Terms and Conditions

Adventure Hokkaido is licensed as a travel agent under the Japanese Travel Agency Act. The act requires we set out our responsibilities and our customer’s rights in detailed terms and conditions.

These terms and conditions apply to all of our tours including scheduled, custom, and self-guided tours. We recommend you read these completely before booking, but have made the key points bold for you.

1. The tour is planned and carried out by Adventure Hokkaido, and customers who participate in the tour will enter a travel contract with our company.

2. The contents and conditions of the contract are based on the tour information detailed on our website, the booking conditions on this page, the tour confirmation contract detailing the final itinerary provided by us before departure, as well as the “Standard General Conditions of Travel Agency Business”.

3. Adventure Hokkaido guarantees that we will provide the travel services outlined in the travel itinerary set by us.

1. We accept bookings by phone, email, or other means of communication. The contract is not established at the time of booking. The contract will be executed when Adventure Hokkaido receives the following payment:

   1. The full tour price for 1 day and 2 day tours.

   2. A deposit of 50,000 yen per person for tours of 3 days or more.

2. If we do not receive the deposit or full payment then we will not process the booking.

3. Bookings and payments will be received during our business hours. Any communication received after business hours will be accepted on the next business day.

4. The deposit is treated as a part of the tour price. The balance payment is due 30 days before the start date of the tour, and we will remind you of this by email.

5. You are required to fill in and submit our Sign Up Form, Travel Details Form & Equipment Rental Form within 7 days from when the form links are sent by us. On these forms we ask for your name, contact details, medical conditions, emergency contact details, travel insurance, and some information regarding your travel.

6. If you have any special requests regarding food requirements, allergies, or physical abilities, please let us know at the time of booking.

7. We will endeavour to arrange the measures requested wherever possible and practical. Please note that any extra costs required are to be borne by the customer, and that we may decline the booking if we are unable to arrange the measures requested.

1. We accept payment in JPY via Wise or Flywire. Payment links are issued by ourselves, and you’re required to use one of the issued links to make payments to us. We do not accept payments made by international bank transfers or other payment methods (such as PayPal).

   Payments via Wise are available only in our currency (Japanese Yen) via international bank transfer. You are required to follow the instructions provided by Wise and make the bank transfer using Swift/BIC or IBAN codes. Any transfer or currency exchange fees must be paid by yourself. (The fees may be a smaller amount if you are paying out of a Wise account.) Payments can take up to 5 business days to reach us.

   Flywire converts your home currency to Japanese Yen on our behalf and allows payment by local bank transfer and by credit card. Flywire’s bank transfer is domestic and you will be provided with the details of a local bank account to transfer the amount already converted to your home currency. Generally, Flywire’s bank transfers demand smaller fees than credit card payments. Flywire incurs an additional transaction fee of 1.5%, which will be added to each payment. Payments can take up to 4 business days to reach us.

2. If we do not receive the payment by the due date set by us, we will consider that the contract is cancelled on the following day, and in this case, the cancellation fee may be charged.

The customer may cancel the contract at any time by paying us the following cancellation fees:

1. The request for cancellation will be only accepted during our business hours.

2. In addition to the above cancellation fees payable to us, you are required to pay any cancellation fees and penalty charges required by the service providers, such as accommodation and transportation.

3. Our Scheduled Tours have a Minimum Number of travellers required for us to guarantee the departure of the tour. The Minimum Number is specified on each tour page.

4. If the number of travellers has not reached the Minimum Number at 60 days prior to departure, we will notify you of the cancellation and refund the amount in Japanese Yen that you have paid us. However, we will not be liable to compensate for any inconvenience or incidental expenses that you may incur, including airline tickets.

   We reserve the right to cancel a departure as early as 90 days before the start date if it has no bookings.

5. The customer may cancel the contract without paying the cancellation fee in the following situations:

   1. When the contract contents are changed by Adventure Hokkaido.

   2. If safe and smooth travel becomes impossible due to natural disasters, war, riots, suspension of travel services such as transportation and accommodation facilities, orders from public institutions, or other reasons.

   3. When Adventure Hokkaido does not deliver the tour confirmation contract, including the finalised itinerary, to the customer before the start of the tour.

   4. When it becomes impossible to carry out a trip according to the itinerary stated in the tour confirmation contract due to reasons attributable to us.

1. If the contract is cancelled or the customer leaves the tour early, it will be regarded as a waiver of the customer’s rights and no refund will be given.

2. If the customer is unable to receive the travel service stated in the tour confirmation contract, or if Adventure Hokkaido notifies that fact,  then regardless of the cause, the customer can cancel the contract without paying the cancellation fee for the remaining portion of the itinerary that is no longer going to be fulfilled.

3. In the case of the preceding paragraph, Adventure Hokkaido will refund you the balance after paying the cancellation, penalty, and other fees due by the provider(s) of the travel services that the customer is yet to receive.

Our tours are priced on a twin share basis. Those travelling by themselves will need to pay an additional supplement for use of a single room. If you are happy to share a room with another guest – of the same gender – then let us know at the time of booking. If we match you with another solo traveller then we can discount the single supplement for both of you.

All guests joining our tours are required to have travel insurance. Please make sure you have a valid travel insurance, covering the kind of activities you are undertaking during our tour, cancellations, loss of personal belongings, and any unforeseen circumstances while travelling.

1. Payment of the deposit or of the full tour price acts as a warranty that the traveller has sufficient health and fitness to participate in the tour. We reserve the right to decline a booking and/or remove a traveller from a tour if their health, fitness or behaviour interferes with the tour or other travellers’ tour experience in any way.

2. If you have a medical, physical or mental condition, you must disclose this to us by providing accurate information on the Sign Up Form upon booking. You are also obliged to inform us if a medical condition changes after your booking and before the date of departure.

3. Customers over the age of 75 may be asked to submit a medical certificate from their doctor.

4. In the event that Adventure Hokkaido cancels the contract due to the customers health, fitness, or behaviour as described above, the contractual relationship between the customer and our company will end at that time and the fulfilment of our obligations regarding the travel services you have already received is considered to be complete.

5. In the case of the preceding paragraph, Adventure Hokkaido will refund you the balance after paying the cancellation, penalty, and other fees due by the provider(s) of the travel services that the customer is yet to receive.

6. If you decide to leave the tour at your convenience, please inform Adventure Hokkaido of when you will rejoin the tour. If you withdraw without notification, we will not be liable to compensate for any loss caused by the withdrawal.

1. In order for us to assure the safety of travellers and our guides, Adventure Hokkaido reserves the right to:

   1. Cancel, modify, substitute any hiking/cycling route set out in the itinerary, in case of adverse weather, or any other hazardous conditions.

   2. Change the date, the itinerary and the providers of travel services in the event of natural disasters, suspension of travel services, orders from public institutions, if those changes are unavoidable to ensure the safe and smooth implementation of the tour.

2. In the above situations, we will promptly explain to the customer in advance the reason for the alteration. However, in case of emergency, we may be unable to explain the reasons until after the alteration is made.

3. Adventure Hokkaido will cater to change a start date of self-guided tour once, free of charge, provided that there is no increase in charges required by the service providers. The fees for changing a tour date thereafter will be 30,000 yen, which will be added to the balance payment.

If any fare of the transportation we use is revised significantly beyond what is normally expected, such as due to significant changes in economic conditions, etc, the tour price will also be changed. If the tour price is altered, we will notify the customer at least 16 days before the start of the tour.

You may transfer your contractual status to a third party with our prior consent. In this case, you will be required to pay the amount of fees set by us. When we are unable to change the reservations under the name of the replacing person, due to the vacancy status of providers or other unavoidable reasons, we may decline the request.

When Adventure Hokkaido makes any refund to the customer due to the alteration of tour price or the cancellation described in sections 4-10 above, we will pay the refund on the following schedule.

We will calculate the refund in Japanese Yen, which means the amount you receive in your own currency may differ to what you paid due to exchange rate changes. We are not liable to compensate for any loss due to a change in exchange rate.

When we receive a booking from a customer’s agent or a group representative on behalf of the customer or the rest of the group, we consider that the person in charge has the right to represent the customer regarding the execution and cancellation of the travel contract. All transactions related to the travel contract will be carried out between the person in charge and Adventure Hokkaido.

1. Adventure Hokkaido will only compensate for any losses incurred by the customer as the result of our company’s actions, both intentional or through negligence, when we are notified of the losses within two years from the day after the occurrence of the damage. Damages to baggage will be compensated, up to 150,000 yen per customer, only when we are notified of the damage within 14 days from the day after the occurrence of the damage.

2. Adventure Hokkaido will not be held liable for any losses caused by natural disasters, war, riots, suspension of travel services such as transportation and accommodation facilities, orders from public institutions, or other reasons beyond our control.

Under the Japanese Travel Agency Act, Adventure Hokkaido is obliged to compensate for any accidental losses suffered by our customer during the contracted tour regardless of whether or not we are liable. These are called “Special Compensation”, and the amount described below will be paid out from Adventure Hokkaido.

1. “Special Compensation” does not apply to valuables such as cash & credit card, important documents such as passports, electronic data, activity equipment, contact lenses, dentures, artificial limbs and other items specified in the “Standard General Conditions of Travel Agency Business”.

2. To receive Special Compensation for damages, in accordance with Article 21 on “Special Compensation” of the Travel Agency Act, you must submit the following documents:

   1. A report on the accident issued by the police or other appropriate party

   2. Documents that certify the extent of losses incurred by the customer

   3. Any other documents we deem necessary

3. Adventure Hokkaido will not be liable to compensate for any losses caused in the following situations:

   1. Damage caused intentionally by the customer or due to the customer’s illness, drunk driving, intentional violation of laws and regulations, or receipt of service that violates laws and regulations.

   2. Accidents during “high risk” sports, such as climbing or skydiving, that are not included in the agreed itinerary.

   3. Losses occurred on days when it is clearly stated in the tour confirmation contract that no travel services will be provided by our arrangement (free day).

By law, Adventure Hokkaido is obliged to compensate for any significant change made by us to the itinerary from what was detailed in the tour confirmation contract. The amount will be defined by multiplying the tour price by the rate shown in the following table. Payment will be made within 31 days from the day the tour ends. Please note that with the consent of the customer we may provide goods or services of equal or higher value instead of paying the compensation.

1. Adventure Hokkaido will not be liable to compensate for itinerary change when the changes are made as safety measures against natural disasters, wars, riots, orders from public institutions, or suspension of travel services such as transportation and accommodation facilities.

2. The maximum amount of compensation paid by us under any one contract is 15% of the tour price. We will not pay any itinerary change compensation less than 1,000 yen.

3. When Adventure Hokkaido becomes liable to pay compensation as described in section 13 “Our Liability”, we will deduct any itinerary change compensation already paid before paying the compensation we are liable for.

1. If Adventure Hokkaido suffers willing or negligent damage by the customer, we will claim compensation for our losses from the customer.

2. It is the responsibility of the customer to, using the information provided by us, endeavour to understand their rights, obligations and other details of the travel contract.

3. Customers travelling on our self-guided tour are responsible for their safety during un-guided activities. This includes; checking the weather forecast for the places they are visiting, using appropriate gear for the conditions, and for making the judgement to abandon an activity if unsafe.

4. If the customer experiences and recognises any difference in tour services described in the tour confirmation contract, the customer must promptly inform Adventure Hokkaido at the destination before the end of the tour.

In case of an unexpected event or accident on a Self-Guided or Self-Drive tour, please contact the team at Adventure Hokkaido on the emergency contact number given on the tour confirmation contract.

We reserve the right to use photographs or videos taken during our tours for promotional purposes. Please let us know at the time of booking If you have any objections to us using your image.

1. Travellers are advised that all activities are undertaken entirely at their own risk and they must behave in a fit and proper manner at all times in accordance with Adventure Hokkaido’s guidelines. All adventure tours and outdoor activities carry inherent risks and Adventure Hokkaido nor its partners do not assume any responsibility for accidents that are caused by its customers or caused by factors outside of human control.

2. With the purchase of your trip you acknowledge that:

   1. By its very nature, adventure travel, hiking and cycling tours are challenging, demanding and have a significant level of risk, including injury and possibly death.

   2. Additional dangers and risks associated with adventure travel may include difficult and dangerous terrain; high altitude; extremes of weather, including sudden and unexpected changes; political instability; remoteness from normal medical services and from communications; and evacuation difficulties in the event of illness or injury.

   3. You must follow our guide’s instructions and use any safety equipment provided at all times. For the above reasons you accept the inherent and increased dangers and risks associated with the proposed adventure and the accompanying risk of injury, death or property damage or loss.

1. Adventure Hokkaido is a Bonded Member of the All Nippon Travel Agents Association (ANTA, 2-19 Akasaka 4-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo).

2. In the event Adventure Hokkaido is unable to pay any claimed compensation, the customer or representative who entered a contract with Adventure Hokkaido is entitled to claim compensation from the Compensation Security Bonds we pay to ANTA, for claims up to 11 million yen.

Corporate name : Adventure Hokkaido LLC
Corporate number: 3450003001889
Address of Head Office: West 4, North 46, Higashikawa, Kamikawa, Hokkaido, Japan
Telephone number: (+81)-50-3528-8243 (Monday to Friday, 9:30 am – 5:30 pm)

Registered by the Governor of Hokkaido
in accordance with the provisions of the Travel Agency Act

• Travel Agency License

• Standardised General Conditions of Licensed Travel Agencies (in Japanese)

• Travel Service Fees (in Japanese)