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Privacy Policy

Last updated: August 21, 2026

At Kumano Adventures, we handle your personal information with the same care and respect we bring to every journey we design. This policy explains what we collect, why we collect it, and the rights you hold over your data — in plain language, not legalese.

1. Who We Are

 

Kumano Adventures is a travel design firm specialising in custom and group experiences in the Kumano region of Japan. Kumano Adventures is operated by Alfinito LLC, a Washington limited liability company, at 522 W Riverside Ave Ste N, Spokane, WA 99201. Alfinito LLC is the data controller for personal information collected through this website and through our correspondence with clients.

Certain in-country arrangements are made on our behalf by 合同会社観光ブリッジ (Kanko Bridge LLC), a registered travel service arranger in Wakayama Prefecture (和歌山県知事登録第19号), which acts as our processor for supplier bookings in Japan.

For any data-related enquiry, contact us at letsgo@kumanoadventures.com.

2. What Data We Collect

 

We only collect information that is genuinely necessary to plan and deliver your trip, or to keep in touch with you if you've asked us to.

  • Contact details — name and email address when you reach out or subscribe to our newsletter

  • Trip planning information — travel dates, group composition, preferences, and other details you share while planning

  • Booking data — payment records and booking confirmations for confirmed reservations

  • Health and dietary information — medical conditions, mobility limitations, allergies, dietary restrictions, and pregnancy, where you disclose these to us

  • Website usage — analytics on page visits and session duration via Wix Analytics

  • Correspondence — emails, messages, and enquiry forms you send us

3. Health and Dietary Information

 

Some of what we ask for is sensitive. Our booking terms require you to tell us about medical conditions, allergies, mobility limitations, and pregnancy, because our trips visit remote areas where medical care is limited and because we need to brief guides and caterers accurately.

Under GDPR this is "special category" data, and we process it only with your explicit consent, which you give when you provide it to us at booking. We share it only with the specific partners who need it — a guide, an innkeeper, a cook — and only the relevant detail, never your full medical history. We delete it once your trip is complete, except where it forms part of a booking record we are required to retain.

You may withdraw this consent at any time by emailing us, though doing so may mean we cannot safely accommodate you on a given activity.

4. How We Use Your Data

 

We use your information only for the purposes described below, and we never sell it.

  • Responding to enquiries and designing your itinerary

  • Processing bookings and coordinating with local suppliers on your behalf

  • Sending the newsletter you subscribed to (unsubscribe at any time)

  • Improving our website and understanding how visitors use it

  • Meeting legal, tax, and accounting obligations

Our lawful bases under GDPR are contract performance (booking and trip planning), legitimate interests (responding to enquiries, website analytics), consent (newsletter, marketing cookies), and explicit consent (health and dietary information, per Section 3).

5. Who We Share It With

 

To deliver your trip we share relevant details with local partners — accommodation providers, guides, transport operators, and activity providers in the Kumano region. We share only what is necessary and require partners to handle your data responsibly.

We also use the following service providers:

  • Wix — website hosting, forms, and analytics

  • Ezus — itinerary and booking management

  • Meta (Facebook/Instagram) — advertising measurement via the Meta Pixel, where you have consented to marketing cookies

  • Email service providers — newsletter delivery

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it with anyone for their own marketing purposes.

6. International Transfers

 

We operate across Japan, the United States, and the EU, so your data will cross borders.

Alfinito LLC is established in the United States, and our service providers process data in the United States and the EU. Our operational partners are in Japan. Where personal data of EU or UK residents is transferred outside the EEA, we rely on the European Commission's adequacy decision for Japan, and on Standard Contractual Clauses or an equivalent safeguard for transfers to the United States.

You may request details of the safeguards applying to any specific transfer by emailing us.

7. How Long We Keep It

  • Enquiries that don't become bookings — 2 years from last contact

  • Booking and financial records — 7 years, to meet tax and accounting requirements

  • Health and dietary information — deleted after your trip, except where retained as part of a booking record

  • Newsletter subscribers — until you unsubscribe

  • Website analytics — retained per Wix's standard policy

8. Your Rights

 

Under GDPR you have the following rights over your personal data. To exercise any of them, email letsgo@kumanoadventures.com. We will respond within one month, and will tell you if we need longer.

  • Access — request a copy of the personal data we hold about you

  • Rectification — ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data

  • Erasure — request deletion where there is no legal basis for us to retain it

  • Portability — receive your data in a structured, machine-readable format

  • Restriction — ask us to limit processing in certain circumstances

  • Objection — object to processing based on legitimate interests

You may withdraw consent for the newsletter at any time using the unsubscribe link in any email we send, and withdraw consent for cookies through the cookie banner. Withdrawing consent does not affect processing carried out before you withdrew it.

If you believe your rights have been infringed, you may lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority. Residents of Japan may contact the Personal Information Protection Commission (個人情報保護委員会).

9. Children

Our trips are open to participants aged 12 and over, who must travel with a parent or guardian. Where we hold information about a minor, it is provided to us by the accompanying adult, who consents on their behalf. We do not knowingly collect personal information directly from children, and our website is not directed at them.

10. Cookies

 

Our website is built on Wix and uses cookies for essential site functionality, analytics, and advertising measurement.

Essential cookies are required for the site to work. Analytics and advertising cookies — including the Meta Pixel, which measures the performance of our Facebook and Instagram advertising — are set only where you have consented. You can manage your preferences through the cookie banner shown on your first visit, or through your browser settings at any time.

11. Changes to This Policy

 

We may update this policy occasionally. When we do, we will revise the date at the top of this page. Significant changes will be communicated to newsletter subscribers directly.

Questions about your data?

 

We're a small team and happy to talk through anything here in plain terms. Drop us a line: letsgo@kumanoadventures.com

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