When people use urisen for the first time, what most of them worry about is ending up at a bad shop. Whether the atmosphere or the boys are any good, though, you can't know until you go. Money trouble is different: you can avoid most of it before you go. This article sticks to what you can check as soon as you open a shop's official site.
1. Are prices published as actual amounts?
This is the first hurdle. When our editors checked 89 shops in Tokyo, 86 published amounts on their official sites. For the remaining 3, we could not find the amounts written out as text on the official site.
Not publishing prices doesn't simply mean a shop is crooked. But a shop that publishes its prices is bound by them. If it charges something different from what it has written, you have something to point to afterwards. With a shop that doesn't publish, you have nothing to point to from the start.
2. Are extension, travel and room fees listed?
Plenty of shops list course prices and leave out the extras. But that is where the bill on the day comes out different. Among the 44 shops where we could confirm the extension fee, it runs from ¥3,000 to ¥6,000 per 30 minutes (median ¥6,000), so the difference between shops shows up directly. Among the 22 private-room / outcall shops that list a base travel fee, it was ¥0–¥1,000. Some shops add ¥1,500 per hour for outcalls taking an hour or more round trip, and some set a long-distance fee of ¥4,000–¥12,000 depending on travel time.
We work out actual amounts in Urisen prices aren't decided by the listed price. The shop with the cheapest listed price is not necessarily the cheapest in what you actually pay.
3. Is there a cancellation policy?
It's easy to overlook, but cancellation fees are a common source of trouble. Of the shops we list, 25 officially state a cancellation policy. Some of them spell out conditions such as 100% charged for cancellations within two weeks of the booked date or in the same month.
A written policy is not a bad sign. If anything, it's a healthy one. The problem is a shop that writes no policy and then charges you on the day. Always check before you book.
4. Can you pay by something other than cash?
47 of the shops we list accept credit cards. A shop that takes card or advance payment has two practical advantages.
- You don't have to get cash ready and carry it around on the day
- There is a record of the payment.If there's a dispute about the amount, you can show objectively how much you paid
Some shops state that they add a 10% fee for card payments. That is fine too, as long as it is written down in advance. The problem is a shop that doesn't say so and adds it on the day.
5. Is the shop's information up to date?
Whether the official site is kept updated tells you something about whether the shop is actually operating. A shop that updates who is working every day, or lists which boys can be booked on which dates, has at least not abandoned its site.
On the other hand, if the official domain you are pointed to doesn't load, or the price page still shows a campaign with an old date, you need to check whether the information on it is still current.
6. Does the shop check age properly?
Under Article 22 of Japan's Amusement Business Act (風営法), having anyone under 18 serve customers is prohibited, and a violation can bring up to one year's imprisonment or a fine of up to ¥1,000,000 (source: explanation of age limits under the Amusement Business Act (風営法における年齢制限の解説)).
From a customer's point of view, a shop where age checks are a formality may not take the law very seriously, and if it gets raided, your booking is gone with it. We can't tell whether the age check at a site's entrance is just for show, but how a shop handles the areas where it could break the law tends to match how it runs everything else.
7. Can you check what the shop says about itself?
Phrases like 「No.1」, 「合格率5%」 [“5% pass rate”] or 「口コミ平均4.8」 [“4.8 average review score”] are, in most cases, things the shop says about itself that no third party can verify. There is no need to assume they are lies, but they are weak grounds for choosing a shop.
We list claims like these as “features the shop advertises,” separately from the main text, and do not use them in our scores. What each shop promotes, and what can be confirmed on its official site, is set out in our reputation checks.
Ask in writing
On the phone, it ends up as your word against theirs. Use something that leaves a record, such as email, LINE or a booking form, and confirm four things: the course price, the extension fee, the travel fee and the cancellation fee. If you take screenshots, you'll have something to show if anything goes wrong.
If there is trouble anyway
If you end up in a dispute over a charge or an agreement, you don't have to negotiate with the shop on your own. There are public services you can turn to.
- Consumer Hotline 188 (read “i-ya-ya” in Japanese) | Available every day in principle (except the New Year holidays and facility inspection days). They will put you in touch with the consumer affairs centre or consultation desk for where you live. This is the place to start for trouble over charges or agreements (source: Consumer Affairs Agency, Consumer Hotline (消費者庁 消費者ホットライン)).
- Police consultation line #9110| For when you have been threatened or followed, for example, and want to talk to the police but aren't sure whether it counts as a crime. In an emergency, call 110 (source: Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department (警視庁)).
- Houterasu (Japan Legal Support Center) support line 0570-078374| Weekdays 9:00–21:00, Saturdays 9:00–17:00. For when you want to consult a lawyer but are worried about the cost. If you meet the income and other requirements, you can get a free legal consultation and have lawyer's fees paid in advance for you (source: Houterasu (法テラス)).
What helps most when you ask for advice is a record: screenshots of your messages, receipts or card statements, the amount you were quoted when you booked. If you have these, things move much faster.
Summary: 7 things to check before you go
- Are prices published as actual amounts?
- Are extension, travel and room fees listed?
- Is there a cancellation policy?
- Are payment methods listed, down to whether paying by card carries an extra fee?
- Is the shop's information kept up to date?
- Does the shop state that it checks age?
- Can you check what the shop says about itself?
We use these points as the criteria for scoring the shops we list. The results, with the basis for every shop's score, are in our overall shop ranking.
If you are choosing a shop to work at, there are other things to check: whether pay is set out in writing, whether there is a system of fines, the conditions for leaving shop-provided housing, and so on. These are covered in our guide for people who work in the industry.