2. Booking a tour
2-1. Sending a request
Open Explore, pick a tour, and press Book this tour.
Tell Kirarity when you would like to go. We arrange a local guide and email you as soon as your trip is ready to pay for.
| Field | Notes |
|---|---|
| Preferred date and time | All times are Kyoto time (JST) |
| Number of guests | Up to the group size shown on the plan |
| What would you like to see or do? (optional) | The more specific, the better your day will be — "temples in the morning, then somewhere locals actually eat lunch" |
Press Send request. Your trip appears under My trips as Finding a guide.
You are not charged at this point, and nothing is confirmed yet.
2-2. How we arrange your guide
Kirarity reads your request and matches you with a local guide. When that is done:
- Your trip moves to Payment needed.
- You receive an email:
Your guide is confirmed — complete your booking.
If the date or group size had to be adjusted, the trip page shows the arranged details — check them before you pay.
2-3. Paying
Open the trip from My trips and press Proceed to payment. You are taken to Stripe's secure checkout page.
We place a hold on your card now. You can change or cancel for free until the change window closes, and only then is the payment captured.
A few things worth knowing:
- A hold is not a charge. Your bank may show it as pending; the money leaves your account only when the payment is captured.
- The payment is in Japanese yen. Your card issuer converts it at their rate.
- After paying, the trip page says "Confirming your payment… This usually takes a few seconds." It updates on its own — you do not need to pay again.
- If you press back or close the page, you see "The payment was cancelled. Your trip is still on hold — you can try again."
Your trip then shows as On hold until the change window closes, and Confirmed afterwards. You receive Payment confirmed when it is captured.
When the payment is taken immediately
If your tour starts within about a week, or you pay with American Express, we cannot hold the authorisation long enough, so the payment is captured straight away and there is no free change window. The booking page tells you when this applies.
If the payment fails
You receive Payment could not be completed. Open the trip and try again with another card. If a trip is left unpaid long enough it expires (Your booking has expired) and you will need to send a new request.
2-4. Understanding the price
The trip page shows a Price breakdown.
| Line | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Base price | Covers the group size included in the plan |
| Additional guests | Charged per extra guest beyond that |
| Discount | Any credit you applied |
| Total | What you pay |
Example only: a plan at ¥20,000 for up to 2 guests with ¥3,000 per extra guest costs ¥26,000 for 4 people.
The price is fixed when your trip is arranged. If the guide later changes the plan's price, your booked trip is not affected.
2-5. Discount codes and invite credit
If you have credit, open your trip before you pay and use Have a code?
- Enter the code under Discount code and press Check code.
- The page shows Subtotal, Discount, and New total.
- Press Applied: … stays on screen — the discount is applied automatically when you pay. Use Remove to take it off.
If a code will not apply, the message tells you why:
| Message | Meaning |
|---|---|
| This code has expired. | Past its valid-until date |
| This code has already been used. | Credit can be used once |
| This code belongs to someone else. | It was issued to another account |
| Your total is not high enough to use this code. | The code has a minimum |
| This code can only be used on your first tour. | Welcome credit is first-tour only |
| This code is not valid. | Cancelled, or the code does not exist |
Where credit comes from, and how to earn more, is in Chapter 5.
Where to go next
- Changing or cancelling → Chapter 3
- What happens on the day → Chapter 4