Originally Posted by
5khours
Whatever the reason, I think the friend could check in without you and you would avoid the problem although some hotel rates are per person rates. The easiest thing is to just give a Japanese address. This is not something they are very strict about. IIRC, you may just be able to give a foreign address also and claim you don't have your passport.
Is it really worth the risk, however small, of getting into really big trouble by trying to hide from the letter of the law? I'd advise to just take the passport wherever you go in a foreign country.