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Open Field Haven logo Open Field Haven

Address: 1-8-10 Bandai, Niigata, Niigata 950-0088, Japan

Phone: +81 25-479-7007

Email: info@openfieldhaven.com

Last updated: 24 October 2026

Terms & Conditions

These Terms & Conditions are the wider legal agreement between you and Open Field Haven, whose office is at 1-8-10 Bandai, Niigata, Niigata 950-0088, Japan. They apply when you use openfieldhaven.com or take part in one of our sessions, and they sit beside the Terms of Service, the Commercial Transactions Notice and the Privacy Policy. If you disagree with them, please do not book.

1. What we ask of you

  1. 1.1 Conduct. Treat our people, other participants, your neighbours and the animals on site with courtesy, and follow reasonable safety instructions, above all near hives.
  2. 1.2 Lawful use. Do not use the site or our services for anything unlawful, to infringe other people's rights, to send spam or to disturb how the site works.
  3. 1.3 What you share. Details, photographs and messages you send must be accurate, lawful and yours to share, and must not be offensive or misleading.
  4. 1.4 Age. You must be 18 or over to book. Younger people may attend only with an adult who stays with them throughout, and children may not handle an open hive.
  5. 1.5 Other people. If you give us information about family members or neighbours, for example where a hive would sit next to their window, you confirm that they know and agree.

2. Your responsibilities as a landholder

  1. 2.1 Rules that apply to your land. You are responsible for the laws and local rules that apply to what you do, including the farmland and land-use rules that cover your plot, any permission needed for buildings, water tanks or tree planting, and municipal guidance on keeping bees.
  2. 2.2 Beekeeping notification. Anyone in Japan who keeps honeybees must send a yearly notification to the prefecture, usually by the end of January. We help you prepare it during the apiary session, but filing it and keeping it up to date is your duty.
  3. 2.3 Health and fitness. Tell us before the day about any known sensitivity to bee stings, mobility limits or other conditions that matter for time outdoors. If you are at risk of a serious reaction, speak to your doctor first. We can run the apiary session without opening a hive.
  4. 2.4 Selling what you produce. Honey, vegetables or other produce that you later sell are subject to food-labelling, hygiene and tax rules. We explain none of these as legal advice and you should check them with your local authority.
  5. 2.5 Compensation. To the extent the law allows, you agree to compensate us for loss caused by your breach of these terms or by wrong information you gave us.
  6. 2.6 Independent providers. Seed suppliers, soil laboratories, hive makers and contractors named in our plans are independent businesses. What you agree with them is between you and them.

3. What our advice is, and is not

  1. 3.1 General education. Our sessions and written plans are educational guidance based on typical Hokkaido conditions. We are advisors, not a farm, a nursery, a beekeeping supplier, a landscape contractor or a real-estate agent.
  2. 3.2 No advice outside our field. We do not value land, advise on buying or selling it, forecast income, or give legal, tax, medical or veterinary advice. Where a question belongs to a professional or to the municipal agricultural office, we say so.
  3. 3.3 No promise of results. Weather, soil, pests, disease, colony health and the way a plan is carried out all affect the outcome. We therefore make no promise about any harvest, honey yield, plant survival or colony result.

4. Limits on our liability

  1. 4.1 Cap. To the extent the law allows, our total liability for a claim connected with a session is limited to the fee you paid for that session.
  2. 4.2 Indirect loss. We are not liable for indirect or consequential loss such as lost crops, lost colonies or lost income, unless we caused it deliberately or through gross negligence.
  3. 4.3 Events beyond our control. We are not responsible for delay or cancellation caused by severe weather, heavy snow, earthquakes, floods, epidemics, strikes or interrupted transport or internet connections. In such cases we offer another date.
  4. 4.4 Your statutory rights. Nothing in these terms limits rights that you have under Japan's Consumer Contract Act or other mandatory consumer-protection law.

5. Law, courts and disputes

  1. 5.1 Governing law. These terms are governed by the laws of Japan.
  2. 5.2 Court. Unless mandatory law says otherwise, the Niigata District Court is the court of first instance with exclusive jurisdiction over any dispute.
  3. 5.3 Talking first. If you are unhappy with any part of our service, please write to us first. We aim to reply within 14 days and to settle the matter by good-faith discussion before any formal step.
  4. 5.4 If a clause fails. If a provision turns out to be invalid or unenforceable, the others stay in force.
  5. 5.5 Updates. We may revise these terms. The date at the top shows the latest version, and changes do not affect a session you have already confirmed.
  6. 5.6 Language. These terms are written in English. If a Japanese version is agreed with you at booking, the version agreed at booking prevails where the two differ.