azotw

Anyone ever have a hotel in Japan ask for a photo of your credit card and passport when making a reservation? I just got one and can't tell if it is a legitimate request or not. Rihga Royal hotel in Hiroshima

Adam

Often1

It's really old-fashioned and absolutely a non-starter.

It could easily be a fraud. I would look up the hotel's number online and then call that number (during regular business hours in Japan).

The passport scan is sort of OK (most properties will make a copy on arrival in any event). If you must provide the CC, blank out all but the last 4 digits of the a/c #.

evergrn

How did you book this hotel?
If it were me, I'd stay away if that is something they really insisted.

But RIHGA Royal is an established chain, and that seems very weird.
In Jpn, unless you're booking a Western brand hotel through that brand's English website or you're booking through 3rd-party OTA, 90% of the time I don't have to provide any payment info at the time of booking and the rest of the time you make the full payment (no deposit) at the time of the booking. In latter cases, the hotel shouldn't care about your credit card and passport copies since the payment's already gone through.
In any case, I have never been asked anything like that at the time of reservation.

MattEvan

It’s not uncommon, especially outside of Tokyo and other more tourist-driven areas. That said, you should be able to book through an OTA (Agoda, for instance) and forgo this requirement.

Often1

Put bluntly, if your identity is stolen, you will have nobody to blame but yourself.

azotw

I booked through Agoda and confirmed with Agoda it was a requirement. Canceled and rebooked through hotels.com. Similar pricing, no requirement to upload documentation.,

evergrn

Weird. I've never booked through Agoda, though.
Good thing you were able to resolve it.
When you check in once you get there, they will take a copy of your passport (and possibly also credit card), though.

northsideguy

I have stayed at the RIGHA Hiroshima in the past and never had to provide a scan prior to arriving. Same with my Agoda account. But Agoda does provide an explanation for this.

https://www.agoda.com/info/additiona....html?cid=-218

beep88

Business hotels (low- to mid- price hotels) typically ask you to prepay the whole stay at check-in, or don't ask for credit card information at all (very rare) until check-out.

They never asked for photo copy of my CC or pre-authorization at check-in. No mini-bar, no room service at these hotels anyway.

Also never had to prepay prepay when booking hotels in Japan, except at some luxury Western chains for their discounted rates.

Nagasaki Joe

I've never had such a request when making a hotel reservation in Japan, though hotels do ask to copy your passport at check-in. In the past, they asked to just see your passport and have you write down your nationality and passport number on the check-in form, but everything is becoming more intrusive these days. It seems odd that they want a copy of it at the reservation stage when they will see it at check-in anyway.

kumagoro

Actually the law in Japan has not changed. Hotels cannot demand a copy of your passport as a condition of renting you a room. As a non-resident tourist all you are required to do is to write your nationality and passport number on the registration form. That's it. Unfortunately many properties seem to think they are entitled to a copy. Personally, I am careful about my personal info so I would definitely push back if a hotel wanted to copy my passport. Japan usually is very careful about privacy- residents and citizens aren't required to provide and form of ID at all at hotels.

AlwaysAisle

The information so far suggests that credit card and passport information requirement prior to the arrival of the hotel is a policy of Agoda, and not a policy of Rihga Royal Hotel Hiroshima.

The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare states that providing a copy of a passport is a requirement.

The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare

Unless there was a court ruling or a change of a law since April 1, 2005 then this seems to be the case today. Also the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare states that; "foreign nationals who do not possess an address in Japan" which implies that if having an established address in Japan then non-Japanese do not provide passport information and a passport copy to a lodging establishment.

kumagoro

Hi
Actually, the information you are relating from the MHLW is not law, it is merely a guideline from 15 years ago. Actual Japanese hotel law is very clear on the subject. I was wrong in that a foreign guest DOES need to show their passport to the staff upon request so that the staff can confirm the passport number and nationality. However, you don't need to surrender your passport for copying. Here is the relevant law;

厚生労働省令第六八号
旅館業法施行規則
第四条の二
法第六条第一項 に規定する宿泊者名簿に記載すべき事項は、宿泊者の氏名、住所及び職業のほか、次に掲げる事項 とする。
一 宿泊者が日本国内に住所を有しない外国人であるときは、その国籍及び旅券番号
“Every person must write their name, address, and profession. Only people WITHOUT a Japan address must also write their Nationality and Passport Number.”

It says nothing about making a photocopy. Unfortunately, hotels and local agencies often overstep their legal boundaries.

一 宿泊者が日本国内に住所を有しない外国人であるときは、その国籍及び旅券番号

AlwaysAisle

The law we are talking about is 「旅館業法施行規則」which originally issued on year Shouwa 23 (1948) and called 「厚生省令第二十八号」( former Ministry of Labor Article 28). Original law issued on 1948 does not state anything in regard copy of a passport.. However, since 1948 revisions were issued. One of the revision issued on Jan. 24, 2005 and went into effect on April 1, 2005 「厚生労働省令第7号」. The revision states:

Quote:

(2)　氏名及び旅券番号等を宿泊者名簿に記載する際には正確を期する必要があるため、本改正により宿泊者 名簿に国籍及び旅券番号の記載をすることとなる宿泊者に対しては、旅券の呈示を求めるとともに 、旅券の写しを宿泊者名簿とともに保存することとする。これにより、当該宿泊者に関する宿泊者名簿の氏名、国籍及び旅券番号の記載に代替しても差し支えないもの とする。

The revision on 2005 specifically states that the copy of a passport should be saved along with guest list.

freecia

I have prepaid online for discounted rates at Japanese ryokans/business hotels. A ryokan in Kurokawa asked for a deposit via bank transfer/furikomi (though the translation wasn't too clear on if it was mandatory). That rate was only available on their Japanese site and I sent the deposit via TransferWise. Many boutique ryokan don't require a credit card upon check-in or pre-authorize and charge your card at the end of the stay. Though they typically also have your shoes, car key if there is a valet, and a copy of your passport...

Similar to northsideguy, I've reserved using Agoda in Japan and haven't had to provide passport info. I think it might have been triggered as Fraud Protection.

A few people here have the Japan Trusted Traveler Program card which is a legal form of Japanese identification. I haven't tried it at a front desk because "training is training" and I'd like to check in without hassle. That said, I'd have done exactly as you did - booked via another OTA which didn't need a copy of my passport to make a reservation.