher for your Japan Rail Pass. Depending on your tour itinerary, we may mail that voucher to you ahead of time. You will exchange that voucher in Japan for the actual rail pass. Depending on your choice of tour segments and our calculations to make your in-tour travel as economical as possible, you will get either a 7, 14, or 21-day rail pass, or no pass at all.
Since most of our tours require checking in and out of multiple hotels and carrying your luggage through vast train stations, we strongly recommend using properly-functioning roller suitcase. Ideally, it should fit into the overhead luggage compartment of an airplane. I have used this Samsonite model for years and highly recommend it. You can accompany your suitcase with a standard backpack. Previous guests have found themselves able to easily work with this luggage arrangement.
With a rolling suitcase and backpack, you can breeze through train stations and on and off trains with ease. Rolling luggage that can fit in an overhead also makes travel on the train much easier. Because there are no luggage cars, luggage in Japan has to accompany yo