Terms of Service

This page covers the rules of your booking — payments, refunds, cancellations, liability, your rights. It does not restate your day-by-day plan.

Your hotel category, in-city transport, meals, and daily inclusions are exactly as set out in the itinerary document for your selected package and your booking confirmation. Wherever these Terms refer to “your package,” that’s what we mean — check those two documents for the specifics.

Longitude Pass designs your route, books your stays, transport and experiences, and looks after logistics on the ground.

We work with independent third-party suppliers — airlines, hotels, rail operators, and local transport or experience providers — none of whom we own or control. Each supplier's own tariffs, conditions of carriage, and cancellation rules apply to their part of the trip. We're not liable for a supplier's delay, cancellation, overbooking, or insolvency, though we'll always help you sort it out.

Your journey host

Longitude Pass may or may not provide a host to accompany travellers during the journey. Where a host travels with the group, their role is limited to trip coordination, logistical assistance and traveller support — coordinating scheduled services, meeting points, transport, and general practical help.

A journey host does not represent themselves as a National Government Licensed Interpreter-Guide or any other certified guide, unless expressly stated otherwise. They do not provide formal historical, cultural or interpretive guiding as a paid service — including guided commentary or guided tours inside temples, shrines, museums, historic sites or other attractions. Where specialist or licensed guiding is required or included, it will be provided by an appropriately qualified third-party professional.

A host is not responsible for the independent operation, safety, admission policies, opening hours, content or services of any third-party attraction, transport provider, hotel, restaurant or experience provider.

Securing your seat

Once you're selected and you've said yes, a ₹15,000 deposit secures your seat and locks your price. You have 48 hours from paying it to change your mind for a full refund, no questions asked. After that the deposit is non-refundable and is adjusted in full against your trip cost — it isn't an extra charge. The only later exceptions are the two set out below: if we cancel your departure, or if your seat is filled after a visa refusal. Your Visa Guide is sent the moment the deposit lands, so documentation starts the same day.

Payment schedule

• At confirmation: ₹15,000 deposit.
• 75 days before departure: 50% of the trip cost (the deposit counts towards it).
• 46 days before departure: the remaining balance.

If you book inside one of those windows, the amounts already due are payable at booking. If a payment isn't received by its due date, we may release your seat, and the cancellation charge for that date in Section 5 applies as if you had cancelled.

Booking-specific documents — hotel confirmations, visa supporting letters, flight details where applicable — are issued once the relevant payment is received.

Families and groups book as one

People who apply together travel on a single booking, with one price, one payment schedule and one cancellation position. If part of the group withdraws, the cancellation charge applies to the seats withdrawn on the date of notice, and the rest of the booking continues unchanged.

If we can't run your departure

Every departure needs a minimum of 6 travellers — we can't run one below that number. If we don't reach it, we may have to cancel.

All prices are per person, twin sharing, and are published on the Chapter page for each departure. Same trip, same inclusions — the price simply rises as each departure fills, so booking earlier costs less. The price you confirm at is locked for you and never moves.

International flights and anything marked optional or excluded in your itinerary are not included in the package price. Applicable GST and TCS apply on top and are shown to you before you pay.

Twelve seats, a minimum of six, and a ryokan, hotels and experiences that are committed to well before departure — a late cancellation isn't a private matter, it puts the departure at risk for everyone else on it. Our charges rise as departure nears for exactly that reason, and they're generous at the top so that nobody is punished for a change of plan made early.

Cancellations are counted from the day we receive your notice in writing (email is fine) to the departure date, and the charge is a percentage of your full trip cost — the package price, not just what you've paid so far. The schedule applies to every booking, whenever it was made.

Cancellation charges

The percentage is the charge you forfeit, calculated on the full trip cost. Anything you've paid above it is refunded; anything below it is payable.

Visa refused, or not issued in time

If your visa is refused, or hasn't been issued by departure, after a complete and on-time application, tell us immediately. The same applies if someone on your booking is refused and you choose not to travel without them.

We keep a waitlist for every departure and file visas as a group the week the window opens, so refusals surface early and seats are usually refillable. Applying late, or withdrawing an application, is treated as an ordinary cancellation.

If we cancel

If we cancel your departure for insufficient numbers — which will never happen later than 30 days before travel — you receive a 100% refund of everything paid, including the deposit. If we cancel because of a genuine Force Majeure event, see Section 12.

How refunds are processed

Refunds are typically initiated within 30 business days of your cancellation being confirmed in writing. Once initiated, we're not responsible for delays caused by third-party banks or payment providers.

Where you cancel, payment processing charges are deducted from any refund:

• Payments made through a payment portal: 3% deduction.
• Payments made using EMI: 5% deduction, covering non-refundable payment processing and EMI charges.

We can't reimburse anything you booked independently — flights, hotels, visas, transfers or any other personal travel arrangements made outside your LP journey.

Your Visa Guide includes everything you need to prepare your application — checklist, sample documents, and guidance. It's sent the moment your deposit lands. Visa fees and processing support are included in your trip.

Visa issuance is entirely at the discretion of the Japanese authorities. LP assists and guides, but is not an immigration consultant and cannot guarantee an outcome or a timeline.

If your visa is refused or not issued in time despite a complete, on-time application, the seat-refill terms in Section 5 apply. If we're unable to fill your seat, the ordinary cancellation charge for the date applies. Where a later departure is available we'll offer it; if none is, we'll talk about another chapter.

Comprehensive travel insurance covering medical emergencies of every kind is mandatory for every traveller. It is not part of the package — you arrange your own policy and share its details with us before departure. We will tell you what it needs to cover.

What's actually covered — and to what limit — depends on the specific policy you're travelling on. Read it before you go. In a medical emergency, your insurer governs the claim; we'll help coordinate, but we're not the insurer.

You'll self-certify that you're fit to travel via a signed Fitness Declaration. We don't collect medical records or health histories — anything relevant to your coverage goes directly to your insurer.

International travel carries inherent risk: physical exertion, unfamiliar terrain, dietary exposures, transit accidents, and natural events like seismic activity. By travelling with us, you're voluntarily accepting that risk.

We can end your participation in the trip for: possession or use of illegal substances, violence or credible threats, harassment, or a serious breach of local law resulting in police involvement.

Outside of those, you'll get a documented warning from your tour lead first. If your trip is ended:

• Where legally permitted, we'll get you to a single safe exit point — a transit hub, airport terminal, or embassy contact.
• From there, any further stay, transport, or return travel is arranged and paid for by you.
• Bookings already used or non-refundable (flight legs, hotel nights, passes) stay non-refundable.

Moving to another departure

You may transfer once to another LP departure, provided you ask 60 or more days before your original departure, there is space on the new one, and we're able to fill the seat you're leaving. You'll pay any fare or rate difference, plus any costs already incurred on the original departure that we can't recover. If we can't fill your seat, a transfer isn't available and the cancellation charges in Section 5 apply.

Sending someone in your place

A replacement traveller is permitted where the supplier allows it, subject to eligibility, name-change fees, and fare differences at actuals. Airlines generally do not permit name changes on issued tickets — that part remains entirely subject to the operating carrier's rules, and in most cases the flight cost is not transferable.

Other changes

Want to modify a flight, hotel, or room category after booking? We'll try, subject to supplier availability — but change penalties, fare or rate differences, any non-refundable forfeiture, and an admin fee are payable by you upfront.

Choosing to downgrade voluntarily (say, a lower cabin class) carries no refund or credit. If a downgrade is instead imposed by the airline itself — an aircraft swap or other operational reason — that airline's own policy and refund entitlement apply, not ours.

If you choose to vacate a booked hotel early, decline a room that matches your package specification, or arrange your own transport out of personal preference, that's treated as a voluntary forfeiture. We won't fund or arrange a replacement, and there's no refund for the unused portion of your booking.

Earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic activity, typhoons, pandemics, political unrest, government travel advisories, or airline groundings — things genuinely beyond anyone's reasonable control. Japan is an earthquake-prone country, and by travelling here you acknowledge that risk.

In these situations our suppliers typically don't refund us either, so we can't promise you a cash refund. What we will do is pass on whatever we actually recover, and work with you on the best available option — which may be a transfer to another departure, a travel credit, or a partial refund, depending on what suppliers return to us.

We'll always show you a transparent breakdown of what was recovered and what wasn't, and we add no charge of our own in these circumstances. Your travel insurance may cover some disruption costs — claims go directly to your insurer.

If a Force Majeure event happens mid-trip, we'll make reasonable efforts to keep you safe and help you get home. Additional costs arising — extra accommodation, alternative transport, rebooking fees — are payable at actuals.

Minors travel with a parent, or with another adult guardian once we've verified notarized parental consent and the right paperwork. A birth certificate and proof of the relationship are required before travel; where the guardian isn't a parent, a notarized consent letter is required too.

Rules set by others

Airlines, hotels, experience providers, airports and governments set their own rules, and change them. If any of them cancels, reschedules or restricts a service, refuses boarding or entry, or imposes a new requirement — health, documentation, baggage, conduct or otherwise — that is outside our control and not our responsibility. We'll help you find the best available alternative, but any cost above your package price is payable by you at actuals.

Immigration matters

We are not liable for any cost, loss or consequence arising from refusal of entry, deportation, detention, a visa overstay, or any other action by an immigration or government authority. Complying with the conditions of your visa is your responsibility throughout the trip.

The cap

We collect your name, passport details, date of birth, contact information, and dietary preferences — solely for trip planning, visa assistance, and hotel bookings. We don't collect or store medical records or health histories; that stays between you and your insurer.

The one exception: if you're carrying prescription medication into Japan, we note the medication name only, strictly to check it against Japanese customs and import rules.

We never sell or rent your data. It's shared only with airlines, hotels, visa agencies and insurers as needed for your trip, kept for up to 2 years after you return, then securely deleted. Want it deleted sooner? Just ask, in writing.

The cancellation and refund terms above are the agreed allocation of risk between us. Please don't file a chargeback or bank dispute for an amount validly retained under these Terms — talk to us first, we'd rather resolve it directly. An improper chargeback may mean you're responsible for the administrative fees and banking penalties of disputing it.

Payment gateway charges, currency conversion fees, and bank transfer charges are outside our control and non-refundable on cancellation.

One person can register and pay for the whole group. But personal waivers — accepting travel risk, agreeing to indemnify us, consenting to data processing — can only be given by each adult themselves, not on their behalf by someone else.

Each adult traveller completes their own consent, physically or digitally. If it's digital, each consent must be actively and individually given — nothing pre-ticked or bundled. Minors are covered through their accompanying parent or guardian's signature.

These Terms are governed by the laws of India. Disputes fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Bengaluru, Karnataka — without taking away any statutory consumer protections available to you.

If something goes wrong on the trip, flag it with your on-ground coordinator within 24 hours — it gives us a real chance to investigate and fix it while you're still there. That doesn't affect your legal rights either way, but issues raised in the moment are always easier for us to resolve well.

Formal grievances are acknowledged within 48 hours and resolved within 14 working days. In compliance with the IT Act, 2000 and the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020, unresolved matters can be escalated to:

If any part of these Terms is found invalid or unenforceable, the rest continues to apply in full. We may update these Terms from time to time — the version live at the time of your booking is the one that governs your trip.

Paying your ₹15,000 deposit, or any later payment toward your trip, confirms that you've read, understood, and agreed to these Terms in full — including the Assumption of Risk, Indemnification, and Data Privacy Consent sections above.