Who is eligible to participate in Women’s Group Tours?
The first seven days of sign up are reserved for Women’s Group members only at a 10% discount for Women’s Group members and family’s. The exception is for tours advertised as Family Participating Tours, which include only Women’s Group family members who are listed on your membership, or Spouse Participating tours. You must have your Club card, with the current year Women’s Group Sticker on the back, in order to sign-up for a tour. After the first week of sign-up, the tour is opened up to guests of the Women’s Group and to the general Club membership and their guests. The advertisement and fact sheets for each tour will stipulate whether children are allowed to join the tour. Any tour that does allow children, of any age, must be accompanied by a paying adult participant on the tour. There are no exceptions to this.

How Do I Sign Up for A Tour?
Sign up dates for each tour will be announced in inTouch, TAC-ogram, eNews, WG
Newsletter, website and lobby poster. Unless otherwise stated or advertised, sign ups will be at the MSDesk. When you sign up for a tour, you will receive the information sheet(s) and/or itinerary for that tour. If you sign up by fax, you are responsible for getting the information sheet(s) and/or itinerary from the MSDesk. Sign-ups for all “Jaunts in Japan” and “International Tours” can be done in the following ways:

The sign-up for the tours will commence from the opening of MS Desk at 7:30 a.m. on the designated day at which sign-up begins. This date is advertised through all the valid channels, and is typically 30 days prior to the actual tour date for a Day tour, 60 days for an Overnight tour, or 90 days for an International tour (this may however vary!). Sign up is on a first come, first served basis. If you are not available to sign-up in person, a form can be submitted to the MSDesk. Forms are processed during the opening hours of the MSDesk, and will be added to the regular sign-up list. Exception to this is the Sapporo Snow Festival Tour, due to its immense popularity. This family tour has a specific sign-up date and time, which will be advertised accordingly.

Members need to sign-up in person during the two hours registration time and faxed registrations will be processed after the walk-in sign up has been completed. If there are still available spaces for the tour, faxed registrants will be admitted and informed accordingly. Filling out a fax sign-up form does not automatically sign you up for a tour. You will be signed up for at tour if there is space available after the walk-in sign up is completed. The MSDesk will notify you within 2 days after sign-up whether or not you have been signed up for the tour or placed on the waiting list.

The Tour committee and Members Services Desk are not responsible for lost fax forms. If you have not heard from the MSDesk within 2 days after the sign-up, please call the MS Desk at 3224 3670. If you, or an adult member of your immediate family (i.e. husband) are unable to attend the sign-up in person, you may submit a fax sign-up form. Fax sign-ups are processed in the order they are received at the MS Desk. Faxing your sign-up does not automatically sign you up for the tour. You will be signed up for a tour if there is space available after the sign ups are completed. It is your responsibility to pick up the handouts that are applicable to the tour at the MSDesk.

The information will be mailed or faxed. Fax or mail confirmation will be sent by the MSDesk at the time of fax receipt to indicate it was received. They will be processed in the order in which they were received. This confirmation does not indicate that you are
signed up for the tour. You must check with MSDesk to verify if you are signed up for a tour. The MSDesk and the WG are not liable for any misplaced faxes. This procedure is not applicable for overnight tours. The tour sign up forms will remain at MSDesk until
the actual tour date.

Waiting Lists
If the tour is full, you will be added to the tour waiting list. Please use the waiting lists. Often, people cancel a tour and the people on the waiting lists are then called in the order of sign up. The probability of being called is quite high. In some cases, the tour maximum may be increased. If you are on the waiting list, please keep this date open. If you are no longer available to participate, please call the MSDesk to have your name removed from the list.

Making Payments for Tours
When signing up for a domestic tour, either within our outside Tokyo, full payment is
due at the time of registering. Payments are made on your Club card. Women’s Group members and their immediate family receive a 10% discount on published tour rates. All overnight and International trips are an exception to this policy. The specific terms of payment for these tours are presented in the handouts at sign up. Payments are made directly to the individual agent. Most tours will allow bank transfer, cash or credit card. However,the payment process varies with the agent so please refer to the handouts for each individual tour. Payments for overnight & international tours may not be charged to your Club account. Please note: If you have paid a deposit on a tour and your cancel your reservation after the deadline for full payment has passed, your deposit will not be refunded. Each tour has a specific cancellation policy, which is stated in the handout. Please read it carefully, as it will vary with each tour, depending on the travel agent.

Cancellations
Every tour has a specified cancellation date. Any cancellations made after that date will
be charged the full amount. Cancellation charges might be pro-rated according to the
date cancelled, depending on the specific tour and the agent policy. No-shows and
late participants will be charged the full amount. As soon as you realize you cannot attend a tour, please contact the MSDesk to cancel your reservation. A waiting list is established at the MSDesk and the Tours Committee requires that the first person on the list have priority. If the cancellation deadline is exceeded, and there is no one on the waiting list that is able to fill the space, the person canceling is required to find a member replacement or be charged according to contract. If you are canceling a tour that involves airline tickets, be aware that some airlines will not accept name changes/substitutions. In this case, the tour agent charges you the cancellation fee of that tour. A tour will be cancelled if less than the minimum number of participants signs up. Sometimes the minimum will be reduced by the agent so please assume the tour is on unless you are notified by a tour committee member. If the minimum is not met, the tour is no longer coordinated by the Women’s Group Tour Committee. You will be given a contact name and number of the agent in case you would like to pursue the tour on your own. An attempt will be made to contact you verbally as well as a letter sent in the mail.