Salons, barbers and beauty
Chair-based businesses where the service length varies by what the client actually wants. Below is how 17 of them actually set up online booking — the session length, the gap between clients, whether to take payment up front, and the one thing that trips each trade up in Japan.
Hair salons#
A cut is an hour and a colour is three, so one booking length for everything either wastes half your day or runs you late by lunchtime.
| Duration | One event type per service: 60 for a cut, 150 for colour, 210 for a full head of highlights |
|---|---|
| Minimum notice | 4 hours |
| Buffer | 15 minutes after, to clear the station |
| Location | In person |
| Payment | Paid in person, or a deposit online for long colour appointments |
| Cancellation policy | Full refund 24 hours before, if you take a deposit |
Worth asking on the booking form: Which service? · Hair type and length · Have you been to us before?
English-speaking stylists who understand non-Japanese hair are genuinely hard to find here, and clients search for exactly that. Say which hair types you cut in the description — it converts better than any price.
Barbers#
Short, high-volume appointments where the same client returns every three or four weeks and wants the same chair.
| Duration | 30 minutes for a cut, 45 with a beard trim |
|---|---|
| Minimum notice | 2 hours |
| Buffer | 5 minutes after |
| Max bookings per day | Whatever the chairs support |
| Location | In person |
| Payment | Paid in person |
| Cancellation policy | Not applicable |
Nail salons#
Removal, extension and art each add time, so a client booking "a gel manicure" can mean anything between an hour and two and a half.
| Duration | 60 minutes standard, 90 with removal, 120 with extensions |
|---|---|
| Minimum notice | 4 hours |
| Buffer | 10 minutes after |
| Location | In person |
| Payment | Paid in person, deposit online for long appointments |
| Cancellation policy | Full refund 24 hours before |
Worth asking on the booking form: Do you need removal first? · Gel, acrylic or natural? · Any nail art?
Eyelash extension studios#
A full set takes two hours, an infill takes one, and a client who books the wrong one wrecks the afternoon for everybody after them.
| Duration | 120 minutes for a full set, 60 for an infill — always two event types |
|---|---|
| Minimum notice | 12 hours |
| Buffer | 10 minutes after |
| Max bookings per day | Four full sets a day is the limit before the work shows it |
| Location | In person |
| Payment | Paid online for a full set, in person for infills |
| Cancellation policy | Full refund 24 hours before, 50% inside that |
Worth asking on the booking form: Full set or infill? · When was your last infill? · Any eye sensitivity or allergies?
Brow bars and threading#
Fifteen-minute appointments in volume, where the booking system earns its place by simply keeping the queue in order.
| Duration | 15 to 30 minutes |
|---|---|
| Minimum notice | 1 hour |
| Location | In person |
| Payment | Paid in person |
| Cancellation policy | Not applicable |
Waxing and hair removal#
Course-based: a client buys six sessions at six-week intervals and books them all at once.
| Duration | 30 to 60 minutes depending on the area |
|---|---|
| Minimum notice | 12 hours |
| Buffer | 10 minutes after |
| Bookable up to | 180 days, so a course can be booked in one go |
| Location | In person |
| Payment | Paid in person against a prepaid course |
| Cancellation policy | Full refund 24 hours before |
Esthetic and facial salons#
Treatments are sold as courses, and the first appointment includes a skin consultation that later ones do not.
| Duration | 90 minutes first visit, 60 after |
|---|---|
| Minimum notice | 12 hours |
| Buffer | 15 minutes after |
| Location | In person |
| Payment | Paid in person |
| Cancellation policy | Full refund 24 hours before |
Worth asking on the booking form: Skin concerns · Current products you use · Any allergies?
Makeup artists#
Half the work is at the client’s address before an event, so travel time and a very early start are the norm.
| Duration | 60 minutes, 90 on location |
|---|---|
| Minimum notice | 48 hours |
| Buffer | 60 minutes after, for travel |
| Location | In person, address supplied by the client |
| Payment | Paid online |
| Cancellation policy | Full refund 72 hours before, 50% inside that |
Worth asking on the booking form: What is the occasion? · Where and what time? · Any reference photos?
Bridal hair and makeup#
A paid trial months ahead, then the wedding morning itself — two bookings separated by half a year, with a deposit holding the date.
| Duration | 120 minutes for the trial, 180 on the day |
|---|---|
| Minimum notice | 7 days |
| Bookable up to | 365 days |
| Location | In person |
| Payment | Paid online — the deposit is what holds the date |
| Cancellation policy | No refund inside 30 days; the date cannot be resold |
Worth asking on the booking form: Wedding date and venue · How many people need hair and makeup? · Getting-ready time
Personal colour analysis#
A single ninety-minute session that a client buys once, so every booking is a new customer and the page has to sell on its own.
| Duration | 90 minutes |
|---|---|
| Minimum notice | 24 hours |
| Location | In person |
| Payment | Paid online |
| Cancellation policy | Full refund 48 hours before |
パーソナルカラー診断 is a genuine boom here and slots sell out weeks ahead, so open the calendar further than you think you need — 90 days rather than 30.
Tattoo artists#
A free consultation, a deposit that comes off the final price, and a session measured in half-days rather than hours.
| Duration | 30 minutes consultation, 4 hours for a session |
|---|---|
| Minimum notice | 7 days |
| Bookable up to | 180 days |
| Location | In person |
| Payment | Consultation free, deposit paid online against the session |
| Cancellation policy | No refund inside 7 days — a lost day cannot be refilled |
Worth asking on the booking form: Design idea and size · Placement · Is this your first tattoo?
Many Japanese gyms, pools and onsen still refuse entry to tattooed guests, and foreign clients ask about aftercare in that context. It belongs in the confirmation message, which they keep.
Tattoo removal#
A course of short sessions spaced six to eight weeks apart, over a year or more.
| Duration | 30 minutes |
|---|---|
| Minimum notice | 48 hours |
| Bookable up to | 365 days |
| Location | In person |
| Payment | Paid in person against a prepaid course |
| Cancellation policy | Full refund 48 hours before |
Permanent makeup and microblading#
A long first appointment and a mandatory touch-up four to six weeks later, which should be booked at the same time.
| Duration | 150 minutes first, 90 for the touch-up |
|---|---|
| Minimum notice | 72 hours |
| Bookable up to | 120 days |
| Location | In person |
| Payment | Paid online |
| Cancellation policy | Full refund 7 days before, none inside 72 hours |
Worth asking on the booking form: Any previous permanent makeup? · Pregnant or breastfeeding? · Skin conditions or medication?
Scalp and hair-loss clinics#
A discreet first consultation people would rather book online than ask about by phone, then a long-running treatment course.
| Duration | 45 minutes consultation, 30 for treatment |
|---|---|
| Minimum notice | 24 hours |
| Location | In person |
| Payment | Consultation free or low-cost, treatment in person |
| Cancellation policy | Full refund 24 hours before |
Men’s grooming#
Short appointments clustered at lunchtime and after work, with very little demand in between.
| Duration | 30 to 60 minutes |
|---|---|
| Minimum notice | 2 hours |
| Location | In person |
| Payment | Paid in person |
| Cancellation policy | Not applicable |
Kimono dressing and rental#
A morning dressing appointment and an evening return, booked by visitors who are only in the city for two days.
| Duration | 60 minutes to dress |
|---|---|
| Minimum notice | 24 hours |
| Bookable up to | 180 days, because visitors plan early |
| Max bookings per day | Cap the morning at the number of dressers you have |
| Location | In person |
| Payment | Paid online — the customer is a visitor you will not see again |
| Cancellation policy | Full refund 48 hours before |
Worth asking on the booking form: How many people? · Height, for sizing · What time will you return the kimono?
Cherry blossom season and the autumn colours sell out entirely. Open those dates months ahead and close the rest of the diary with date overrides rather than turning people away.
Kimono photo studios#
Dressing, shooting and changing back is a three-hour block sold as one booking, almost entirely to overseas visitors.
| Duration | 180 minutes |
|---|---|
| Minimum notice | 72 hours |
| Bookable up to | 365 days |
| Location | In person |
| Payment | Paid online in yen |
| Cancellation policy | Full refund 7 days before, 50% inside that |
Worth asking on the booking form: How many people? · Indoor studio or outdoor location? · Preferred style
Set this up in about ten minutes
Business Box is free for as long as you like, with no card required — booking pages, Google and Outlook calendar sync, availability, Japanese public holidays and the website widget. Taking card payment for bookings is ¥1,200 a month, tax included, with no commission on what you sell.
Last reviewed 28 September 2026.