Terms And Conditions

1. Entering into a Contract

You must be 18 years old to enter into book a holiday with Japan Ski Experience. When you sign and return your confirmation invoice, you are entering into a legally binding contract with us. You will be signing to confirm that you have read and agree to all booking information contained on this page. These terms and conditions, with all the other information we have provided regarding your booking, form the basis of the contract between us. Your contract will be governed by English law and any disputes will be dealt with in the courts of England and Wales. If you live in Northern Ireland or Scotland, the courts of Northern Ireland or Scotland (as appropriate) deal with any disputes. Your contract with us is for the provision of accommodation, transport and other holiday services outlined in your itinerary as being provided by Japan Ski Experience, which together form your holiday package. In the case of holiday extras which are booked separately and are not included on your itinerary, you do not have a contract with Japan Ski Experience, but with the third party supplier. In this instance, Japan Ski Experience is merely a booking agent facilitating the contract between you and the supplier.

2. Payment

At the time of booking we will require a deposit. We will email you a Confirmation Invoice showing how much you owe us. You must pay the amount on the last Invoice issued by us, at least 60 days before you go on holiday. If you don’t, we will assume you have chosen to cancel your holiday with Japan Ski Experience and we will charge you cancellation fees of up to 100% of the total on that last Invoice, in accordance with the scale in section 4.

3. Modifications made by You

If, after our confirmation invoice has been issued, you wish to change your holiday in any way, we will do our best to make these changes, but it may not always be possible and you could incur cancellation fees, together with any extra cost. Any request for changes to be made must be received in writing at our offices from the person who made the booking. You will be asked to pay an administration charge of £30 per person, and any further cost we incur in making this alteration. You should be aware that these costs could increase the closer to the departure date that changes are made and you should contact us as soon as possible.
Please note that certain travel arrangements such as scheduled airline tickets and accommodation may not be changeable after a reservation has been made according to the suppliers’ rules and any alteration could incur a cancellation charge of up to 100% of that part of the arrangements.

3.1 Name Changes

For holidays including scheduled flights, please note that the airlines we use do not permit name changes for any reason. Such changes are likely to result in you being charged the full cost of the flight and may be subject to space being available for a new reservation. In addition, you will also have to pay any extra costs that the airline passes onto us, as well as an administration charge of £30 per name change.

4. Cancellation by You

You may cancel your holiday at any time. Written notification from the person who made the booking must be received by us. Telephone cancellations will not be accepted. The date of receipt of the cancellation notice in writing will be deemed the date on which you exercise your right to cancel your holiday. Please note that the cancellation of any member of your party may affect the price of accommodation for your booking.
Exercising your right to cancel your holiday incurs the following fees required to cover our costs.*

Period before departure within which cancellation is received by Japan Ski Experience

Charge	More than 60 days	60-29 days	28-22 days	21-13 days	14-0 days
Deposit	n/a	50%	65%	80%	100%

*We reserve the right to impose a cancellation charge of 100% of the cost to us of all flights and accommodation for your holiday package where these have to be paid by us in advance

In these circumstances, the cancellation charges detailed above will apply only to the remainder of the package price. Please note that if the reason for your cancellation is covered under the terms of your personal travel insurance policy, you may be able to reclaim these charges.

5. Modifications by us

It is unlikely that we will have to make any changes to your holiday, but occasionally we may have to make changes and we reserve the right to do so at any time. It is specified that all information given in respect of activities organized by third party suppliers are subject to change; the organisation of these activities, together with the consequences of any modification and/or cancellation of these activities will remain under the sole responsibility of the relevant third party suppliers.

5.1 Minor changes

If changes are made to your holiday, they will most likely be minor, and compensation will not be payable. However, we will advise you of them at the earliest possible date. In accordance with the EU Regulation 2111/2005, we are required to advise you of the actual carrier operating your flight. We do this by listing carriers to be used or likely to be used as follows: Japanese Air Lines, All Nippon Airways, Cathay Pacific, Virgin Atlantic, British Airways. Any changes to the actual airline after you have received your tickets will be notified to you as soon as possible. Such a change is deemed to be a minor change.

5.2 Major changes

If we make a major change to your holiday, we will inform you as soon as reasonably possible if there is time before your departure. When a major change occurs, providing it does not arise from circumstances amounting to force majeure, you will have the choice of accepting the change of arrangements, accepting an offer of an alternative holiday of comparable standard from us if available, or cancelling your booked holidays and receiving a full refund of all monies paid.
In all cases, except where the major change arises due to reasons of force majeure, we will pay compensation as follows:
If you are informed less than 8 weeks before departure, we will give you compensation of £20 per person. If less than 4 weeks before departure, compensation of £30 per person.

5.3. Price Changes

Prices for set tours are quoted on the Japan Ski Experience website in pounds sterling on the basis of known costs as at 1st June 2008. Prices for tailor made holidays are quoted on your group’s final itinerary, on the basis of known costs at that time. However, changes in transportation costs, including the cost of fuel surcharges and exchange rates mean that the price of your holiday may change after you have booked. However there will be no change within 30 days of your departure. We will absorb and you will not be charged for any increase equivalent to 2% of the price of your holiday. If you have to pay an increase of more than 10% of the price of your holiday, you will have the option of accepting a change to another holiday if we are able to offer one, or cancelling and receiving a full refund of all monies paid. Should you decide to cancel for this reason, you must exercise your right to do so within 14 days from the issue date printed on your final invoice.

6. Cancellation by us

6.1 Set tours

Japan Ski Experience’s Experience Japan ski resort tour and Japanese Powder Adventure tour require a minimum number of 6 guests per tour in order to proceed. In the unlikely event that this number is not reached, we reserve the right to cancel your holiday. If we have to cancel a set tour, we will inform you as soon as practicable and you will have the choice of having a refund of all monies paid or, if one is available, accepting an offer of an alternative holiday of comparable standard from us. If you choose to accept an alternative holiday which is a higher price, you will be required to pay the difference between the tour you originally booked and alternative holiday you have accepted, unless a discount price is expressly offered. If you choose to accept an alternative holiday which is a lower price than that originally booked, we will refund the difference. In the case that a set tour is cancelled no compensation will be payable.

6.2 Tailor Made Holiday Packages

We reserve the right in any circumstances to cancel your tailor made holiday. In the extremely unlikely event that we have to cancel your tailor made holiday, we will inform you as soon as practicable and you will have the choice of having a refund of all monies paid or, if available, accepting an offer of an alternative holiday of comparable standard from us. If your tailor made holiday is cancelled less than 8 weeks before departure, we will give you compensation of £20 per person; if less than 4 weeks before departure, compensation of £30 per person.

7. Conduct whilst travelling

We reserve the right to refuse to accept you as a customer or continue dealing with you if your behaviour is disruptive or affects other travellers or is threatening or abusive towards our staff or agents in the UK or Japan, on the telephone, in writing or in person. If the Captain of your flight or cruise ship or our resort staff believes that you could be disruptive, they can also refuse to let you proceed with your travel arrangements. If this means you are not allowed to board the flight outbound from the UK, we will treat your booking as cancelled by you from that moment, and you will have to pay full cancellation charges as detailed in section 4. If this occurs overseas then you will become responsible for your own return home and any other members of your group who cannot or will not travel without you. In any of these circumstances no refunds or compensation will be paid to you and we may make a claim against you for any costs and expenses incurred as a result of your behaviour. Criminal proceedings may also be instigated.

8. Force Majeure

Japan Ski Experience cannot accept liability or pay you compensation where failure to perform our contractual obligations is due to ‘force majeure’, that is, unusual or unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all due care had been exercised. These include but are not limited to, war, threat of war, riot, civil or political unrest, industrial dispute, terrorist activity threatened or actual and its consequences, natural or nuclear disaster, fire, adverse weather conditions, closure of ports or airports, air traffic control delays, technical problems of transport or other circumstances amounting to force majeure.

9. Complaints

If you have a problem during your holiday, you must inform our local staff immediately who will do their best to put things right so that you can enjoy the rest of your holiday. If your complaint is not resolved locally, you must contact us straight away by telephone/email, and we will endeavour to assist. If you are still not satisfied on your return home, you must write to us at the contact address provided on our website within 28 days of returning from your holiday. Please note that if you do not give us the opportunity to resolve the problem locally by reporting the complaint to staff in Japan, then you may have waived your right to assistance or compensation on your return.

10. Our Liability

10.1 Your acceptance of risk

Any ski holiday involves risks including physical injury and in extreme cases, death. Additional activities such as snowmobiling and backcountry tours may incur an increased level of risk, and it is your own choice to accept these risks when you book. Japan Ski Experience cannot be held liable for injury or death on any holiday unless negligence is proven.

10.2 Our suppliers

We have taken all reasonable care to make sure that all the services which make up your package holiday are provided by reputable suppliers. Local suppliers should follow the local and national laws and regulations of the country where they are provided, that is, Japan. These standards may be different from those of the UK. If the contract we have with you is not performed or is improperly performed by us or our suppliers we will be pay appropriate compensation if this has affected the enjoyment of your holiday. However we will not be liable where any failure in the performance of the contract is due to: you; or a third party unconnected with the provision of the holiday and where the failure is unforeseeable or unavoidable; or unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all due care had been exercised; or an event which we or our suppliers, even with all due care, could not foresee or forestall.

10.3 Holiday Extras

Where holiday extras are not included on the original itinerary, but are booked through Japan Ski Experience at a later date, Japan Ski Experience will act as an agent facilitating a contract between the customer and third party supplier. Such arrangements will not give rise to a contract with Japan Ski Experience and their performance will remain the sole responsibility of the third party supplier with whom you have contracted.

11. Injury or Loss

11.1 Where Injury or Loss occurs which stems from your Package Holiday

If injury or some material loss occurs which stem from services that form part of your package holiday with us, we may make a payment to you. You must tell us and the service supplier about your injury or illness straight away. You should seek medical assistance both in Japan and on your return home. You should write to Japan Ski Experience about your injury within 28 days of your return and include a letter about your injury or illness from your doctor.
We will not make a payment if your injury, illness or death was caused by an event or circumstances which could not have been predicted or avoided even if all reasonable care had been taken; or where your illness, injury or death was your own fault, or resulted from a high risk activity where you were aware of and accepted that risk, but we will provide prompt assistance as is reasonable in the circumstances.

11.2 Where Injury or Loss occurs which does not stem from your Package Holiday

If injury or some material loss occurs which does not stem from services that form part of your package holiday with us, we will offer you such prompt assistance as is reasonable in the circumstances. However, such services will remain the sole responsibility of the third party suppliers with whom you are contracted.