1. Why We Cannot Provide an Itemized Cost Breakdown
Our fees are time-based, and the hours required cannot be predicted in advance as the investigation is fluid by nature. This is standard practice in the genealogical research industry — itemized breakdowns are not provided. As the specifics are subject to change depending on how the investigation develops, presenting a breakdown in advance would effectively constitute a commitment to incur those specific costs — which is not the case. The contract covers the conduct of research aimed at discovering ancestors, not the guarantee of any particular expenditure. Accordingly, we are unable to respond to requests for cost breakdowns.
It is entirely understandable that clients may feel uncertain without a cost breakdown. However, because the fluid nature of this work is an inherent characteristic of this service, the more honestly we answer, the more we are compelled to say: “We cannot predict in advance how the costs will break down.” That said, our pricing is significantly more cost-effective than the industry standard of JPY 1,000,000 or more per family line.
2. Comparison with Other Companies
Other companies charge a fixed fee of JPY 1,000,000 or more per family line for domestic Japanese clients. This pricing is premised on the client being Japanese, with the registered domicile and kanji name — the two most critical pieces of information for Japanese ancestry research — already known, and koseki readily obtainable.
For overseas clients, however, the registered domicile and kanji name are often unknown, requiring considerable work before the core research can even begin. Moreover, other companies offer no staged payment option, meaning costs for overseas clients would inevitably far exceed those charged to domestic clients. With our time-based staged payment system, you pay only for work actually performed, and you decide at each stage whether to continue.
Our time-based fee with staged payments offers the following advantages:
If multiple ancestral lines are concentrated in the same region, we can investigate them simultaneously during the same fieldwork trip, potentially reducing costs significantly compared to fixed per-line pricing. If the information you are looking for is found quickly, you will pay less than competitors’ fixed rates. For long-term investigations, we continue research with additional staged payments. The distance between our base and the research area is also appropriately reflected in our pricing.
3. Estimated Costs for Reference
The advance payment covers both our time and all actual expenses (transportation, accommodation, postage, document fees, car rental, etc.). The following are approximate actual expense figures for reference.
（i）Transportation and Car Rental Our office is located in Nasu-shiobara City, Tochigi Prefecture. For research areas within the Kanto, Koshinetsu, and Southern Tohoku regions, we use our own vehicle. For other regions, round-trip transportation costs approximately JPY 30,000–70,000, and car rental costs approximately JPY 5,000–10,000 per day.
（ii）Accommodation Approximately JPY 10,000 per night
（iii）Postal Survey Several hundred yen per item
（iv）National Diet Library Research When the research area is located far from our office, we conduct preliminary research at the National Diet Library in Tokyo — reviewing old telephone directories, residential maps, and similar materials — prior to fieldwork. Round-trip transportation to the National Diet Library costs approximately JPY 10,000.
4. How We Conduct Research
The maximum time for fieldwork is 10 hours per day. The maximum time for cemetery fieldwork is 5 hours per day. After visiting cemeteries and legal affairs bureaus during the day, we continue research at libraries and similar facilities until closing time. A research report is prepared at the end of each day.
5. If the registered domicile (honsekichi) is unknown or you provide us with few information
If the registered domicile (honsekichi) of family register (koseki) is unknown or you provide us with few information, the research area may become considerably broad, which is likely to result in higher costs.
If the address information is vague, the fee will be higher. There are many place names that are pronounced the same, and if the only place name information available is one that is pronounced the same as a prefecture name, an extremely wide area will have to be searched.
If there is no information on the name written in kanji or if the surname is common, the number of people to be investigated will be significantly larger, making the cost more expensive.
The more information you provide, the more focused and cost-effective the research becomes. Every detail you share — addresses, dates, names, documents — helps us target the right sources from the start.
Therefore, when you contact us, please send us all the information you have, including your identity verification documents and family relationship certificates.
