Transparency
Hidden Japan Gems is written, photographed and run by one person — me. This page explains the ways this site can earn money, so you can judge my recommendations knowing how I’m paid.
The short version
Affiliate links
When you book a hotel, tour, ticket or eSIM through certain links here, the booking site pays me a commission. You don’t pay extra — it comes out of the booking site’s share.
Display ads
Some pages show ads served by Google AdSense. I don’t personally select each ad, and an ad is never an endorsement.
Reader support
A few readers buy me a coffee through the support button. It’s appreciated, never required, and it doesn’t affect what I recommend.
How affiliate links work here
Links that can earn a commission point to partners such as Booking.com, Agoda, Trip.com, Klook, GetYourGuide, Viator and Rakuten Travel. In the page code they carry rel="sponsored", as Google asks sites to do. Prices, availability, rewards and terms are always set by the booking site itself and can change after you click. Many of these links run through this site’s own /go/ redirect, which lets me count outbound clicks on my end; the booking site or its affiliate network may still receive information when you arrive there, and how ads use data is covered in the privacy policy.
As an Amazon Associate, Hidden Japan Gems earns from qualifying purchases.
Amazonのアソシエイトとして、Hidden Japan Gemsは適格販売により収入を得ています。
What is not for sale
Places don’t pay to appear here, and nobody reviews my drafts before you read them — how guides get researched and fact-checked is written up in my editorial standards. I don’t currently publish sponsored posts, paid listings or paid link insertions. Every guide on this site is a place I actually went, camera in hand — and if a stay, tour or ticket is ever provided free or at a discount, that article will say so plainly at the top.
Business inquiries sometimes come through the partner page — things like consulting or custom research. That work is separate from the travel guides and does not buy listings, rankings, links or recommendations. The newsletter is free, and I don’t sell or rent the list.
Questions about this page? Contact me directly.