Terms of Service

What these terms are for

Quiet Falcon Labs offers three things through this website: the Raptor Encounter & Introduction, the Private Estate Birdwatching & Ornithology Survey, and the Raptor Care & Mews Consultation. These terms describe how you may use the website and how our sessions run day to day. They sit beside the Terms and Conditions, which cover liability and disputes. By using the site or sending us an enquiry you accept them; if you do not, please do not send an enquiry.

1. Using this website

1. Reading is free. You may read, print and share links to any page for personal use.
2. The form is for real enquiries. Please give a true name and a working email address, so that our reply reaches you.
3. No tampering. Do not try to disrupt the site, probe it for weaknesses or send content that is unlawful or abusive.
4. No bulk copying. Our texts, species notes and photographs may not be scraped or republished wholesale.

2. From enquiry to booking

1. An enquiry is only a question. It commits neither of us. You send a note, we reply personally, and a session exists only once a date, a place and a price have been agreed in writing.
2. Prices. The yen prices listed on the website are our standard rates: ¥7,700 per person for the encounter, ¥12,100 per visit for the survey and ¥16,500 per consultation. If we confirm something different in our reply, the figure in the reply applies to that booking.
3. Payment. Nothing is charged through this website. We settle the method and the timing with you in our reply, before anything is due.
4. Changing a date. If you need to move or cancel a session, please tell us as early as you can. Any fee that applies is stated in our written reply before you confirm.

3. On the day, around the birds

1. The birds set the pace. A bird that seems tired, unsettled or off its weight is rested, and the session changes shape or stops. We do not make an exception for a full group.
2. Group size. An encounter has at most six guests, so that handling stays quiet and everyone can see.
3. Holding is optional. A bird goes on the glove only under the close supervision of our falconer, and only when the bird is ready. Watching from a seat is a complete way to take part.
4. Children. Children aged 8 and over may come to an encounter with a guardian, who stays responsible for them throughout.
5. Clothing and care. Raptors have talons and beaks. Please wear closed shoes and sleeves that cover your forearms, and tell the falconer beforehand about any allergy to feathers or dust.
6. Ending a session. We may pause or end a session if a bird’s welfare or anybody’s safety needs it.

4. Where and when

1. Places. Encounters take place at our mews in Nagano. Surveys and consultations take place at your own estate or mews, by arrangement, in Nagano and the surrounding area.
2. Weather. Heavy rain or strong heat can trouble the birds. We then pause the session and rebook it at no charge.
3. Wildlife. A survey records the birds that are actually there on the morning. We cannot promise that a particular species will appear.
4. The website itself may occasionally be unavailable while we look after it.

5. What you take home, and who owns what

1. The field card, species list or care report we write for you is yours to keep and use for your own purposes. Please do not sell it or present it as another person’s work.
2. Texts, layout, photographs and the Quiet Falcon Labs name belong to us or to those who licensed them to us.
3. If you send us your own photographs or notes, you remain their owner, and we use them only to answer you and to prepare your report.

6. Rules about birds of prey in Japan

Keeping, exhibiting and handling raptors in Japan comes with registration and permission requirements. Our consultations explain the ones that matter to a private keeper, but a conversation with us is not a licence and is not legal advice. Anyone who keeps birds remains responsible for meeting the rules that apply to them.

7. Related documents

Please read these terms together with the Terms and Conditions, the Privacy Policy, the Cookie Policy and the notice under the Act on Specified Commercial Transactions. If something is unclear, ask through the contact page before you book.