These Terms govern your use of BookNippon's reservation concierge service. By messaging us or using this website to request a reservation, you agree to them. Please read the payment, age, and liability sections carefully.
01Who we are
BookNippon ("we", "us", "our") is an independent, English-language reservation concierge service. We arrange reservations at restaurants, ryokan, golf courses, activities, and licensed 18+ nightlife venues across Japan on your behalf.
We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or an agent of any venue. We act solely as an intermediary that contacts venues and arranges reservations for you.
02What our service includes
Our service is the reservation only. On your behalf we contact the venue, confirm availability, the venue's pricing system and house rules, secure your table, seats or booking, and — where relevant — make the day-of confirmation call.
We do not provide, sell, serve, or guarantee anything you consume or do at a venue. All venue charges — food, drinks, cover charges, set fees, nomination fees, minimum spends and the like — are strictly between you and the venue and are paid directly to the venue.
03Eligibility and the 18+ requirement
You must be at least 18 years old to use our service. All nightlife venue reservations require every guest in your party to be 18 or older; some venues set their own minimum at 20, which we will tell you. By requesting a nightlife reservation, you confirm that you and everyone in your party meet the applicable age requirement.
We reserve the right to decline any request and to ask for reasonable confirmation of age.
04Fees
Our concierge fees are set by how much work the booking takes, not by party size or venue prestige:
- Basic restaurant booking — a flat $15 USD (one restaurant, a single date, time and party size; no research or alternatives)
- Basic event, activity, golf or ryokan reservation — a flat $25 USD (we confirm availability, price, reservation method and payment method)
- Complex booking — $45 USD (foreigner checks, a deposit or cancellation negotiation, price-system explanations, or several call attempts)
- Premium booking — a flat $65 USD (nightlife and licensed hostess, host and snack clubs, members-style and premium bars, Michelin-listed restaurants, or anything needing a day-of confirmation)
Fees cover our service only and are paid upfront, before we contact the venue.
05Payment and refunds
You pay the flat fee upfront, before we contact the venue, so we can begin working your request. For basic bookings — $15 restaurants and $25 events, activities, golf and ryokan — if we are unable to secure your reservation we refund the fee in full. Complex ($45) and premium ($65) bookings — multi-call negotiations, nightlife, licensed hostess, host and snack clubs and Michelin-listed restaurants — are paid ahead and are non-refundable, owing to the negotiation, screening and venue deposits involved. Once any reservation has been secured, the fee is non-refundable, including if you later cancel, change plans, or do not attend.
Payments are processed by our third-party payment provider. We do not store your full card details.
06Cancellations and venue policies
Many Japanese venues charge their own cancellation or no-show fees, commonly 50–100% of the expected spend, and no-shows can result in being refused future bookings. These are the venue's charges and policies, not ours. We will pass on the venue's policy in writing with your confirmation.
If you need to cancel, message us as early as possible and we will notify the venue in Japanese on your behalf. For basic $15 and $25 bookings your fee is refunded only if we cannot secure the reservation; once a reservation is secured, the fee is non-refundable. Complex and premium bookings ($45 and $65) are paid ahead and non-refundable.
07Your responsibilities
- Provide accurate booking information, including the correct name for the reservation.
- Arrive on time and comply with the venue's rules, dress code and house policies.
- Meet all age and eligibility requirements.
- Settle all venue charges directly with the venue.
08No guarantee of availability
Reservations depend on the venue. We cannot guarantee that any particular venue, date or time will be available, that a venue will accept your party, or that a venue will honour a booking. We act in good faith and will tell you promptly if we cannot secure your request.
09Limitation of liability
Our service is provided "as is". To the maximum extent permitted by law, we are not liable for the conduct, pricing, quality, safety, closure or decisions of any venue, for denied entry, or for anything that occurs at or in connection with a venue. Our total liability to you for any claim is limited to the amount of the fee you paid us for the reservation in question.
Nothing in these Terms limits any liability that cannot be limited under applicable law.
10Acceptable use
We arrange reservations at licensed venues only and will decline any request that is unlawful or that asks us to arrange anything beyond a legitimate reservation. You agree not to use our service for any unlawful purpose.
11Privacy
Our handling of your information is described in our Privacy Policy, which forms part of these Terms.
12Changes to these Terms
We may update these Terms from time to time. The "Effective" date above shows when they were last revised. Continued use of our service after a change means you accept the updated Terms.
13Contact
Questions about these Terms? Reach us on WhatsApp or LINE via our Book Now page, or by email at hello@booknippon.com.