Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using otakutrips.com (the "Service"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service ("Terms"). These Terms apply to all users of the Service, including but not limited to visitors, registered members, community contributors, and API consumers. If you do not agree to these Terms, you must not access or use the Service.

2. Service Description

Otaku Japan is an information platform that provides anime pilgrimage (seichi junrei) travel information, AI-powered trip planning suggestions, community-driven content, and a public API for developers.

• Important: Otaku Japan is NOT a travel agency. We do not hold a travel business license (旅行業登録) under the Travel Agency Act of Japan (旅行業法).
• We do not arrange, book, sell, or manage travel services of any kind.
• AI-generated trip plans are suggestions for informational purposes only.
• Hotel, flight, and activity links are affiliate links to third-party booking platforms.
• We have no control over the services, policies, availability, or pricing of any third-party provider.

3. User Accounts and API Access

3.1 Registration

Certain features require account registration. You must provide accurate and complete information. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your credentials and for all activity under your account.

3.2 Plan Tiers

3.3 Browsing Without an Account

No account is required to browse the website. Account registration is only required for API access and community features.

4. Payment, Billing, and Refunds

4.1 Billing

Paid plans are billed monthly in US dollars (USD) via Stripe. By subscribing, you authorize us to charge your payment method on a recurring basis.

4.2 Cancellation

You may cancel your subscription at any time. Upon cancellation, your access continues until the end of the current billing period. No partial refunds are issued for unused time within a billing cycle.

4.3 Refunds

Refund requests must be submitted within 14 days of the charge date. Refunds are granted at our sole discretion and are typically limited to cases of: (a) extended service downtime exceeding 72 hours, or (b) incorrect charges. To request a refund, contact us at ko12ma12@icloud.com.

4.4 Price Changes

We reserve the right to change pricing at any time. Existing subscribers will receive at least 30 days' advance notice before any price increase takes effect.

5. Acceptable Use

You agree not to:

1. Use the Service for any illegal purpose or in violation of any applicable law.
2. Resell, sublicense, or commercially redistribute API data without written authorization.
3. Scrape, crawl, or harvest data from the website beyond your authorized API rate limits.
4. Attempt to bypass rate limits, authentication, or security measures.
5. Redistribute data derived from Google Places or other restricted third-party sources.
6. Submit false, misleading, or fabricated content (including fake reviews or locations).
7. Impersonate any person, organization, or entity.
8. Interfere with or disrupt the Service, servers, or networks.
9. Use automated bots, scripts, or tools to access the Service except through the authorized API.
10. Use the Service to build a competing product or service.

6. Community Content

6.1 Your Content

You retain ownership of content you submit (reviews, photos, comments). By submitting content, you grant us a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive, sublicensable license to use, display, reproduce, modify, and distribute your content in connection with the Service.

6.2 Content Standards

You must not submit content that:

• Is spam, promotional, or off-topic
• Contains hate speech, harassment, or threats
• Is sexually explicit or pornographic
• Infringes any third-party copyright or intellectual property
• Contains personally identifiable information of others without consent
• Is false, misleading, or intentionally inaccurate

6.3 Moderation

We reserve the right to remove any content and suspend or terminate accounts that violate these standards, at our sole discretion and without prior notice. We are under no obligation to monitor or review user-submitted content.

7. Intellectual Property

7.1 Our Content

The Service's design, code, database structure, API documentation, and trademarks are owned by Otaku Japan and protected by applicable intellectual property laws.

7.2 Third-Party Content

Anime titles, images, and related content are owned by their respective copyright holders. Their use on this platform is for informational purposes only. Certain images may be sourced from Wikimedia Commons under Creative Commons licenses.

7.3 DMCA / Copyright Complaints

If you believe your copyrighted work has been used in a way that constitutes infringement, please contact us at ko12ma12@icloud.com with the following information:

• A description of the copyrighted work
• The URL(s) where the allegedly infringing material is located
• Your contact information
• A good-faith statement that the use is not authorized by the copyright owner

We aim to respond to valid DMCA notices within 14 business days.

8. Disclaimer of Warranties

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

We do not warrant that:

• The Service will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free
• The information provided will be accurate, complete, or current
• Results obtained from the Service will meet your requirements
• Business hours or operating schedules listed for locations are up to date (they may change without notice)
• AI-generated trip plans are free of errors or optimal for your needs
• Hotel prices or availability shown are accurate (they are approximate and subject to change)
• All listed pilgrimage spots or locations still exist or are publicly accessible

9. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL OTAKU JAPAN, ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, OR AGENTS BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE.

OUR TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS RELATED TO THE SERVICE SHALL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF: (A) THE TOTAL AMOUNT YOU PAID TO US IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM, OR (B) ONE HUNDRED US DOLLARS ($100).

This limitation applies to, without limitation: missed trips, incorrect directions or navigation errors, booking issues with third-party services, service downtime or interruptions, loss of data, and lost profits or revenue.

10. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Otaku Japan and its officers, directors, employees, and agents from and against any and all claims, damages, losses, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or related to:

• Your use of the Service
• Your violation of these Terms or any applicable law
• Your violation of any third-party rights
• Any content you submit to the Service

11. Service Availability and Modifications

11.1 Availability

We strive to maintain high availability but do not guarantee uninterrupted access to the Service. Scheduled and unscheduled maintenance may occur. We will make reasonable efforts to notify users of planned downtime.

11.2 Modifications

We reserve the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue any part of the Service at any time. For paid users, we will provide at least 30 days' notice before discontinuing a paid feature. Continued use of the Service after modifications constitutes acceptance of those changes.

12. Force Majeure

We shall not be liable for any failure or delay in performance resulting from causes beyond our reasonable control, including but not limited to:

• Natural disasters (earthquakes, typhoons, floods)
• Wars, armed conflicts, or terrorism
• Pandemics or public health emergencies
• Government actions, regulations, or orders
• Internet infrastructure failures
• Third-party service outages (including Supabase, Vercel, Stripe, and Anthropic)
• Cyberattacks, DDoS attacks, or security breaches

13. Travel Disclaimer (旅行業法コンプライアンス)

14. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Japan. In the event of any dispute, the parties agree to first attempt resolution through good-faith negotiation for a period of 30 days. If the dispute cannot be resolved through negotiation, it shall be submitted to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Tokyo District Court (東京地方裁判所).

Residents of the European Union retain the right to bring claims in the courts of their country of residence in accordance with applicable EU consumer protection legislation.

15. Severability

If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable or invalid, that provision shall be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary, and the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect.

16. Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and Otaku Japan regarding your use of the Service. Any prior agreements, communications, or understandings are superseded by these Terms.

17. Contact

If you have any questions about these Terms, please contact us:

• Email: ko12ma12@icloud.com
• Feedback Form: Google Form