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秘密Secret Spots Japan
規約Terms

Terms of Service

The agreement between you and us covering the app. Plain language where we can manage it, precise language where we have to.

Last updated 7 August 2026 · Nekologic

1. Acceptance

These Terms of Service form a binding agreement between you and Nekologic, Kyoto, Japan ("we", "us"). By downloading, opening or using Secret Spots Japan (the "Service") you agree to them. If you don't agree, don't use the Service.

Our Privacy Policy is part of this agreement.

2. What the service is

Secret Spots Japan is a guide to hand-picked places across Japan: restaurants, bars, onsen, viewpoints, workshops, shrines and similar, presented on a map with directions and editorial notes, and available offline once downloaded. It is an independent project by Nekologic, a software studio in Kyoto.

It is an editorial recommendation service. We are not a travel agent, a booking platform, a tour operator or a guide, and we do not act as an agent for any venue listed in the app.

3. Eligibility

You must be at least 16 years old, and old enough to enter a binding contract where you live, to use the Service. If you're using it on behalf of an organisation, you confirm you're authorised to bind it.

4. Your account

  • Give accurate details, and keep them current.
  • Keep your credentials to yourself. You're responsible for activity under your account until you tell us it's compromised.
  • One account per person. Accounts are for personal use and may not be shared, sold or transferred.
  • Tell us promptly at liam@neko-logic.com if you suspect unauthorised access.

5. Cost and access

The Service is currently free. It is in early access: there is no subscription, no free trial that converts to a paid one, and no billing configured. We do not collect card details, and nothing in the app will begin charging you.

We may introduce paid plans in future. If we do:

  • We will tell you in advance, in the app or by email, before any charge is possible.
  • Any purchase would be made through the Apple App Store or Google Play, and those stores, not us, would process the payment. Price, term and renewal behaviour would be shown on the purchase screen before you confirm anything.
  • You would never be charged without an explicit purchase. Continuing to use a free version of the Service is not consent to be billed.
  • Anything you have saved remains yours, and you can export or delete it. See our Privacy Policy.

Because there is nothing to pay, there is nothing to refund. If paid plans are introduced, refunds for store purchases will be handled under Apple's and Google's policies through their support channels, and your statutory consumer rights will be unaffected.

6. Free access is not a guarantee

Free early access is offered as-is and may change. We may limit, pause or end free access, or move features behind a paid plan, on reasonable notice. Nothing in these terms entitles you to permanent free use of the Service.

7. Acceptable use

You agree not to:

  • Scrape, crawl, bulk-export or systematically copy the spot data, whether by hand or by automated means.
  • Republish, resell or redistribute our content, including in another app, a printed guide, a map layer, a newsletter or a dataset.
  • Share your account or your credentials with anyone else.
  • Reverse-engineer, decompile or attempt to extract source code, except where that restriction is unenforceable by law.
  • Interfere with the Service, probe its security, or circumvent access controls or rate limits.
  • Use the Service for anything unlawful, or to harass or endanger anyone.

The curated collection is the whole product, and copying it is the one thing that would end it. We enforce this clause.

8. Our content and your licence

All content in the Service is owned by us or licensed to us, and protected by copyright and trade mark law. That covers the spot selections, the written descriptions and directions, the photography, the maps as arranged, the name Secret Spots Japan, the seal and other brand marks, and the software. The selection and arrangement of the spots is itself protected.

While you are permitted to use the Service we grant you a personal, limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to use the Service for your own private, non-commercial travel. Nothing else is granted.

Map data is supplied by third parties, including OpenStreetMap contributors, under their own licences, and remains subject to them.

9. Curation and AI-assisted content

Every place in the app is chosen by us. Each one carries one of two labels, and you should read the app with the label in mind:

  • Verified: we have visited the place ourselves and are happy to recommend it.
  • Wishlist: we found it through research and it looks worth visiting, but we have not been there. A Wishlist entry is a lead, not a recommendation. It may be promoted to Verified after we visit, or removed.

Some supporting text in the app, such as summaries and categorisation, is drafted or organised with the help of AI and may contain errors or omissions. AI does not decide what is included in the collection. Treat all descriptive content as informal editorial guidance rather than verified fact, and check anything that matters (opening hours, access, prices, dietary or accessibility requirements) with the venue before you travel.

We consider language accessibility when we select places, but many are small and family-run and may have no English-speaking staff. Please arrive prepared and courteous.

10. Places listed in the app

The venues in the app are independent third parties. We have no relationship with them, receive no payment from them and exercise no control over them.

  • Opening hours, prices, access and even existence change. We check what we can, but we can't guarantee any detail is current.
  • Some places are small, family-run or genuinely private. Being in the app is not permission to enter, photograph or publicise anything. Respect posted rules, closures and the people who live there.
  • Reservations, purchases and disputes are strictly between you and the venue.

11. Travel and safety

Some spots are remote, unstaffed, seasonal, or reached on mountain roads, unlit trails or infrequent buses. You travel at your own risk.

Check conditions, weather and transport before you set out, carry what the terrain requires, and use your own judgement, including the judgement to turn back. Directions in the app are guidance, not a safety assessment, and should not be relied on as your only navigation. Follow all local laws, signage and instructions from local authorities.

12. Availability and changes

We aim to keep the Service running but don't guarantee uninterrupted access. We may modify, suspend or discontinue features, add or remove spots, and perform maintenance. If we discontinue the Service entirely we will give reasonable notice. If paid plans exist by then, we will refund any unused paid period where the law requires it.

13. Termination

You can stop using the Service at any time and delete your account from by contacting us.

We may suspend or terminate your access if you breach these terms, particularly clause 7, or where required by law. Where it's reasonable to do so, we'll warn you first. On termination, your licence ends immediately.

14. Disclaimers

To the fullest extent permitted by law, the Service is provided "as is" and "as available", without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.

We don't warrant that the Service will be error-free, that content is accurate, current or complete, or that any place will meet your expectations, be open, or be safe to reach.

In particular, and without limiting the above: Wishlist entries have not been visited by us, and AI-assisted descriptive text may be inaccurate. Neither is a representation that a place is open, suitable, accessible or safe. See clause 9.

15. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, we are not liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, or for lost profits, data, or travel and accommodation costs, arising from your use of the Service.

Our total aggregate liability for any claim relating to the Service is limited to the greater of (a) the amount you paid us in the twelve months before the claim arose, or (b) JPY 5,000.

Nothing here excludes liability that cannot be excluded by law, including for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud, or the statutory rights of consumers.

16. Indemnity

You agree to indemnify us against claims, losses and reasonable legal costs arising from your breach of these terms, your misuse of the Service, or your conduct at any place listed in it.

17. Governing law and disputes

These terms are governed by the laws of Japan. Disputes will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Kyoto District Court.

If you're a consumer resident elsewhere, this does not deprive you of the protection of mandatory consumer-law provisions, or the right to bring proceedings in the courts of the country where you live.

If any provision is found unenforceable, the rest stays in force. Our not enforcing a provision immediately isn't a waiver of it.

18. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms. The "last updated" date at the top will change, and material changes will be announced in the app or by email before they take effect. Continuing to use the Service after that means you accept the revised terms; if you don't, cancel and stop using it.

19. Contact

Nekologic
Kyoto, Japan
liam@neko-logic.com

Apple App Store note. This agreement is between you and us, not Apple. Apple is not responsible for the Service or its content and has no obligation to provide maintenance or support for it. Apple and its subsidiaries are third-party beneficiaries of this agreement and may enforce it against you.