The things people ask before they book.

Four to six months for most trips, and eight to twelve if your dates fall in the cherry blossom weeks, Golden Week, the August holiday or the autumn colour season. Tee times at the best-known courses are released on a fixed schedule and the desirable weekend slots go quickly. If your dates are closer than that, ask anyway — we can often build a strong trip around midweek availability.

Two people. We plan trips for couples, fourballs, societies of twenty, and corporate groups. Anything above twelve golfers usually means splitting tee times across two courses on at least one day, which we will map out clearly before you commit.

A deposit of 20% confirms your dates and releases us to hold tee times and rooms. The balance is due 60 days before arrival. We invoice in USD, EUR, GBP, AUD or JPY, and accept bank transfer or card.

Yes, and it is the most useful thing you can tell us. Japan has excellent golf at every price level — the difference between a $4,000 trip and a $12,000 trip is mostly hotels, caddies and how exclusive the tee times are, not the quality of the golf.

Some, on some days. Many Japanese clubs will accept visitors on weekdays if the booking comes through a recognised agent, and a number of the very best clubs accept play only with a member introduction. We tell you honestly which of your wish-list courses are realistic for your dates before you pay anything, and we arrange member introductions where we hold the relationship.

Bring one if you have it. A handful of clubs ask for proof of handicap or club membership, and a printed certificate or a screenshot of your home club record is enough. We tell you in advance which courses on your itinerary will ask.

Slower and more ceremonial than you are used to, and worth settling into. Most courses use two greens per hole, a caddie of long experience may well read your putts better than you do, and the traditional round pauses for a sit-down lunch after nine holes. Expect five hours, a bath afterwards, and no rush at any point.

Bring your own and let us move them. Japan's takkyubin courier network delivers golf bags hotel to hotel overnight, cheaply and reliably, so you never wrestle clubs onto a shinkansen. Premium rental sets are available at every course we use if you would rather travel light.

Yes, and it is taken seriously. A collared shirt and tailored trousers or shorts on course; a jacket to enter and leave the clubhouse at traditional clubs; no denim, no cargo shorts, and shirts tucked in. Changing rooms are excellent everywhere, so you change at the club rather than arriving in golf kit.

No. You travel with English-speaking drivers and guides on golf days, we brief the clubs before you arrive, and our office is reachable at any hour of your trip. Caddies generally speak limited English but communicate fine with yardage and gesture — it is part of the experience.

Very much so, and roughly a third of our travellers are non-golfers. While the golfers play, we arrange guided culture days, cooking classes, onsen visits, art islands and shopping — and we price the trip so non-golfers are not paying for rounds they do not use.

You play — Japanese clubs rarely close for rain and the drainage is exceptional. Courses close only for lightning, typhoon warnings or, in Hokkaido, snow. Where a closure is the club's decision, green fees are refunded to you in full; where you choose not to play, normal club cancellation terms apply. We build weather contingencies into every itinerary.

No. Tipping is not customary anywhere in Japan, including for caddies, drivers and guides, and attempting it can cause genuine awkwardness. Service charges are already included in what you pay.