Booking terms & cancellation

Offbeat Buddy is operated by Maxime Lebail, a sole proprietor established in Japan. In these terms, “I”, “me” and “Offbeat Buddy” refer to Maxime Lebail. I provide the service, enter into the contract and receive payment.

• Address: エイブル創久, 455 Shimogojocho, Shimogyo Ward, Kyoto 600-8373, Japan.
• Email: hello@offbeatbuddy.com.
• Telephone: +81 70 2643 3048.

The “customer” is the adult making and paying for the booking. A “participant” is anyone attending it, including the customer where applicable. These terms concern private, consumer bookings. See also the legal notice.

You are booking time with a friendly buddy for platonic company in public places: for example, a coffee, conversation, a walk or time together over a meal. The service is available in Kyoto, Osaka, Nara and Kobe. Other places in Kansai or beyond are subject to an individual written offer.

I am a companion, not a tour guide. The booking is not a guided tour, a package holiday, a dating or sexual service, therapy, medical care, personal care or a security service. I speak English and French, but not Japanese. I do not promise professional interpreting, specialist instruction, a particular emotional outcome or a continuing friendship.

The agreed place, date, starting time, duration, number of participants and activities appear in your offer. A full-day booking means eight hours, unless a different duration is expressly agreed. Travel together and ordinary breaks during those booked hours form part of our time together.

I do not provide passenger transport as part of this booking. We can use public transport or independently licensed transport providers. You normally book and pay for accommodation, transport and other third-party services directly. Any exceptional request for help with bookings or other arrangements requires a separate written agreement and can be accepted only where I may lawfully provide it. An informal request does not add it to the service.

All participants must be 18 or over. You must be at least 20 to drink alcohol in Japan, and individual venues may impose additional age or entry requirements.

If you book for other adults, you must have their permission to make the arrangements and share their necessary booking details. Give each participant these terms and the agreed activity and insurance requirements before booking. Each participant must agree to participate and follow the applicable conduct and safety rules. Paying for a group does not authorise you to waive another adult’s legal rights.

The number of participants must be agreed before payment. Extra people cannot simply join an existing booking without agreement. Tell me about practical accessibility needs or adjustments relevant to the planned activity before booking so we can assess a suitable plan; you do not need to send an unnecessary medical history.

I consider requests individually and provide the reasonable accommodations required by Japanese law. If a proposed adjustment would impose an undue burden, I explain the practical reasons and discuss suitable alternatives.

An enquiry or availability discussion is not a confirmed booking. I first send a written offer specifying the service, participants, date, time and meeting point, total payable, additional expenses, payment deadline, cancellation terms and any activity-specific requirements.

Your booking is confirmed when you expressly accept that offer within its validity period and the required advance payment is received by its stated deadline. I then send a written confirmation and payment acknowledgement, recording the amount and date received, acceptance of the booking, the service and its date, and my business contact details. Confirmation does not depend on a further discretionary approval after you have accepted and paid for an available booking.

Payment is through the Stripe or Wise instructions supplied for your booking. Do not send payment until the offer and total have been agreed. A payment received for an expired or otherwise unagreed offer does not automatically create a different booking; I will contact you promptly and return it if no new agreement is reached.

Check the details before accepting. Times and deadlines use Japan Standard Time (JST, UTC+9). Save your offer, confirmation and the terms supplied with them.

The current standard buddy-time prices are:

Scroll sideways to see the full table ↔

The offer must show the final amount payable for your booking, including any applicable tax or mandatory charge, before you accept and pay. An agreed booking price will not have undisclosed compulsory fees added afterwards. Your payment provider or bank may apply its own currency conversion or charges; check those with it before paying.

The buddy-time price does not include your own meals, drinks, transport, admission tickets, rentals or purchases. You pay those directly unless a lawful, specific arrangement is agreed in writing.

You also cover my meals and drinks during the hangout at their actual cost, within a budget agreed in advance. Any admission ticket you would need to pay for me must also be agreed before we incur the cost. I will not commit you to unapproved spending. My own transport costs are not separately charged to you.

Extending a booking requires agreement on availability, additional time and its price before the extension begins. We can also finish at the original end time without extending it.

Contact me as soon as you need to change the time, place, participants or activity. A change is effective when we both agree to it in writing, including any price difference. A requested change does not cancel the original arrangement unless we agree that it does.

If you are late, let me know using the contact details in your confirmation. I will make reasonable efforts to meet you, but the original end time normally remains unchanged because that time has been reserved. If we cannot make contact and the remaining time no longer permits the agreed service, the missed booking is handled under the cancellation terms disclosed in your offer.

If I am late, I will offer to restore the lost time where practicable or refund the affected portion. If the delay substantially defeats the purpose of the booking, you may decline to proceed and receive a refund for the service not provided, without prejudice to your other legal rights.

You can cancel by emailing hello@offbeatbuddy.com, identifying your booking and its date. For a same-day issue, also use the telephone number in your confirmation where possible. The cancellation time is when your message reaches the designated contact channel, not when I later acknowledge it.

The cancellation schedule and any applicable charge must be included in your written offer before you accept and pay. A schedule introduced afterwards does not apply retrospectively. If no cancellation charge was agreed, I will not invent a percentage fee after your cancellation.

Any agreed charge is subject to applicable law, including the limits on cancellation penalties in Japan. It must not exceed the legally recoverable amount; relevant savings and recoveries must be taken into account, and the same loss cannot be charged twice. I will explain how any amount retained is calculated if you ask.

Unexpected illness, a delayed flight or a change in your wider travel plans does not automatically change the agreed schedule. Contact me promptly: we can consider a feasible rescheduling arrangement or other appropriate adjustment. Your statutory cancellation, refund and other remedies remain unaffected.

This section also governs a voluntary early finish or a missed booking where a charge was disclosed for that situation. Time already properly provided is payable; the treatment of unused time must follow the disclosed terms and applicable law, rather than an automatic forfeiture of every amount paid.

If I cannot provide a booking because of my illness, unavailability or another issue on my side, I will tell you promptly and offer an alternative only if you want one. You may instead receive a full refund for the service that cannot be provided. You do not have to accept credit or a replacement date.

Weather, closures, transport disruption or an emergency may require a change. Light rain alone does not necessarily prevent a café or walking hangout. We will consider a safe, reasonable alternative that reflects the agreed purpose. I will not insist on continuing an unsafe activity or impose a materially different service without your agreement.

If no suitable alternative is agreed and the service cannot safely or lawfully proceed, the unused buddy-time fee will be refunded. If we have already started, I will explain the calculation for the part actually provided. Separate arrangements you made directly with other businesses follow their own terms; this does not exclude any legal responsibility I may have for a loss I cause.

Hangouts take place in public settings. Respect personal boundaries, other people, venue rules and local law. Harassment, discriminatory abuse, sexual pressure, threats, illegal activity and dangerous behaviour are not acceptable. Being friendly is not consent to intimate contact or recording.

Alcohol is optional. Intoxication that makes the hangout unsafe can prevent it from starting or require it to end. Never cycle or drive after drinking. Agree any physical activity beforehand; bring suitable clothing and equipment and tell me if the plan needs adjusting.

Where cycling has been expressly agreed, participants must be able to ride safely, comply with traffic rules, use a suitable bicycle and wear a properly fitted helmet. Any compulsory bicycle liability cover must be in place. Rental bikes and specialist activities are subject to the relevant provider’s terms and requirements.

I may decline an unsafe activity or stop a hangout where there are reasonable grounds to protect someone’s safety or respond to a serious breach. I will explain the concern and, where practical, give you a chance to resolve it. Immediate action may be necessary where there is a serious risk.

Stopping a hangout does not automatically mean keeping the whole payment. Any deduction for time provided or a customer-caused cancellation must be justified under the agreed terms and the law. A safety intervention does not waive your rights.

I maintain professional liability insurance under a Japanese policy for covered bodily injury and property damage caused to third parties by my professional negligence, subject to that policy’s terms, exclusions and limits. This is liability insurance, not a personal travel, medical or belongings policy for participants. It does not automatically pay every expense arising during a hangout.

The limits of my insurance do not determine or reduce any liability I have under applicable law.

Participants must have the personal insurance cover required in the written offer before the hangout starts. For visitors to Japan, this means appropriate travel and medical insurance valid in Japan, including emergency medical evacuation and repatriation, and explicit cover for cycling or other outdoor activities where these form part of the agreed plan. Check exclusions with your insurer; I cannot guarantee that your policy covers an incident.

If required cover is missing, the affected activity cannot proceed. Contact me before the booking if you need to resolve this. We can consider a suitable change where feasible. Any cancellation deduction must follow the requirements disclosed before payment, the agreed cancellation terms and applicable law; lack of cover does not automatically remove your right to a refund.

If someone becomes ill or an accident occurs, seek emergency assistance promptly and tell me when it is safe to do so. I may contact emergency services and share information reasonably necessary to obtain help, as described in the privacy policy. I am not a medical professional. Personal insurance and emergency arrangements do not transfer responsibility for my own negligence to you.

I must provide the agreed service with the care required by applicable law. You remain responsible for your own unlawful or negligent conduct to the extent the law provides. Neither person accepts responsibility for every event merely because they joined the hangout.

Everyday activities can involve traffic, uneven surfaces, crowds, weather and other ordinary risks. We should both take reasonable care and respond to changing conditions. Please keep your belongings secure and report a loss promptly. Recognising these risks does not mean accepting negligent service or waiving a legal remedy.

Restaurants, transport operators, venues and rental businesses are separate providers. Their opening hours, availability and admission decisions may change. I cannot promise access to a place unless it is expressly included in a lawful, agreed arrangement. Nevertheless, referring you to a third party does not remove any responsibility I have for my own acts, omissions or contractual promises.

Nothing in these terms excludes or restricts liability in a way prohibited by law, including liability for intentional misconduct or gross negligence. Joining a hangout does not waive a claim for injury or require you to indemnify me for events for which you are not legally responsible.

Ask before photographing, filming or recording anyone. Booking a hangout does not give either party permission to publish the other person’s image, private messages or personal story. Any permission to use a participant’s material for Offbeat Buddy marketing will be requested separately and can be declined without affecting the service.

Booking information is handled as explained in the privacy policy. You are paying for the agreed time and service; neither participant nor buddy is obliged to continue a personal relationship afterwards.

Contact hello@offbeatbuddy.com with your booking details and a description of any problem. Where possible, raise a practical issue during the hangout so I can try to put it right. Not doing so does not automatically extinguish a legal claim.

I will explain any refund or deduction in writing. Refunds are returned through the original payment method where possible, without undue delay. If another method is necessary, we will agree a secure alternative. Your bank or payment provider controls its own processing time and exchange rate; no payment-processing deduction will be imposed unless it was validly agreed and is lawful.

These terms are governed by Japanese law, subject to any mandatory protections that apply to you. They do not require you to give up a court, complaint process or other remedy that the law makes available. We will first try to resolve a concern directly, but contacting me is not a waiver of those rights.

The terms supplied when you book govern that booking. Later website updates apply to new bookings unless we agree a lawful change. If a provision cannot be enforced, the others continue only to the extent permitted by law.