Japan Trip Blueprint earns money from some of the links on this site. This page explains exactly how, which companies are involved, and what it does and does not change about what we write.
Last updated: July 2026.
The short version
- Some links on this site are affiliate links. If you book or buy through one, the company pays us a commission.
- You never pay more. The price is the same as it would be if you went to the site directly.
- We do not accept payment to write a positive review, and no company gets to see an article before it is published.
- Plenty of what we recommend earns us nothing at all — IC cards, rail passes, convenience stores, free temples, walking routes. We say so in the articles when that is the case.
Amazon Associates
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Japan Trip Blueprint is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Prices and availability on Amazon change constantly, so anything you see quoted here may be out of date by the time you read it — always check the current price on Amazon before you buy.
The other companies we work with
| Company | What we link to |
|---|---|
| Agoda | Hotels in Japan. Used across our hotel and neighbourhood guides. |
| Klook | Tickets, tours, airport transfers and rail passes. |
| Saily | eSIM data plans for Japan. |
| Amazon.com | Physical items — travel gear, books, kitchen and household goods. |
This list changes as programs start and stop. If you notice a link on the site that does not fit any of the categories above, please tell us.
How this affects what we write
Honestly: it affects what we cover, not what we say. Writing about hotels and tickets pays the hosting bill, so we write about hotels and tickets more often than we write about, say, postbox design in Nara. But within a topic, the recommendation is the one we would give a friend.
The practical test we hold ourselves to: if the cheaper or free option is better, we say so, even though it earns nothing. That is why our checklist tells you not to buy a rail pass reflexively, why we point you at convenience stores instead of restaurants for some meals, and why several of our guides end with “you do not need to book this in advance.”
Where you will see disclosure
Every article that contains affiliate links carries a disclosure line at the top, before the first link. Individual affiliate links are marked with rel="sponsored nofollow" so that both readers and search engines can identify them.
Accuracy
Prices, fares, opening hours and booking rules in Japan change often, and we do not invent them. Where we are not certain, we say we are not certain and point you at the operator’s own site. If you find something on this site that is out of date or wrong, let us know and we will fix it.
Questions about any of this? Get in touch. More about who writes this site is on the About page.