Effective Date: August 18, 2026
These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern your access to and use of HowToJapan (the “Service”), operated by 株式会社鮨将司 (the “Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our”).
Please read these Terms carefully before using the Service or purchasing a subscription or other paid access.
By creating an account, purchasing access to the Service, or otherwise using the Service, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree to these Terms, you must not use the Service.
The Service is operated by:
Operator: 株式会社鮨将司
Representative: Masashi Yamaguchi (山口 将司)
Address:
7F Gaien Icho no Mori
2-9-9 Kita-Aoyama, Minato-ku
Tokyo 107-0061, Japan
〒107-0061
東京都港区北青山2-9-9 外苑いちょうの杜7F
Service: HowToJapan
Contact: info@howtojapan.org
HowToJapan provides video content and other educational materials relating to sushi, Japanese cuisine, food preparation techniques, ingredients, tools, culture, and related subjects.
The Service may include, among other things:
Streaming videos
Collections and courses
Written educational materials
Images and other media
Subscription-based content
Free content
Search, favorites, playlists, and watch history
Comments or other interactive features, where available
Other features that we may add from time to time
The features, functions, design, content, instructors, videos, categories, availability, and structure of the Service may change from time to time.
A subscription provides access to the content and features made available under the applicable plan during the subscription period. It does not guarantee continued availability of any particular video, instructor, course, collection, feature, or item of content.
You must be at least 18 years old and legally capable of entering into a binding agreement to create a paid account or purchase the Service.
If the law applicable in your jurisdiction requires a higher age or imposes additional requirements, you are responsible for complying with those requirements.
You may not use the Service where your use would violate applicable law.
We may restrict or refuse access to the Service in certain countries, regions, or circumstances where reasonably necessary for legal, regulatory, licensing, security, technical, or business reasons.
You are responsible for:
Providing accurate and current account information
Maintaining the security and confidentiality of your login credentials
Keeping your email address and payment information current
All activity occurring through your account, except to the extent caused by a matter for which the Company is legally responsible
Accounts are intended for use by the registered user.
Unless we expressly permit otherwise, you may not:
Share your account or login credentials with another person
Allow multiple people to use one account as a shared subscription
Sell, transfer, rent, lend, or sublicense your account
Circumvent account, device, access, or security restrictions
We may use reasonable technical measures to detect unusual, excessive, simultaneous, fraudulent, or unauthorized account usage.
If we reasonably believe that an account is being shared, compromised, fraudulently used, or otherwise used in violation of these Terms, we may require verification, restrict access, reset credentials, suspend the account, or terminate access.
You must promptly notify us if you become aware of unauthorized use of your account.
Subject to your compliance with these Terms and payment of all applicable fees, we grant you a limited, revocable, non-exclusive, non-transferable, and non-sublicensable license to access and view the content made available to you through the Service.
This license is for your own individual learning and viewing.
Professional chefs and other users may apply knowledge, skills, and techniques learned through the Service in their own professional activities. However, purchasing access to the Service does not grant any right to reproduce, distribute, publicly display, teach from, commercially redistribute, license, or otherwise exploit the videos or other copyrighted materials themselves.
No ownership rights in any content are transferred to you.
Except where expressly authorized by the Company in writing, you may not:
Copy, reproduce, republish, distribute, transmit, broadcast, or publicly display Service content
Record the screen, capture, copy, or extract videos or substantial portions of videos
Download content except through an official download or offline-viewing feature provided by the Service
Redistribute downloaded or offline content
Share content with persons who do not have authorized access
Use the Service for public screenings, staff training sessions, classes, seminars, or other group viewing
Resell or sublicense access to the Service
Translate, subtitle, dub, reproduce, or create derivative versions of Service content for distribution
Upload Service content to YouTube, social media, file-sharing services, websites, applications, or other platforms
Use Service content to create or populate a competing service
Use Service content as a dataset or input for training, fine-tuning, evaluating, or developing artificial intelligence or machine-learning systems without our prior written permission
Scrape, crawl, harvest, systematically download, index, or extract data or content
Reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, or attempt to discover source code or security mechanisms
Circumvent digital rights management, access controls, geo-restrictions, or other technical protections
Introduce malware, viruses, harmful code, or automated attacks
Attempt unauthorized access to accounts, systems, servers, or networks
Interfere with the operation or security of the Service
Use the Service in violation of applicable law or the rights of another person
These restrictions apply whether the activity is performed manually or using automated tools.
The content provided through HowToJapan is provided for general educational and informational purposes.
Although the Service may feature experienced chefs and professionals, the content does not constitute individualized professional advice, legal advice, medical advice, nutritional advice, regulatory advice, or a guarantee that any particular method is appropriate for your circumstances.
Different chefs, restaurants, regions, organizations, and jurisdictions may use different techniques, standards, practices, and requirements.
You are responsible for determining whether and how to apply information obtained through the Service.
Nothing in the Service guarantees:
Professional certification
Employment
Business success
Increased sales or income
Improvement of any particular skill to a particular level
Compliance with any particular professional standard
Compliance with laws or regulations in your jurisdiction
Any particular culinary or commercial result
Results depend on many factors outside the Company's control, including the user's experience, ingredients, tools, environment, judgment, execution, and local requirements.
Some content on the Service may demonstrate the preparation, handling, storage, cutting, cooking, or consumption of raw or undercooked seafood and other food products.
Such activities may involve risks, including foodborne illness, parasites, contamination, cross-contamination, allergic reactions, cuts, burns, and other injuries.
Practices that are customary or permitted in Japan may not satisfy food safety, health, labeling, licensing, workplace safety, or other requirements applicable in another country or jurisdiction.
You are solely responsible for:
Selecting ingredients appropriate for their intended use
Determining the freshness, quality, safety, and suitability of ingredients
Proper refrigeration and storage
Appropriate sanitation and hygiene
Avoiding cross-contamination
Managing allergens
Following applicable food safety requirements
Using knives and other sharp tools safely
Using fire, heat, machinery, and equipment safely
Following manufacturer instructions
Obtaining any professional training, licenses, permits, or certifications required in your jurisdiction
Complying with applicable health, food, restaurant, employment, and safety laws and regulations
You should not rely solely on the Service when determining whether a particular food, ingredient, preparation method, storage method, or professional practice is safe or legally permitted in your location.
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the Company is not responsible for illness, injury, property damage, business loss, or other damage resulting from the user's selection or handling of ingredients, implementation of techniques, use of tools or equipment, failure to follow applicable laws or safety requirements, or other circumstances under the user's control.
Nothing in this section excludes liability that cannot lawfully be excluded.
Certain parts of the Service may require a recurring subscription.
The price, billing period, included content, trial terms, and other material conditions applicable to a subscription will be displayed at or before checkout.
Unless otherwise expressly stated, subscriptions automatically renew at the end of each billing period until canceled.
By purchasing a recurring subscription, you authorize the applicable payment processor to charge the payment method associated with your account for each renewal at the then-applicable subscription price, together with applicable taxes and charges, until the subscription is canceled.
It is your responsibility to cancel your subscription before the next renewal charge if you do not wish to renew.
Failure to use or access the Service does not cancel a subscription.
For subscriptions purchased directly through the HowToJapan website, you may cancel through the subscription-management functions provided in your account.
Where available, this generally involves accessing your account's Purchases section, selecting the relevant membership, and completing the End Membership process.
A cancellation is effective only when the cancellation process has been successfully completed or when cancellation has otherwise been expressly confirmed by the Company or applicable billing provider.
Unless otherwise stated at the time of purchase:
Cancellation stops future automatic renewal
You may continue to access the applicable subscription content until the end of the already-paid billing period
Cancellation does not retroactively cancel charges already incurred
Cancellation does not by itself create a right to a full or partial refund for the current billing period
You are responsible for completing cancellation before the next billing date.
Merely ceasing to use the Service, deleting an application, failing to watch content, or failing to log in does not constitute cancellation.
If a subscription is purchased through an app store or another third-party billing provider, cancellation may need to be completed directly through that provider and will be subject to the provider's applicable procedures.
Except where required by mandatory applicable law or where the Company expressly states otherwise in writing at the time of purchase, payments are final and non-refundable once charged.
In particular, except where required by applicable law, no refund or prorated refund is automatically owed because:
You did not use the Service
You did not watch available content
You forgot to cancel before renewal
You changed your mind
You no longer need the Service
You did not find particular content useful
You disagree with an instructor's method or opinion
Particular content was added, removed, replaced, reorganized, or updated
Your internet connection or device was insufficient for streaming
You experienced temporary interruptions outside the Company's reasonable control
You purchased a subscription but later purchased or maintained another subscription through a different account or platform
The Company may, at its discretion, provide a refund, partial refund, credit, extension, or other accommodation in individual circumstances.
Any voluntary accommodation does not create a continuing obligation, policy, precedent, or entitlement for the same or another user.
Nothing in this section limits refund, cancellation, withdrawal, or other rights that cannot lawfully be waived under applicable mandatory law.
We may offer free trials, discounts, promotional pricing, coupons, gift subscriptions, or other special offers from time to time.
Such offers may be subject to additional eligibility requirements, expiration dates, usage limits, or other conditions.
Where a free trial automatically converts to a paid subscription, the applicable conversion terms and billing date will be shown at or before checkout. Unless canceled before the applicable conversion date, the payment method provided may be charged for the subscription.
We may limit promotions to one per user, account, household, payment method, or other reasonable eligibility criteria where disclosed or reasonably necessary to prevent misuse.
We may refuse, cancel, or revoke promotional benefits obtained through fraud, manipulation, duplicate accounts, technical abuse, or violation of applicable offer terms.
Gift codes or promotional codes may not be resold or exchanged for cash except where required by law.
Prices and applicable billing terms will be displayed at checkout.
Prices may be displayed in one or more currencies and may include or exclude taxes depending on your location and applicable law.
You are responsible for maintaining a valid payment method.
If a payment fails, is declined, reversed, or remains unpaid, we or our payment provider may:
Retry the payment
Request updated payment information
Restrict or suspend access
Place the subscription on hold
Terminate the subscription
The Company may correct obvious pricing, billing, or technical errors.
If an incorrect transaction results from a clear technical or pricing error, the Company may cancel or correct the transaction and, where appropriate, return the amount incorrectly charged.
We may introduce, change, discontinue, or replace subscription plans and pricing.
A change to the price of an existing recurring subscription will apply to future billing periods in accordance with applicable law and any notice requirements that apply.
Where required by applicable law, we will provide advance notice or obtain consent before a price change takes effect.
Promotional or discounted pricing does not guarantee that the same price will remain available after the promotional period ends.
The Service is an evolving content service.
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, we may from time to time:
Add new content
Remove content
Replace or edit content
Change instructors or featured professionals
Update titles, descriptions, subtitles, translations, or classifications
Change publication schedules
Change categories or collections
Change the website or application design
Add, modify, restrict, or discontinue features
Change supported devices or technical requirements
Change hosting, streaming, payment, email, or other technology providers
A subscription is for access to the Service as made available from time to time and is not a purchase of perpetual rights to a fixed catalog.
We do not guarantee that any particular video, instructor, collection, feature, language, subtitle, or other item will remain available for the entire duration of a subscription.
Where mandatory applicable law requires notice, compensation, refund, or another remedy in connection with a material change, we will provide such remedy to the extent required.
We aim to make the Service reasonably available but do not guarantee continuous, uninterrupted, error-free, or permanent availability.
The Service may be temporarily unavailable or degraded because of:
Maintenance
Updates
Server or hosting issues
Internet outages
Content delivery network issues
Third-party platform issues
Payment provider issues
Telecommunications failures
Cybersecurity incidents
Software errors
Device or browser incompatibility
High traffic
Geographic conditions
Events beyond our reasonable control
Video resolution, loading time, buffering, playback quality, and availability may vary depending on your internet connection, geographic location, device, browser, software, network provider, bandwidth, and third-party infrastructure.
Temporary service interruptions do not automatically entitle users to refunds or credits except where required by mandatory applicable law.
The Company may voluntarily provide a credit or other accommodation but is not obligated to establish the same remedy for future incidents.
The Service relies on third-party technology and providers, which may include video platforms, hosting providers, content delivery networks, payment processors, email providers, analytics services, app stores, authentication services, and other technology providers.
The Service is currently operated using technology provided by Uscreen.
Third-party websites, services, applications, payment systems, and external links may be governed by separate terms and privacy policies.
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the Company is not responsible for acts, omissions, outages, changes, restrictions, security incidents, or other matters caused by independently operated third-party services and outside the Company's reasonable control.
Nothing in this section excludes liability that cannot lawfully be excluded.
All content and materials provided through the Service, including videos, images, audio, graphics, logos, text, subtitles, translations, designs, layouts, instructional materials, and other content, are owned by or licensed to the Company or the applicable rights holder and are protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws.
The HowToJapan name, branding, logos, and related marks may not be used without prior authorization.
The appearance of an instructor, chef, restaurant, product, trademark, ingredient, or other third-party subject in content does not grant users any ownership or commercial rights in that subject.
Except for the limited license expressly granted under these Terms, all rights are reserved.
Unauthorized reproduction or distribution may result in account termination and may also result in civil or criminal action where permitted by law.
Where the Service permits comments, messages, reviews, images, or other user-submitted content (“User Content”), you remain responsible for the content you submit.
You must not submit User Content that:
Violates law
Infringes intellectual property or privacy rights
Is defamatory
Is threatening, harassing, abusive, or discriminatory
Contains malware or malicious links
Constitutes spam or unauthorized advertising
Contains confidential information that you are not authorized to disclose
Otherwise violates these Terms
By submitting User Content to the Service, you grant the Company a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, store, reproduce, display, process, and otherwise use that User Content to the extent reasonably necessary to operate, administer, improve, promote, and protect the Service.
We may moderate, hide, remove, or restrict User Content where we reasonably consider such action appropriate, but we are not obligated to monitor every submission.
If you voluntarily provide ideas, suggestions, feedback, recommendations, or other comments regarding the Service, you acknowledge that such feedback is not confidential.
To the fullest extent permitted by law, you grant the Company a worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free right to use, modify, reproduce, develop, commercialize, and otherwise use such feedback without compensation or obligation to you.
We may suspend, restrict, or terminate an account or access to all or part of the Service where we reasonably determine that:
Payment is overdue or has failed
The account is being shared or misused
Fraud or unauthorized activity is suspected
The user has violated these Terms
Intellectual property infringement is suspected
The user attempts to circumvent technical restrictions
The user's conduct threatens the security or operation of the Service
The user's conduct may expose the Company or another person to legal or regulatory risk
Suspension or termination is required by law, court order, government request, platform provider, payment provider, or other legitimate legal or security requirement
Continued access would reasonably create material risk to the Company, other users, or third parties
Where the violation is serious, repeated, fraudulent, illegal, or involves security or intellectual property infringement, access may be suspended or terminated without prior notice to the extent permitted by law.
Where termination results from the user's violation of these Terms, the user will not be entitled to a refund for unused time except where mandatory applicable law requires otherwise.
Termination does not affect rights, payment obligations, claims, or provisions that by their nature are intended to survive termination.
Users retain any rights they may have under applicable law or their payment provider's rules to dispute unauthorized or improper charges.
However, fraudulent, abusive, or knowingly unjustified chargebacks may constitute a violation of these Terms.
If a payment is disputed or charged back, we may temporarily suspend or restrict the associated account while the matter is investigated or processed.
Where permitted by law, the Company reserves the right to recover unpaid amounts and reasonable losses directly resulting from fraudulent or abusive payment disputes.
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the Service and its content are provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis.
Except for warranties that cannot lawfully be excluded, the Company does not make any express or implied warranty concerning:
Continuous availability
Error-free operation
Compatibility with every device or network
Video quality
Accuracy or completeness of all content
Fitness for a particular purpose
Professional results
Commercial results
Legal or regulatory compliance in every jurisdiction
Continued availability of particular content
Freedom from all security threats or harmful components
Content reflects information, methods, opinions, and practices available or used at the time of production and may become outdated or may differ from other professional practices.
Users are responsible for exercising their own judgment when relying on or implementing information from the Service.
Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability where such exclusion or limitation is prohibited by mandatory applicable law.
In particular, nothing in these Terms is intended to exclude or limit liability arising from the Company's intentional misconduct or gross negligence where such exclusion or limitation would be invalid under applicable law.
Subject to the foregoing, and to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law:
The Company will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, punitive, exemplary, or consequential damages, or for loss of profits, revenue, business opportunities, goodwill, anticipated savings, or data, arising from or relating to the Service.
Where the Company is liable for loss caused by ordinary negligence and applicable law permits limitation of that liability, the Company's liability will be limited to direct and ordinary damages actually and reasonably incurred by the user.
To the extent permitted by applicable law, the Company's aggregate liability arising from the Service and caused by ordinary negligence will not exceed the total fees actually paid by the user to the Company for the Service during the twelve (12) months immediately preceding the event giving rise to the claim.
The Company is not responsible for losses caused by matters outside its reasonable control, including failures of Internet providers, hosting providers, content delivery networks, payment processors, app stores, telecommunications networks, external platforms, or other independent third parties, except to the extent applicable law provides otherwise.
The Company is not responsible for losses caused by the user's own acts or omissions, failure to follow safety requirements, failure to maintain appropriate equipment or Internet access, unauthorized sharing of account credentials, or application of culinary techniques in circumstances controlled by the user.
Any limitation in this section applies only to the extent permitted under the law applicable to the relevant claim.
To the extent permitted by applicable law, you are responsible for losses, liabilities, claims, damages, and reasonable expenses incurred by the Company or a third party to the extent directly resulting from:
Your unlawful use of the Service
Your material violation of these Terms
Your infringement of another person's intellectual property or other rights
Your unauthorized reproduction or distribution of Service content
Your fraudulent or abusive activity
User Content submitted by you
Your professional, commercial, or other implementation of information obtained through the Service where the claim results from your own conduct, ingredients, equipment, business operations, or failure to comply with applicable laws or safety requirements
This section does not require you to indemnify the Company for losses caused by matters for which the Company is legally responsible and which cannot lawfully be shifted to you.
To the extent permitted by applicable law, the Company will not be responsible for delay, interruption, suspension, or failure to perform caused by circumstances beyond its reasonable control.
Such circumstances may include:
Natural disasters
Earthquakes
Floods
Fires
Severe weather
War
Terrorism
Civil disturbance
Epidemics or pandemics
Government orders
Changes in law
Labor disputes
Utility failures
Internet or telecommunications failures
Cyberattacks
Failures of third-party infrastructure
Hosting or content delivery network failures
Payment network failures
Other events that the Company could not reasonably prevent or control
The Company may take reasonable steps to restore or modify the Service following such an event but does not guarantee a particular restoration time.
Our collection and handling of personal information is governed by our Privacy Policy and applicable law.
The Privacy Policy forms part of the policies applicable to your use of HowToJapan.
By creating an account or using the Service, you agree that we may send electronic communications that are reasonably necessary for the operation of the Service, including:
Account notices
Purchase confirmations
Billing notices
Renewal notices
Cancellation notices
Password and security communications
Customer support responses
Important changes to the Service or these Terms
Legally required notices
Marketing communications may be subject to separate preferences and applicable law.
You are responsible for maintaining a current email address and for checking communications sent to your registered email address.
We may modify these Terms where reasonably necessary or appropriate due to changes in:
The Service
Content
Technology
Business operations
Pricing or plans
Security requirements
Third-party providers
Applicable law or regulation
Other circumstances relevant to operation of the Service
Any modification will be made in accordance with applicable law.
Where required or appropriate, we will provide notice of material changes by posting updated Terms on the Service, sending notice to the registered email address, or using another reasonable method.
The notice will identify the effective date of the revised Terms.
Where applicable law requires advance notice, consent, or another procedure for a particular change, we will comply with that requirement.
Continued use after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms to the extent permitted by applicable law.
These Terms and the relationship between the user and the Company are governed by the laws of Japan, without regard to conflict-of-law principles.
However, if you are a consumer and mandatory consumer-protection laws applicable in your place of residence cannot lawfully be excluded by agreement, nothing in these Terms deprives you of those mandatory protections.
The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods does not apply.
We encourage users to contact us first at info@howtojapan.org so that we can attempt to resolve any concern promptly.
For users who use the Service in the course of a business or professional enterprise and where legally permitted, the Tokyo District Court shall have exclusive jurisdiction as the court of first instance over disputes arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service.
For consumer users, jurisdiction will be determined in accordance with applicable mandatory law. To the extent a choice-of-court agreement is valid and enforceable under such law, the parties agree to the jurisdiction of the courts located in Tokyo, Japan.
Nothing in this section limits any jurisdictional right that cannot lawfully be waived.
If any provision of these Terms is determined by a court or other competent authority to be invalid, unlawful, or unenforceable, that provision will be enforced to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law and, where appropriate, severed from the Terms.
The remaining provisions will remain in effect to the extent legally possible.
Failure or delay by the Company in exercising any right or remedy does not constitute a waiver of that right or remedy.
A waiver will apply only where expressly made and only to the particular circumstance for which it is given.
You may not assign or transfer your rights or obligations under these Terms without the Company's prior written consent.
To the extent permitted by applicable law, the Company may transfer or assign these Terms or its rights and obligations in connection with a corporate reorganization, merger, acquisition, sale, transfer of business, financing, or transfer to an affiliate or successor.
These Terms, the Privacy Policy, and any transaction-specific terms expressly presented at checkout constitute the agreement applicable to your use or purchase of the Service.
Where transaction-specific terms displayed at checkout expressly conflict with these general Terms, the transaction-specific terms will apply to that transaction.
General descriptions, promotional statements, FAQs, or marketing materials do not modify these Terms unless they expressly state that they form part of the applicable contractual terms.
Nothing in this section permits misleading advertising or limits rights arising under mandatory applicable law.
Except where expressly stated otherwise, these Terms are intended to govern the relationship between the Company and the individual user and do not create enforceable rights for third parties.
Provisions concerning payment obligations, intellectual property, prohibited uses, liability, indemnification, dispute resolution, governing law, and any other provisions that by their nature should survive will remain effective after cancellation, expiration, or termination of access.
These Terms are prepared in English for the international operation of HowToJapan.
If a translated version is provided, the English version will be treated as the primary version to the extent permitted by applicable law, unless the translated version expressly states otherwise or mandatory applicable law requires otherwise.
Questions regarding these Terms may be sent to:
Sushi Masashi K.K.
Representative: Masashi Yamaguchi
7F Gaien Icho no Mori
2-9-9 Kita-Aoyama, Minato-ku
Tokyo 107-0061, Japan
Email: info@howtojapan.org