No empathy at all for customer booking error
I normally use GoogleMaps to narrow down my choices for accommodation.
I searched for ryokans in the Kyoto area, for a November 2026 stay. While proceeding through the reservation process, I did not realize that the check-in date had reset itself to a couple of days from that day I was making the reservation. Hence, any cancellation would result in a penalty from the moment I booked. I only realized my error once I got the confirmation email - and phoned Japanican customer service within minutes of having made the booking error. I was phoning from Canada and there was no way I intended to make a booking that soon, given that I was not leaving for Japan till later in the year.
I was told that there were absolutely no exceptions to their cancellation policy. It feels punitive as the cancellation was not from having changed my mind and was clearly an error. At first I thought it was just a language barrier as I even phoned the Kyoto hotel. Turns out the Japanican policy on cancellation has no room for flexibility at all. Be aware of this as it would be better to deal with a company that does not like to benefit from obvious customer errors (as opposed to wilful non-compliance with company policy)








