Frequently asked questions

Private days across Tokyo, Kyoto and beyond, built from nothing around what interests you — master artisans at their benches, dining rooms that take no public bookings, and places most visitors never learn exist.

Send an inquiry with your dates. We'll speak by video — partly to understand the trip, mostly to say hello properly — and a deposit then confirms and holds your dates. From there I shape the days and arrange every reservation.

Always. Nothing is shared with another party, which is what allows a day to be shaped entirely around you.

Up to five. Partly practical — many of the rooms worth going to seat a dozen people in total, and simply can't take a large party. Mostly, though, it's that something is lost above that number: the conversation stops being shared, and a day made for a few people quietly becomes a tour. Larger groups can occasionally be arranged for the right occasion — do ask.

Guiding and interpretation throughout, days shaped entirely around you, the reservations I arrange on your behalf — including the ones that are difficult to secure — my recommendations for the days we are not together, and the materials for anything we make.

What you then spend at the table is settled there directly, with nothing added by me. Where you would like me to join you, I am always glad to come as your guest. Hotels and transport are not booked by Elevate.

Anything you choose to purchase — a piece from a maker, a work from a gallery, a commission — is settled directly with them rather than through Elevate. There is never an expectation to buy, at the gallery or anywhere else.

Where I have an arrangement with a maker or a gallery, I'll tell you before you decide. I would rather volunteer it than leave you wondering.

Not directly — but I'll tell you exactly where I'd stay and how I'd travel. Many guests prefer to arrange these themselves, and where you'd rather not, your hotel concierge can usually assist; transport in particular is not something every hotel books on a guest's behalf. Staying independent about what I recommend is deliberate.

Some rooms take no public bookings at all. Some accept guests only by introduction. Others simply don't take reservations in English. Years of relationships are what open them, and they're held in my name rather than yours.

Where a venue sets its own terms, those terms carry through to your booking — so what you're agreeing to is always clear.

Three months ahead is comfortable; earlier is better still. The most sought-after tables and workshops open their books well in advance, so lead time is the single thing that most affects what I can secure for you.

Closer in is always worth asking — a great deal still comes together within a month, particularly for shorter days. I'll tell you honestly what's possible rather than promise and hope.

Yes — and the earlier it's shared, the better it's handled. Most kitchens accommodate a great deal given notice, and very little without it. Some requirements do narrow the field, strict plant-based among them, since so much of Japanese cooking begins with a stock that isn't. Where that's so, I'd rather shape the days around it than have somewhere apologise on the night.

A deposit of ¥100,000 per guided day confirms your booking and holds your dates exclusively for you. It's credited in full against your final invoice, and the balance is due two weeks before you arrive — at the same time I send your recommendations for the days we're not together.

Your deposit is non-refundable, but transferable to new dates within 12 months. Beyond that: more than 30 days before your dates, your deposit moves to a new booking. Between 15 and 30 days, the deposit is retained. Within 14 days, the deposit is retained along with 50% of the balance. Any deposits I've already paid to partners on your behalf are non-refundable.

I'll always do what I can to accommodate a change, and I'd far rather you told me than didn't. It's worth knowing that much of the preparation here happens in advance and specifically for you — when a restaurant takes a booking, the ingredients are often bought for you; when a workshop holds a place, the materials are prepared with your name against them. So the earlier a change reaches me, the more I'm able to protect, for everyone involved.

Every inquiry is read and answered personally, never by an assistant or an agency — usually within a few business days, occasionally longer in busier stretches. I'll confirm availability for your dates and take it from there.

The inquiry form, or erika@elevatetokyo.com. I'm generally reachable Monday to Friday, 9am–6pm JST — though often out with guests, so a reply can take a little longer in the busier seasons.