Privacy policy
2026-10-26
01 · Who this policy is for
This page explains what happens to personal information when you use the Smart Pine Harbor website, write to us or call us. It is written for people who are thinking about a stay, a meal or a clay session and want to know, before they write, who reads the message and where it goes.
The operator of this website is Smart Pine Harbor, whose registered office is at 4-17-9 Honmichi, Kure, Hiroshima 737-0045, Japan. We handle personal information in line with the Act on the Protection of Personal Information (APPI) of Japan.
02 · What reaches us
The website itself does not keep an account for you and does not ask you to log in. What reaches us is what you choose to send: through the mail form, usually your name, your email address, an optional phone number, the dates you have in mind, the number of guests and a free-text message; by email, whatever you write and the address you write from; by phone, whatever you tell us in the call.
Please do not send more than we need. We do not ask for card numbers, passport numbers or identity documents through this website, and we ask you not to send them.
03 · How the mail form actually works
The forms on this site do not send anything to a server of ours. When you press the button, your browser opens a new message in your own mail program, already filled in with what you typed, addressed to stay@smartpineharbor.com. Nothing is sent until you press Send in that program.
It follows that the message travels through your mail provider and ours. This site does not store what you typed in the form, and it cannot tell whether a message was actually sent. If no draft opens, write to us directly at the address above.
04 · Why we use it
We use what you send only to answer your enquiry: to tell you whether a room style, a meal, a clay session or an outing can be arranged, to ask what we still need to know, and, if you go ahead, to confirm the arrangement in writing and keep a record of it. We also use it to answer questions about this policy.
We do not use it for advertising, we do not profile visitors, and we do not send newsletters to people who did not ask for one.
05 · Cookie and local storage
This site sets one cookie, called fwf. It is created only if you press the button on the cookie notice, it holds the single value on, it lasts for about 300 days, and its only job is to stop the notice from appearing again. It is not used to identify or track you.
There is no analytics, no advertising tag, no social-media widget and no external font or script on this site: the fonts and scripts are served from the site itself. The site does not use local storage or session storage to keep personal information. If you delete the cookie in your browser the notice simply reappears.
06 · Health and dietary details
Some enquiries mention allergies, dietary rules, mobility, pregnancy or other health matters, so that the kitchen or the route can be planned. This kind of detail needs particular care. We use it only to plan the meal, the walk or the stay you asked about, we do not pass it on except to a person who actually has to act on it (for example the cook or an operator you agreed to), and we suggest you tell us only what is needed.
Nothing we write about food, baths or walks is medical advice. For a health question, ask your own doctor.
07 · Sharing with others
We do not sell personal information and we do not hand it to third parties for their own purposes. Your message passes through the mailbox provider we use, which acts on our behalf as a processor. Where we arrange something with a local operator for you, such as a ceramicist, a kitchen supplier or a licensed boat operator, we tell you first and share only what that operator needs.
Mail services often store data on servers outside Japan, and we do not choose where a provider keeps its servers. If you are concerned about that, tell us and we can talk by phone instead. We also disclose information where a law or a court requires it.
08 · How long we keep it
We keep correspondence for as long as the matter is open and for a reasonable period afterwards in case you write again or something has to be checked. We have not set a fixed period that we can promise here, and we delete older messages when we no longer have a reason to keep them. If you want a particular message deleted sooner, ask and we will do it unless we have to keep it by law.
Records that the law requires us to keep, for instance accounting records once a payment has been made, are kept for the statutory period only.
09 · Your rights
Under the APPI you can ask us to tell you what personal data we hold about you, to correct it if it is wrong, to stop using it or to delete it where the law gives you that right. You can also ask us how a message of yours was handled.
Write to us at the address below. Because we cannot see your face, we may ask you for something that lets us match the request to the message in question, such as the date and the email address you used. We answer without undue delay. We do not charge for reasonable requests, except where the law allows a fee.
10 · Security
We limit who reads enquiries to the people who have to answer them. We cannot guarantee that email is private in transit, since a message crosses the open internet between mail providers. If you need to share something sensitive, ask us for another way first.
11 · Children
This site is written for adults. If you are under the age of majority, please ask a parent or guardian to write to us, and we will answer the adult. We do not knowingly collect information from children through the website.
12 · Changes to this page
If the way we handle information changes, for example because we add a new function to the site or the law changes, we will update this page and change the date at the top. Please look at the date if you are returning after a long time.
13 · Contact for privacy questions
The party responsible for this site and for your information is Smart Pine Harbor, 4-17-9 Honmichi, Kure, Hiroshima 737-0045, Japan, by email at stay@smartpineharbor.com or by phone on +81 823-41-5025 (daily 8:00-22:00 Japan time).
A person reads that mailbox. If you are not happy with how we answered, you may also contact the Personal Information Protection Commission of Japan.
Contact
Smart Pine Harbor, 4-17-9 Honmichi, Kure, Hiroshima 737-0045, Japan — stay@smartpineharbor.com — +81 823-41-5025