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Frequently Asked Questions

Welcome to our FAQ page! Here, you'll find answers to most common questions about our services. If you don't see the information you're looking for, feel free to reach out to us directly for assistance. We're here to help! You can also ask our AI which is in the bottom right corner of your screen. Its been trained to answer most of the commonly asked questions and if it can't help you it will contact one of our advisors to assist. 

If you have a question that isn't on this list please feel free to send an email by following the link at the bottom to ask your question and we will respond ASAP (usually in just a few hours).

We offer the same planning services to independent travelers as we do for our group trips — including booking your entire itinerary, flexible payment options, and on-the-ground support via text while you’re in Japan. The only difference? We can’t physically be there to guide you in person.

When you join a scheduled group trip, you enjoy the flexibility of exploring with like-minded travelers plus the reassurance of having us right there with you. Even shy or introverted guests often find comfort in being surrounded by people who share the same sense of adventure.

Traveling with the group means you won’t have to navigate Japan’s busy train stations alone — we move together during city transfers so no one gets lost or confused. Without the group, we can guide you remotely, but we can’t walk you to Gate 8 or ensure you board the right train when multiple departures leave every few minutes.

If you want to experience Tokyo (or any region) with in-person assistance, choose a trip during the time we’re scheduled to be there at the area you want to be in. We plan these trips carefully based on our experience in Japan through every season, so you get the best possible experience at the perfect time of year. Fukuoka in August might sound like fun but unless melting is your idea of fun I suggest you join us in Hokkaido. 

What if I want Go Explore Japan to book my trip and help guide me while I'm in Japan but I want to go to Kyoto or Kobe or Hiroshima when you are scheduled to be in Hokkaido?

So how does the pay over time thing work, do I just pick a payment plan and make 6 or 12 or 24 payments? Do I get to pick how many payments it is?

The number of monthly payments depends on the time between booking & your departure date. All trips must be paid in full at least 30 days before travel — no exceptions. This is not a loan; there’s no credit check, no fees, no hidden charges, no tricks, no gimmicks & no interest, because your vacation is fully prepaid in advance. Its like a vacation savings plan where you just set it & forget it because we withdraw your payments automatically. If you’d like more time to pay, simply choose a trip that’s 12, 18, or 24 months away — rather than one just a few months from now. This flexibility is possible because we book your flights, accommodations, & other arrangements at the optimal times for the best prices, not all at once months in advance or right before you leave.

Do I have to pay over time or can I just pay it all at once? 

Once your custom trip is finalized, you’ll have three payment options:

  1. Pay in Full – Settle your balance in one payment and focus solely on the countdown to your adventure.

  2. Do 3 Equal Payments – Spread your cost across three convenient installments.

  3. Monthly Payments – Make manageable monthly payments up until one month before your departure.

Please note: Depending on when you book and your departure date, some options may not be available. For example, if your trip is less than three months away, the Pay in Full option may be required.

I didn't have enough money in my account/on my card when the payment went thru and it got declined, will this affect my trip?

Missed Payment Policy

  • 7-Day Grace Period – You have 7 days after a missed payment to pay with no penalty.

  • After 7 Days – Your trip will be placed on hold until you pay the missed amount plus a $25 late fee.

  • After 30 Days – If payment is still not made (missed payment + $25 fee), your trip may be canceled with no refund. We do this only if there has been no communication in those 30 days.

If You Need to Cancel Due to Financial Hardship 

  • We can offer you a company credit to use toward a future trip (valid for 24 months).

  • Credit only applies to refundable parts of your trip, minus any third-party cancellation fees. (see below)

  • No other payments will be taken once a client asks to cancel or pause for any reason.

  • See our Refund and Cancelation page for more details on this subject.

Example
You paid $1600:

  • Flight: $950 refundable with a $50 fee

  • Hotel: $300 non-refundable

  • Credit issued: $1250 ($1600 - $50 - $300)

How do I know if you have booked any parts of my trip that are non-refundable? Why would you even book anything that isn't refundable?

When building your trip, we’ll go over many ways to make it more affordable. One option is booking non-refundable flights, experiences or hotels — these are often significantly cheaper, but they come with no flexibility. Flights are a major part of the cost of a Japan trip, so if you don’t want to spend an extra $300–$500 for a refundable ticket, a non-refundable one might make sense. However, once booked, that money is gone if you cancel. The same goes for many budget-friendly hotels or properties in highly desirable areas, which are often non-refundable due to frequent last-minute cancellations.

Whenever we book a non-refundable segment of your trip (flight, hotel, Airbnb, tour, etc.), you’ll receive an email notification with a subject line like:

"We have now booked your Non-Refundable flight from Oklahoma City to Narita, Japan"

This email will include all the booking details and a reminder that the segment cannot be changed or refunded. We do not send notice emails for bookings that are refundable unless they have some caveat like a cancelation fee. Once your full itinerary is booked and complete, we’ll send you a summary showing which parts of your trip are and are not refundable. You will in most cases get an email or emails with all the details of your trip including tickets at least 14 days before the trip begins. 

How does this all work, so after 30 days you just start booking my trip and email me after its all booked up?

The way we book your trip depends on several factors, and while we can’t give away all the “secret family recipe,” here’s a straightforward overview to satisfy your curiosity.

Let’s say you book a trip 12 months in advance. You make your first monthly payment right away, then have 10 more payments, with the final one due 30 days before your departure. We intentionally do nothing for the first 30 days — this is your time to make sure you’re confident in your decision before we start making reservations.

Once that 30-day window passes, we begin booking your trip in phases over the following months. What we book first depends on your priorities. For example, if location is your top priority, we secure your accommodations early because the best spots fill up fast. For experiences or items that don’t sell out quickly, we wait until the optimal time to book — a timing strategy based on our experience, demand patterns, and seasonal pricing trends.

This phased approach can take months to complete, but it allows us to lock in the right experiences at the right time for the best possible rates. Many travel agencies simply book everything immediately after you pay and take their commission, regardless of timing. That’s how you end up paying $200 for a room in October that might drop to $120 in January.

We quote you based on when we expect to book — if we anticipate that $120 January rate, we might quote $150 to allow for small price changes. Even with that buffer, you still pay significantly less than the $200 the “book-it-all-up-front” agencies would charge. It’s a strategy that keeps your trip high-quality, well-planned, and more cost-efficient — all without cutting corners on the experience itself.

What if when I get to Japan I see a fun tour I want to do, like a tour to Mt Fuji, can I book it myself or do I need to go thru my Travel Advisor?

If you’ve never been to Japan — or haven’t visited a particular area we’re traveling to — you might stumble across something exciting you didn’t think to ask about during the initial planning. Even though we give you as much advice as possible before your trip, we can’t predict every activity you might enjoy, and new opportunities are always popping up.

If you find something you’d like to do, you can either text your Advisor to have them arrange it for you, or you can book it yourself — both options are completely fine. Your Advisor is always there if you want their help, but it’s not a requirement while in Japan.

We do recommend waiting until your trip begins and you are in Japan to make additional bookings on your own like that since part of our role is helping you find experiences that are truly worth your time. And remember — Going thru us to book doesn't cost you anything extra so why would you want to willfully deny us our commission? If you see something you like before your trip starts just send it to us and we will adjust your monthly payment and book it, no problem what so ever. 

What if I need to make changes to my trip, to add or remove something.

If you need to add something that would increase the cost of the trip then the cost of that addition will be taken from any existing credit or spread out and added to the remaining payments. If you need to remove something then assuming it can be canceled and refunded then money will be credited to you to be used on something else while on the trip. If it never gets spent during the trip then you will get a refund or credit for a future trip that's good for 24 months from the end date of the original trip.

Lets say I want the cheapest trip possible, what is the absolute bottom dollar cost?

If you’re flying from a city serviced by a budget airline, we can make it surprisingly affordable. Let’s take Los Angeles as an example:

  • Round-trip flight (LAX → Narita): about $750

  • Budget room for 7 nights: around $220 total

  • Food (cup noodles, convenience store meals): ultra-budget for a week

  • Walking everywhere instead of using trains/buses: free!

By keeping it bare-bones, we can get you to Japan for about $1,200 total for a week in Narita.

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But realistically, most travelers want to see more and eat better — so for around $2000 all-in, we can give you a 7-10 day Tokyo adventure including transportation, food, and a clean place to stay. It won’t be the trip of a lifetime at that price, but you’ll be comfortable, safe, well-fed and enjoying all the sights, sounds and flavors of Japan.

On a Payment plan that's:

  • 6 payments: $333/month

  • 9 payments: $222/month

 

Japan might be closer (and more affordable) than you think.

I haven't gotten an email from you guys in months, nothing about anything being booked at all. Did you just take my money and run? What's the deal here?

Nope — we’re still here, and your trip is still very much in progress. The reason you haven’t seen booking updates is because we don’t book everything the moment you make your first payment. Instead, we plan bookings around the optimal time to secure the best locations, experiences, and rates. Booking too early can actually cost more or limit your options, so we wait until the timing works in your favor.

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If you booked many months in advance, there can be long stretches when nothing new is booked and you don't hear from us, in fact unless its a non-refundable booking we don't contact you at all to tell you something new is booked— that’s completely normal. This is also why we tell every guest upfront that it can take months to fully build your trip. We do this to protect your budget and ensure you get the most out of your time in Japan. If we just booked it all within a week of you paying us then it could cost significantly more and we couldn't offer a pay over time option. 

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That said, if you ever feel in the dark, you can always request a status update. We’re happy to share what’s been booked so far, what’s next, and when you can expect the rest to be confirmed. You can join our groups on our website and chat with us and other clients on the same journey. Post ideas and stories and share your excitement and talk with real travel advisors, one of which will be with you on your trip in Japan.

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