STAYGO is a Japan travel concierge based in Tokyo. We plan private journeys through Japan for couples, families and independent travellers, and the work covers the design of your itinerary, researching and checking each hotel, restaurant and experience for your dates, making your arrangements in your names, and support from us during your trip. You pay hotels, restaurants and providers directly, at their own rates, with no markup or commission. Our Signature planning fee is USD 3,500 for your group, for journeys of 7 to 14 days, and longer or more complex journeys are planned as Bespoke.
This page sets out what we do, how planning works, what it costs and how you reach us while you travel. We read every sample itinerary and journey page linked here on October 15, 2026, to confirm the number of days and the places each one covers. The sources are listed at the end.
Key points
- We design the route and the days, check each hotel, restaurant and experience for your dates, and make your arrangements in your names.
- Planning runs in four steps: consult, plan, refine, travel. You read the draft and tell us what to change until it reads like your trip.
- Signature is USD 3,500 for your group for 7 to 14 days. Bespoke is priced with you before you commit. A 25% deposit begins planning, and 75% is due 60 days before travel. For journeys departing within 60 days, the full fee is due when you confirm.
- You pay every hotel, restaurant and guide directly, at their own rates, so your card points, hotel status and miles work as they should.
- During the trip you message us in your STAYGO portal or on WhatsApp. We confirm our response hours with you before you leave.
WHAT A JAPAN TRAVEL CONCIERGE DOES
We plan the trip as one piece: the order of the cities, the nights in each, which mornings start early and which are left slow. Then we fill it in:
- Hotels and ryokan. We research and check each one for your dates and arrange the room in your names, at the hotel's own rate.
- Restaurants. We choose tables that fit the day and ask each kitchen about your dietary needs before arranging anything. The detail is on our dining concierge page.
- Experiences. Tea, craft workshops, a morning at a temple, a market with a chef. Some cannot be booked online at all, and we arrange them as part of your journey. The craft side is on our shopping concierge page.
- Guides and drivers. Where a local guide, driver or specialist would genuinely add to a day, we arrange one. We don't run escorted group tours, and your journey is private.
- Transport routes. We set out the route between each place: the train, the transfer and the time it takes, so each day holds together. How we move you explains the options.
We can arrange hard-to-book restaurants, ryokan and private experiences through our contacts in Japan. Each depends on the venue's own conditions and availability, so we tell you plainly what is realistic for your dates, and we never present anything as secured until it is confirmed. If you have already booked hotels or flights, keep them, and we plan everything else around them.
HOW PLANNING WORKS
- Consult. Tell us the dates, who is coming and how you like to travel. The form on our home page takes a few minutes.
- Plan. We draft a route and a day-by-day plan, with the hotels and the tables we think are right for it.
- Refine. You read it and tell us what to change. We keep adjusting until it reads like your trip.
- Travel. You get the finished plan, with every address, time and document in your STAYGO portal.
The portal holds your itinerary, hotels, restaurants and documents in one private place, together with every decision still waiting on you. You approve, and we confirm. Three to six months ahead gives you the widest choice, especially for cherry blossom and autumn foliage, when sought-after ryokan and restaurants fill early. If you are travelling in a few weeks, you are welcome to write; we check availability for your dates before recommending anything and flag clearly what still needs confirmation.
SAMPLE ITINERARIES
These routes show the kind of journey we plan. Every STAYGO trip is written from scratch, so treat them as a starting shape.
- The San'in Coast: 7 days, Signature. Izumo Taisha, Matsue, the Adachi Museum and Daisen, the Tottori dunes and the old town of Tsuwano.
- The Hokuriku Coast: 8 days, Signature. Toyama, the World Heritage village of Gokayama, Kanazawa, the Noto Peninsula and Kaga Onsen.
- The Tohoku Highlands: 8 days, Signature. Ginzan Onsen, the snow monsters of Zao, Yamadera, Akita, Kakunodate, Lake Tazawa and Hiraizumi.
- Deep Kyushu: 9 days, Bespoke. Beppu and Yufuin, Takachiho Gorge and the Miyazaki coast, Kagoshima and Sakurajima, then Yakushima.
- Shikoku and the Inland Sea: 10 days, Signature. Takamatsu, Naoshima and Teshima, the Iya Valley, Uchiko, Matsuyama and Dogo Onsen, and the Shimanami Kaido by bicycle to Onomichi.
- Japan End to End: 14 days, Signature. Tokyo, Hakone, Kanazawa, Shirakawa-go, Takayama, Kyoto, a day in Nara, and Osaka.
- Japan From North to South: 21 days, Bespoke. Sapporo and Otaru, Lake Toya, Hakodate, Hirosaki and Lake Towada, Tokyo, Kanazawa, Kyoto, Hiroshima and Miyajima, Kumamoto and Aso.
- A Month in Japan: 30 days, Bespoke. A week in Tokyo, Hakone, the Nakasendo from Magome to Tsumago, Kanazawa, a week in Kyoto, Naoshima, Miyajima, a night in a temple on Koyasan, and Osaka.
JOURNEYS BY TRAVELLER
If you would rather start from the kind of trip you have in mind, each of these pages shows how we plan for it.
- First trip to Japan: the order of Tokyo, Hakone and Kyoto, how long in each, and the trains between them.
- Honeymoon: ryokan rooms with their own bath, dinners at the counter, and evenings left free.
- Family: easy transfers, rooms with space, meals that work for children, and days that do not run too long.
- Onsen and ryokan: choosing the right ryokan, how the evening runs, private baths, and dietary needs passed on in Japanese.
- Wellness: forest, hot springs, temples and temple food, with early mornings and quiet places.
- Solo: counter seats where dining alone feels natural, guides where they help, and someone in Japan to message.
- Business and rest: short breaks between meetings, tables for hosting, and a few quiet days at the end.
WHAT IT COSTS
| Plan | Fee |
|---|---|
| Signature | USD 3,500 for your group, for journeys of 7 to 14 days |
| Bespoke | Priced with you after our first conversation, for longer or more complex journeys. You see the number before you commit |
| Payment | 25% deposit to begin planning, 75% due 60 days before travel. For journeys departing within 60 days, the full fee is due when you confirm |
The fee covers your whole party, and it is our only income from your trip. You pay hotels, restaurants, guides and other providers directly, at their own rates. We add no markup and take no commission, so our recommendations are not shaped by what pays us more. The planning fee is paid by card through Stripe's secure payment page, and for Bespoke journeys with a larger fee a bank transfer in Japanese yen is also possible. Each provider has its own cancellation terms, and we show them to you before anything is arranged. What a bespoke Japan trip costs sets out the other side of the budget.
DURING YOUR TRIP
While you travel, you message us in your STAYGO portal or on WhatsApp about anything in your itinerary: a change of plan, a restaurant to change, a question on the day. Before you leave, we confirm our response hours and what is included in your plan. If rain closes a day in Hakone, tell us, and we work out what can move.
WHAT WE DO NOT DO
- Escorted group tours. Your journey is private, and you move at your own pace.
- Collecting payment for your hotels and meals. You pay each provider directly. Our fee is the only thing you pay us.
- Promising what is not confirmed. Nothing is presented as secured until the venue has confirmed it.
SOURCES AND HOW WE CHECKED
The facts on this page describe our own service. We read each sample itinerary and journey page on October 15, 2026, to confirm the length and the places of each route, and took the fees, payment terms and support arrangements from our published plan and FAQ. If any of these change, the page will be updated.
- STAYGO, home page and FAQ: what is included, fees, deposit and final payment, cancellation of the planning fee, support during the trip, the four planning steps
- STAYGO sample itineraries: Japan End to End, with the San'in, Hokuriku, Tohoku, Kyushu, Shikoku, North to South and Month pages read for days and places
- STAYGO journeys by traveller: first time, with the honeymoon, family, onsen and ryokan, wellness, solo and business pages
QUESTIONS ABOUT PLANNING A JAPAN TRIP WITH STAYGO
What does a Japan travel concierge do?
At STAYGO, the work covers the design of your itinerary, researching and checking each hotel, restaurant and experience for your dates, making your arrangements in your names, and support from us during your trip. You pay each provider directly, at their own rates.
How much does STAYGO cost?
Signature is USD 3,500 for your group, for journeys of 7 to 14 days. Longer or more complex journeys are planned as Bespoke, priced with you before you commit. A 25% deposit begins planning, and the remaining 75% is due 60 days before you travel. For journeys departing within 60 days, the full fee is due when you confirm.
How far ahead should we start?
Three to six months ahead gives the widest choice, especially in cherry blossom and autumn foliage season. If your trip is a few weeks away, write to us; we check availability for your dates before recommending anything.
Can you plan around hotels and flights we have already booked?
Yes. Keep them, and we plan the rest of the journey around them.
How do we reach you during the trip?
By message in your STAYGO portal or on WhatsApp, within response hours we agree before you travel.
BEGIN YOUR JAPAN JOURNEY
Send us your dates, who is travelling and what matters most. We will come back with a first shape for the trip before any work begins.
Begin planning →