Staying in a Japanese home, and knowing it's legal

Three ways to be legal

Anyone in Japan who takes money to put up travellers needs a permission from the government. For homes and small inns there are three, and each sets its own rules for how many nights the place may open.

Sources: [1][2][3]

The 180-night rule

A home registered as a minpaku may host paying travellers on up to 180 nights a year. The year runs from noon on 1 April to noon on the next 1 April, and the count belongs to the registration, so nights sold on every website add up together.

That is why a minpaku can show closed dates even when it looks empty: once its nights are used, it must close until April. On Minpaku X a closed date says why.

Sources: [4][2]

What to look for

Before you book, and again when you arrive:

• The registration or licence number on the listing, with the kind of permission.
• The same number on the sign (標識) by the door.
• Whether the host lives on site; if not, the name of the registered manager who answers at night.
• A phone number for emergencies, and the nearest clinic.
• One price that includes the town's tax, so nothing is asked for at the door.

Sources: [2]

Questions to ask the host

A legal host answers these without fuss:

• What is your registration or licence number?
• Do you live here? If not, who manages the home?
• Who do I call late at night?
• Will you need my passport at check-in? (If you don't live in Japan, yes: it's the law.)
• Is the town's accommodation tax in the price?

Signs to walk away

Think twice if you see any of these:

• No number anywhere, or a number the host won't show.
• A request to pay outside the booking site, or to send card details by chat, email or WhatsApp.
• "No need for a passport" when you don't live in Japan.
• A price that grows at the door.

How Minpaku X checks

We look at each place's papers (the 届出受理通知書, the sign, or the 許可証) and print the date we checked them beside the number. We don't inspect buildings or fire safety, and until we are registered as a 住宅宿泊仲介業者 we can't check numbers against the national system; the trust page says exactly what we do and don't check.