About The Fine Print
The Fine Print helps English-speaking readers decide whether a Japanese product, service, or travel pass is worth buying — before they travel to Japan, while they live here, or when they order from a Japanese shop. We are based in Japan and read the official pages in Japanese as well as English. That is the whole method: every price and condition in an article comes from an official source, and we print the date we checked it.
At a glance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Publisher | Relmea, Japan. The Fine Print is Relmea's English-language site |
| Editor | Elena — editorial pen name |
| What we research | Japanese services, contracts, travel products and shopping services, as described on their official pages |
| What makes us different | We check the Japanese-language source, not just the translated English page — cancellation rules, fees and eligibility often differ between the two |
| How we earn money | Affiliate commissions on some links. See the disclosure |
| Editorial independence | Affiliate relationships do not decide what we include, what we recommend, or what we recommend against |
| What we never publish | Personal reviews, first-hand testimonials, or figures we could not confirm on an official page |
| Contact | [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) |
| This page last reviewed | 2026-09-13 |
Who writes this
Elena is the editor's pen name. The Fine Print is produced by a small editorial team in Japan. We do not publish personal reviews or first-hand testimonials. We publish comparisons built from published prices, official terms, and shipping conditions, with the sources listed at the end of each article. Read more on the editor's page.
How an article is made
- We start from a decision readers are actually trying to make, such as whether a rail pass pays off for a specific route or which SIM contract accepts a foreign card.
- We collect the facts from official pages — the Japanese version first, then the English one — and record the date we checked each.
- We write the comparison around the conditions that decide it: price after every fee, minimum term, cancellation rules, who is eligible. Every article says who the product is not for, and names at least two alternatives.
- A separate check compares every number in the article against its source. Anything we could not confirm is listed in the article under What we verified — and what we couldn't, rather than left out or guessed.
What we leave out
- Products we have not researched from official sources.
- Paid placements. Nobody can pay to change a verdict, and affiliate commissions never affect what we recommend against.
- Decorative stock photos. We use images only when they help you decide faster: a screenshot of the official page, a flow of what to do in which order, or a comparison you can read in five seconds.
- Your personal data. We do not collect it. See the privacy notice.
Corrections
If a price or condition has changed, or you spot an error, tell us and we will fix the article and note the update date on it. Write to us at [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]). Corrections that change a verdict are noted in the article itself.