Frequently Asked Questions

LensTokyo stands out among Japan travel guides because of our photo-centric approach to helping travelers capture the country. We collect the most photogenic spots—even the ones that rarely show up online—so visitors with limited time can shortcut their planning. Today the platform blends those curated member resources with a marketplace of vetted photographers and creative sellers, making it easy to plan shoots, discover locations, and book trusted partners in one place.

LensTokyo is a travel guide that gives members access to articles, deep spot details, and an interactive map so you can filter locations by price, type, prefecture, tags, tripod usage, and even colors. This helps you uncover hidden gems and plan the perfect photography itinerary across Japan. Members also unlock planning tools and the marketplace, where you can browse photographer profiles, confirm availability, and complete bookings. Sign in to manage your membership, explore locations, and coordinate shoots directly with approved sellers through our guided booking flow.

With LensTokyo's interactive map, you can easily search and filter through hundreds of spots scattered throughout Japan to find the perfect spot to visit. You can filter by price range, spot type, location, tags, tripod usage, and even colors, allowing you to tailor your search to exactly what you're looking for. This functionality ensures that you can find the ideal spots to capture stunning photographs and make the most of your time in Japan, enhancing your overall travel experience.

To become a member of LensTokyo, you will first need to sign up on our website. The signing up process is free and can be easily completed by providing some basic information. Once you have signed up, you will then need to pay a fee to become a member. This membership fee grants you access to exclusive content such as spot details and the interactive map.

Although we try our best to keep all the photo spots up-to-date, considering the sheer number of spots we are offering it is impossible to check all the spots regularly. We only update the photography spots once in a while and are not responsible if information made available on this site is not accurate, complete or current. Hence, any reliance on the material on this site is at your own risk. Please read the Terms of Use for further information.

Currently we offer only Credit Card (VISA, MasterCard and American Express) payments via Stripe on our website.

We periodically update the website with new spots and updates on existing spots. The website will be updated with new tips, locations and images periodically, and will be available to you for no additional charge. When we update our collection with new and exciting spots, you will receive an email notification.

We stand behind our products and your satisfaction with them is important to us. However, because our products are digital goods delivered via Internet download our policy is not to offer refunds. Please read the Refund Policy for further information.

Premium plans renew automatically until you cancel in the membership dashboard. You retain access through the paid period, and lifetime plans stay active while LensTokyo operates the membership service.

Cancel your current subscription first and let the paid term finish. Once the billing period ends, purchase the lifetime plan from the membership page to activate lifetime access.

Submit the cancellation at least seven days before the scheduled experience date in the booking workspace. Inside that window refunds are no longer available.

Use the change request option in the booking workspace. Both parties must confirm the new date at least seven days before the experience; otherwise the original schedule remains locked.

You receive a booking confirmation, schedule change updates, photographer submission notifications, and acceptance reminders. If a booking is refunded or cancelled, you will also receive a status email with next steps.

Visit the photographer's profile page and use the contact option to confirm their availability for your preferred schedule.

Request changes within seven days of delivery. We pause payouts while the issue is reviewed. After auto-acceptance, refunds are unavailable.

Sellers share external download links for their submissions, so files aren't stored on LensTokyo. Download everything as soon as you receive access to avoid losing the files.

Enter the coupon during checkout and the discount is taken directly off the experience price at payment time. Combined discounts are capped at 25% of the booking price snapshot.

Use the "Become a Vendor" link in your dashboard or the public signup page. The form collects account details, service areas, languages, and business information so we can review your application.

Your photographer profile must be approved by the LensTokyo team and you need to finish the minimum Stripe Express setup (bank + basic tax info). Once both steps are complete, your experiences become bookable.

It's optional but recommended. Uploading verification documents can boost trust and visibility in search results, though you can operate without it if your profile remains compliant.

Not at all, we are actively recruiting across all prefectures. Photographers across Japan are welcome, just outline your service areas clearly so guests know where you operate.

Photographers may be asked for government ID, business registration, invoice numbers, and tax details. Documents are encrypted and removed six months after review.

Keep documents current whenever you change essential photographer profile details such as addresses. We may periodically request refreshed documents to meet compliance requirements.

Yes. If you operate as a company, toggle the company setting in your vendor/photographer profile and enter your corporate number so invoices display the correct legal details.

If you have a registered invoice number please input it in the vendor/photographer profile. Adding a valid invoice number lets us include the 10% consumption tax in your payouts. Without it, we withhold that tax portion and remit it ourselves.

Stripe Connect processes all customer charges and payouts. Refunds that meet the cancellation policy are returned through Stripe.

After deliverables are accepted or auto-accepted, payouts are scheduled 14 days later. Stripe may add extra banking days depending on your country.

Customer coupons only reduce LensTokyo's buyer fee and commission - the amount you receive from the booking snapshot stays exactly the same. Vendor coupons are optional tools that purposely shift more of the platform commission into your payout, and the payout breakdown highlights these adjustments.

You set the base price for each experience. LensTokyo deducts a flat 20% platform commission from your payout after checkout and shows you the exact net amount in the booking snapshot before anything goes live.

Customers have seven days to review submitted images. If they request changes, payouts pause until the update is uploaded or the booking is closed. After auto-acceptance, payouts proceed on schedule.

Yes. Submit an initial delivery with sample previews, then upload a second delivery with the final files once the customer confirms they are ready for the full set.

Any dates you block in the availability manager instantly appear as unavailable on your experience pages and checkout calendar, preventing guests from selecting those slots.

The vendor dashboard surfaces activity logs for bookings, schedule changes, deliverables, and payouts so you can audit every step if questions arise.

Sellers/photographers receive booking confirmations, schedule change alerts, deliverable feedback, payout notifications, verification status updates, and Stripe onboarding reminders.

No. LensTokyo does not charge a monthly seller membership. You only pay the standard platform commission that is automatically deducted when a booking is completed.

Absolutely. LensTokyo is designed to complement your business by bringing new opportunities, not restricting existing relationships.

After you submit images and the customer accepts (or the seven-day auto-accept kicks in), LensTokyo schedules your payout 14 days later. Stripe then transfers the funds straight to the bank account linked to your Express profile.

Yes. Use the "Create Stripe Account" button in the payouts card to open a Stripe Express profile. Without it, we can't send payouts to you.

No. Creating and maintaining a Stripe Express account is free. Stripe deducts standard card processing fees from customer payments before LensTokyo receives the funds; there are no extra subscription fees for photographers.

The dashboard shows an "Onboarding incomplete" badge with a button to continue. Complete all required Stripe steps; payouts are paused until Stripe marks your account as ready.

Use the "Open Stripe Dashboard" button in the payouts card. Changes made there sync back to LensTokyo automatically, and we receive status updates through Stripe webhooks.

Stripe occasionally requests additional information for compliance. They will email you with the required documents - upload them through the Stripe dashboard to resume payouts.

We send you an email and display an error banner in the vendor dashboard. Update your payout details in Stripe and the system will retry transfers during the next payout cycle.