# Business Box

> Booking software for small businesses in Japan. Publish a booking page, keep it in step with Google Calendar or Microsoft Outlook, and take payment in Japanese yen through your own Stripe account.

The product is used at https://app.marubox.jp. Marketing site and documentation: https://marubox.jp.
Pricing: free for unlimited bookings with no time limit; ¥1,200 a month, tax included to take card payment for bookings, with no commission on what you sell.
Payments run through the host's own Stripe account (Stripe Connect Standard), so money goes directly to the host.
Calendars supported: Google Calendar and Microsoft Outlook / Microsoft 365. Interface languages: English and Japanese.
Documentation language: English. Last reviewed 2026-09-28.

## User guide

### Start here

- [Contents](https://marubox.jp/guide/): Step-by-step help for Business Box: publish a booking page, connect Google Calendar or Outlook, take payment in yen through Stripe, and manage bookings day to day.
- [Getting started](https://marubox.jp/guide/getting-started): Sign in to Business Box with Google or Microsoft, create your first event type and get a booking link you can send to a customer, in about five minutes.
- [Your account and settings](https://marubox.jp/guide/account-and-settings): Change your public booking handle, display name, interface language and time zone, add a shared inbox to booking notifications, turn on email verification for bookers, and delete your account.

### Set up what people book

- [Event types](https://marubox.jp/guide/event-types): Create and edit the things people book from you: name, link, colour, location, duration, buffers, notice, how far ahead, daily limits and reminder emails.
- [The booking form](https://marubox.jp/guide/booking-form): Add your own questions to the booking form, choose the field type, make answers required, and decide what the customer sees after they book.
- [Availability and hours](https://marubox.jp/guide/availability): Set the hours you take bookings, add split shifts and lunch breaks, block a specific date or open a normally closed one, and close automatically on Japanese public holidays.
- [Your booking page](https://marubox.jp/guide/booking-page): Understand your public booking page and event links, what the customer sees as they book, how a time is held while they fill in the form, and how they manage the booking afterwards.
- [Add it to your website](https://marubox.jp/guide/embed-on-your-website): Paste one line of code to put Business Box booking on your own website: an inline calendar, a popup button, or a plain iframe for site builders that strip scripts.
- [Invite-only bookings](https://marubox.jp/guide/invite-only-bookings): Create single-use booking links to send in reply to an enquiry, and hide an event type so it can only be booked by invitation.

### Connect your calendar

- [Connect Google Calendar](https://marubox.jp/guide/connect-google-calendar): Connect Google Calendar so your existing events block out booking times and confirmed bookings appear in your calendar, with a Google Meet link when you want one.
- [Connect Zoom](https://marubox.jp/guide/connect-zoom): Connect your Zoom account so every booking gets its own Zoom meeting, created in your account and sent to your customer automatically.
- [Connect Outlook](https://marubox.jp/guide/connect-microsoft-outlook): Connect a Microsoft calendar so Outlook events block out booking times and bookings appear in your calendar, with a Microsoft Teams link on a work or school account.
- [How calendar sync works](https://marubox.jp/guide/calendar-sync): What Business Box reads from your calendar and writes to it, what the sync badges on a booking mean, what happens when you move or delete an entry yourself, and how to reconnect a calendar.

### Take payment

- [Connect Stripe](https://marubox.jp/guide/connect-stripe): Connect your own Stripe account to take card payments for bookings in yen, understand the approval Stripe carries out, and read the charges and payouts badges.
- [Charging for bookings](https://marubox.jp/guide/taking-payment): Choose whether an appointment is free, paid online by card before it is confirmed, or paid in person at the appointment. Set a price in yen, set a cancellation and refund policy, and issue refunds.
- [Your plan and billing](https://marubox.jp/guide/subscription-and-billing): What the free plan includes, what the subscription adds, how to subscribe or cancel, what happens if a payment fails, and how to change your card or download invoices.

### Day to day

- [Managing bookings](https://marubox.jp/guide/managing-bookings): Find bookings, read their statuses, cancel and reschedule on a customer’s behalf, add a booking taken by phone, mark a no-show, refund, and keep private notes.
- [Emails and reminders](https://marubox.jp/guide/emails-and-reminders): Every email Business Box sends, who receives it, how reminders are timed, what to do when a confirmation does not arrive, and how to copy a shared inbox.

### Help

- [Troubleshooting](https://marubox.jp/guide/troubleshooting): Fix the most common problems in Business Box: no times showing on the booking page, a booking link returning Not found, a calendar needing reconnecting, Stripe not approving charges, and every error message explained.
- [Frequently asked questions](https://marubox.jp/guide/faq): Quick answers about Business Box: what it costs, how payments and calendar sync work, what your customers can do themselves, and how it compares with tools built outside Japan.

## Questions the guide answers

- Do I need a credit card to start using Business Box? — https://marubox.jp/guide/
- Does Business Box work in Japanese? — https://marubox.jp/guide/
- Who receives the money when a customer pays for a booking? — https://marubox.jp/guide/
- How do I create a booking link in Business Box? — https://marubox.jp/guide/getting-started
- Can I use Business Box without connecting a calendar? — https://marubox.jp/guide/getting-started
- Can I sign in with an email address and password instead? — https://marubox.jp/guide/getting-started
- I signed up with the wrong account. What now? — https://marubox.jp/guide/getting-started
- How do I change my booking page URL? — https://marubox.jp/guide/account-and-settings
- Can two people share one Business Box account? — https://marubox.jp/guide/account-and-settings
- Why is my customer’s booking page in Japanese when my app is in English? — https://marubox.jp/guide/account-and-settings
- What happens to my bookings if I change my time zone? — https://marubox.jp/guide/account-and-settings
- How do I stop people booking me at short notice? — https://marubox.jp/guide/event-types
- How do I add a gap between appointments? — https://marubox.jp/guide/event-types
- Can I limit how many bookings I take in a day? — https://marubox.jp/guide/event-types
- Why is Google Meet greyed out with a warning? — https://marubox.jp/guide/event-types
- What happens to existing bookings if I delete an event type? — https://marubox.jp/guide/event-types
- How do I ask my customers a question when they book? — https://marubox.jp/guide/booking-form
- Can I make someone agree to my terms before booking? — https://marubox.jp/guide/booking-form
- Where do I see the answers? — https://marubox.jp/guide/booking-form
- Can I send people to my own thank-you page after they book? — https://marubox.jp/guide/booking-form
- How do I block a single day in my booking calendar? — https://marubox.jp/guide/availability
- How do I close automatically on Japanese public holidays? — https://marubox.jp/guide/availability
- How do I take a lunch break? — https://marubox.jp/guide/availability
- Why is an all-day event in Google Calendar not blocking my day? — https://marubox.jp/guide/availability
- Can different appointments have different hours? — https://marubox.jp/guide/availability
- What is my booking page address? — https://marubox.jp/guide/booking-page
- How long is a time slot held while someone books? — https://marubox.jp/guide/booking-page
- What happens if two people book the same slot at the same time? — https://marubox.jp/guide/booking-page
- Can customers cancel or reschedule by themselves? — https://marubox.jp/guide/booking-page
- Does the booking page work on a phone? — https://marubox.jp/guide/booking-page
- How do I add a booking calendar to my WordPress site? — https://marubox.jp/guide/embed-on-your-website
- Can customers pay without leaving my website? — https://marubox.jp/guide/embed-on-your-website
- Can I change the colours of the booking widget? — https://marubox.jp/guide/embed-on-your-website
- Can I put several event types on one page? — https://marubox.jp/guide/embed-on-your-website
- My site builder removes the script. What do I do? — https://marubox.jp/guide/embed-on-your-website
- How do I send someone a private booking link? — https://marubox.jp/guide/invite-only-bookings
- Can I hide an appointment from my public booking page? — https://marubox.jp/guide/invite-only-bookings
- Can one invite link be used by several people? — https://marubox.jp/guide/invite-only-bookings
- I lost an invite link before I sent it. Can I see it again? — https://marubox.jp/guide/invite-only-bookings
- How do I connect Google Calendar to Business Box? — https://marubox.jp/guide/connect-google-calendar
- Can Business Box see what is in my calendar events? — https://marubox.jp/guide/connect-google-calendar
- Why does Google say this app is not verified? — https://marubox.jp/guide/connect-google-calendar
- Can I connect a different Google account from the one I sign in with? — https://marubox.jp/guide/connect-google-calendar
- Can I connect more than one calendar? — https://marubox.jp/guide/connect-google-calendar
- How do I get a Google Meet link on every booking? — https://marubox.jp/guide/connect-google-calendar
- How do I connect Zoom to Business Box? — https://marubox.jp/guide/connect-zoom
- Does every booking get its own Zoom link? — https://marubox.jp/guide/connect-zoom
- Can I use a free Zoom account? — https://marubox.jp/guide/connect-zoom
- How do I remove Business Box from Zoom? — https://marubox.jp/guide/connect-zoom
- Do my customers need a Zoom account? — https://marubox.jp/guide/connect-zoom
- How do I connect Outlook to Business Box? — https://marubox.jp/guide/connect-microsoft-outlook
- Why can I not use Microsoft Teams as a location? — https://marubox.jp/guide/connect-microsoft-outlook
- Microsoft says the app needs admin approval. What do I do? — https://marubox.jp/guide/connect-microsoft-outlook
- Can I connect both Google and Microsoft calendars? — https://marubox.jp/guide/connect-microsoft-outlook
- Will Business Box double book me? — https://marubox.jp/guide/calendar-sync
- What happens if I move a booking in Google Calendar or Outlook? — https://marubox.jp/guide/calendar-sync
- What happens if I delete the calendar entry for a booking? — https://marubox.jp/guide/calendar-sync
- Why is my booking page offering no times at all? — https://marubox.jp/guide/calendar-sync
- Can I have bookings written to one calendar and check clashes in several? — https://marubox.jp/guide/calendar-sync
- Does Business Box take a commission on my bookings? — https://marubox.jp/guide/connect-stripe
- Why can I not set a price after connecting Stripe? — https://marubox.jp/guide/connect-stripe
- How long does Stripe take to approve an account? — https://marubox.jp/guide/connect-stripe
- Do I need my own Stripe account, or does Business Box hold the money? — https://marubox.jp/guide/connect-stripe
- Can I take payment without subscribing? — https://marubox.jp/guide/connect-stripe
- Do I need to charge in yen? — https://marubox.jp/guide/connect-stripe
- How do I take a deposit for an appointment? — https://marubox.jp/guide/taking-payment
- How do I stop no-shows? — https://marubox.jp/guide/taking-payment
- What happens if a customer does not finish paying? — https://marubox.jp/guide/taking-payment
- Can I charge in cash instead? — https://marubox.jp/guide/taking-payment
- How do I refund a booking? — https://marubox.jp/guide/taking-payment
- Can customers pay by convenience store or PayPay? — https://marubox.jp/guide/taking-payment
- Is the price tax inclusive? — https://marubox.jp/guide/taking-payment
- How much does Business Box cost? — https://marubox.jp/guide/subscription-and-billing
- What do I lose if I cancel my subscription? — https://marubox.jp/guide/subscription-and-billing
- How do I change the card I pay with? — https://marubox.jp/guide/subscription-and-billing
- My subscription payment failed. Do bookings stop straight away? — https://marubox.jp/guide/subscription-and-billing
- Is there a free trial? — https://marubox.jp/guide/subscription-and-billing
- Where do I get an invoice for my subscription? — https://marubox.jp/guide/subscription-and-billing
- How do I cancel a booking for a customer? — https://marubox.jp/guide/managing-bookings
- How do I move a booking to a different time? — https://marubox.jp/guide/managing-bookings
- How do I add a booking somebody made over the phone? — https://marubox.jp/guide/managing-bookings
- Can I book someone into a time I am not normally available? — https://marubox.jp/guide/managing-bookings
- My customer says they never got a confirmation. What should I do? — https://marubox.jp/guide/managing-bookings
- Does marking someone as a no-show tell them? — https://marubox.jp/guide/managing-bookings
- How do I turn off reminder emails? — https://marubox.jp/guide/emails-and-reminders
- Can I send booking notifications to a shared inbox? — https://marubox.jp/guide/emails-and-reminders
- Can I change the wording of the confirmation email? — https://marubox.jp/guide/emails-and-reminders
- My customer did not receive their confirmation. What do I do? — https://marubox.jp/guide/emails-and-reminders
- Do customers get a calendar invitation as well? — https://marubox.jp/guide/emails-and-reminders
- Why are no times showing on my booking page? — https://marubox.jp/guide/troubleshooting
- Why does my booking link show "Not found"? — https://marubox.jp/guide/troubleshooting
- Why are my existing calendar appointments not blocking booking times? — https://marubox.jp/guide/troubleshooting
- Business Box says Stripe has not approved my account. What can you do? — https://marubox.jp/guide/troubleshooting
- Is Business Box free? — https://marubox.jp/guide/faq
- Which calendars does Business Box work with? — https://marubox.jp/guide/faq
- Is Business Box a good Calendly alternative for Japan? — https://marubox.jp/guide/faq
- Can several people book the same time slot? — https://marubox.jp/guide/faq
- Can I use Business Box for a team? — https://marubox.jp/guide/faq
- Does Business Box work on a phone? — https://marubox.jp/guide/faq

## By industry (246 trades)

Each category page covers every trade listed under it, with the booking setup that trade should start from. Trades with their own page are linked directly.

### Clinics and medical practices — https://marubox.jp/for/health-and-medical

- International clinics and GP practices: A first consultation needs longer than a follow-up, and the patient usually wants to know before booking whether the doctor speaks English and whether their insurance is accepted. (https://marubox.jp/for/clinics)
- English-speaking dentists: Check-ups, cleanings and treatment appointments are different lengths, and a patient who cancels an hour before leaves a chair and a hygienist idle. (https://marubox.jp/for/dentists)
- Orthodontists: A long paid consultation up front, then a two-year run of short adjustments roughly every four to six weeks. (https://marubox.jp/for/health-and-medical#orthodontists)
- Dermatology and skin clinics: Medical consultations and cosmetic treatments sit in the same diary but behave completely differently — one is insured and short, the other is paid and long. (https://marubox.jp/for/health-and-medical#dermatology-clinics)
- Cosmetic and aesthetic clinics: A free or cheap counselling appointment sells the treatment, and the treatment itself is expensive enough that an empty slot hurts. (https://marubox.jp/for/health-and-medical#cosmetic-clinics)
- Ophthalmologists and eye clinics: Dilating drops mean the patient is in the building far longer than the consultation itself, which the booking length has to reflect. (https://marubox.jp/for/health-and-medical#ophthalmologists)
- Paediatricians: Parents book around school and nap times, often at short notice, and want to know whether the appointment is for a sick child or a scheduled vaccination. (https://marubox.jp/for/health-and-medical#paediatricians)
- OB-GYN and women’s clinics: Appointments are personal enough that people book online specifically to avoid explaining themselves on the phone in a second language. (https://marubox.jp/for/health-and-medical#womens-clinics)
- Fertility and IVF coordinators: Treatment is driven by a cycle, so appointments are urgent, frequent and cannot be moved by a week to suit the diary. (https://marubox.jp/for/health-and-medical#fertility-clinics)
- Psychiatrists: A long intake appointment followed by shorter medication reviews at a steady interval, with the same patient for years. (https://marubox.jp/for/health-and-medical#psychiatrists)
- Counsellors and therapists: The same client at the same hour every week, a free or reduced first consultation, and a late cancellation that cannot be filled because nobody books therapy at two hours’ notice. (https://marubox.jp/for/counsellors-therapists)
- Psychologists and assessments: Assessments run for hours and sometimes across two days, which is a different booking shape from an ordinary session. (https://marubox.jp/for/health-and-medical#psychologists)
- Couples and marriage counselling: Sessions run longer than individual therapy, and two people have to agree on the time, so evenings and weekends carry the practice. (https://marubox.jp/for/health-and-medical#couples-counselling)
- Addiction counselling: People reach out in a narrow window of willingness, so short notice and an immediate confirmation matter more than a tidy diary. (https://marubox.jp/for/health-and-medical#addiction-counselling)
- Speech and language therapists: Mostly children, in a fixed weekly slot after school, booked as a term rather than a session. (https://marubox.jp/for/health-and-medical#speech-therapists)
- Occupational therapists: Home visits and clinic sessions in the same week, with travel between them that the diary has to allow for. (https://marubox.jp/for/health-and-medical#occupational-therapists)
- Physiotherapists: A long first assessment, then a course of shorter treatments booked as a block over several weeks. (https://marubox.jp/for/health-and-medical#physiotherapists)
- Chiropractors: A 45-minute first visit and a 20-minute adjustment, with regulars who come back every few weeks and expect to book the next one on the spot. (https://marubox.jp/for/chiropractors)
- Osteopaths: Hands-on sessions of a consistent length, with most of the diary filled by people who rebook before they leave the room. (https://marubox.jp/for/health-and-medical#osteopaths)
- Acupuncturists: Needles stay in for twenty to thirty minutes, so the room is occupied considerably longer than the practitioner is, and the first session includes a long intake. (https://marubox.jp/for/acupuncturists)
- Shiatsu and seitai practitioners: Sold in 60 and 90 minute blocks, often as a course of ten, with clients who book the same slot each week. (https://marubox.jp/for/health-and-medical#shiatsu-seitai)
- Sports therapists: Athletes book around training, which means early mornings and late evenings rather than a nine-to-five diary. (https://marubox.jp/for/health-and-medical#sports-therapists)
- Podiatrists: Routine care at a steady interval, plus one-off assessments for orthotics that take twice as long. (https://marubox.jp/for/health-and-medical#podiatrists)
- Nutritionists and dietitians: A long first consultation and a run of short reviews, most of it by video because there is nothing to examine. (https://marubox.jp/for/health-and-medical#nutritionists)
- Travel and vaccination clinics: Demand arrives in waves before holiday seasons, and some courses need a second and third appointment weeks apart. (https://marubox.jp/for/health-and-medical#travel-clinics)
- Health checkup (人間ドック) coordinators: A fixed-length morning slot with strict fasting instructions, sold almost entirely in the first quarter of the year. (https://marubox.jp/for/health-and-medical#health-checkups)
- Medical interpreters and patient advocates: Booked to accompany somebody to an appointment that already has a time, so the slot is dictated by a third party and travel is part of the job. (https://marubox.jp/for/health-and-medical#medical-interpreters)
- Home-visit nursing: A round of visits at the same addresses each week, where the constraint is the route rather than the diary. (https://marubox.jp/for/health-and-medical#home-visit-nursing)

### Massage, bodywork and wellness — https://marubox.jp/for/wellness-and-bodywork

- Massage therapists: Sixty and ninety minute treatments sold back to back, where the fifteen minutes of changing, showering and remaking the table is invisible to the client and very real to you. (https://marubox.jp/for/massage-therapists)
- Deep tissue and remedial massage: Clients arrive with a specific complaint rather than for relaxation, so the intake question matters more than the length. (https://marubox.jp/for/wellness-and-bodywork#deep-tissue-massage)
- Thai massage: Longer sessions than Western massage — ninety minutes and two hours are normal — on a mat rather than a table. (https://marubox.jp/for/wellness-and-bodywork#thai-massage)
- Aromatherapy: A consultation on oils precedes the treatment, so the booked hour includes time that is not hands-on. (https://marubox.jp/for/wellness-and-bodywork#aromatherapy)
- Reflexology: Short, repeatable treatments where the same client comes fortnightly and books several ahead. (https://marubox.jp/for/wellness-and-bodywork#reflexology)
- Reiki and energy work: Sold both in person and at a distance, which are genuinely different products and need separate event types. (https://marubox.jp/for/wellness-and-bodywork#reiki)
- Day spas: Packages of two or three treatments run back to back, which is one long booking rather than three short ones. (https://marubox.jp/for/wellness-and-bodywork#day-spas)
- Private sauna hire: The room is the product, sold in fixed slots, and the heat has to be managed between groups. (https://marubox.jp/for/wellness-and-bodywork#private-sauna)
- Float tanks: A sixty-minute float needs thirty minutes either side for showering and for the water to filter, so the slot is ninety minutes whatever the website says. (https://marubox.jp/for/wellness-and-bodywork#float-tanks)
- Cryotherapy and recovery studios: Very short sessions in high volume, where a ten-minute interval and a hard daily cap matter more than anything else. (https://marubox.jp/for/wellness-and-bodywork#cryotherapy-recovery)
- Sound baths: Usually a group, which means a fixed start time rather than a rolling calendar of individual slots. (https://marubox.jp/for/wellness-and-bodywork#sound-baths)
- Meditation and breathwork: A free taster session brings people in, and the paid one-to-one work follows from it. (https://marubox.jp/for/wellness-and-bodywork#meditation-breathwork)

### Salons, barbers and beauty — https://marubox.jp/for/beauty-and-grooming

- 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. (https://marubox.jp/for/hair-salons)
- Barbers: Short, high-volume appointments where the same client returns every three or four weeks and wants the same chair. (https://marubox.jp/for/beauty-and-grooming#barbers)
- 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. (https://marubox.jp/for/nail-salons)
- 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. (https://marubox.jp/for/eyelash-extensions)
- Brow bars and threading: Fifteen-minute appointments in volume, where the booking system earns its place by simply keeping the queue in order. (https://marubox.jp/for/beauty-and-grooming#brow-bars)
- Waxing and hair removal: Course-based: a client buys six sessions at six-week intervals and books them all at once. (https://marubox.jp/for/beauty-and-grooming#waxing-salons)
- Esthetic and facial salons: Treatments are sold as courses, and the first appointment includes a skin consultation that later ones do not. (https://marubox.jp/for/beauty-and-grooming#esthetic-salons)
- 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. (https://marubox.jp/for/beauty-and-grooming#makeup-artists)
- 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. (https://marubox.jp/for/beauty-and-grooming#bridal-hair-makeup)
- 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. (https://marubox.jp/for/beauty-and-grooming#personal-colour-analysis)
- Tattoo artists: A free consultation, a deposit that comes off the final price, and a session measured in half-days rather than hours. (https://marubox.jp/for/beauty-and-grooming#tattoo-artists)
- Tattoo removal: A course of short sessions spaced six to eight weeks apart, over a year or more. (https://marubox.jp/for/beauty-and-grooming#tattoo-removal)
- 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. (https://marubox.jp/for/beauty-and-grooming#permanent-makeup)
- 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. (https://marubox.jp/for/beauty-and-grooming#scalp-clinics)
- Men’s grooming: Short appointments clustered at lunchtime and after work, with very little demand in between. (https://marubox.jp/for/beauty-and-grooming#mens-grooming)
- Kimono dressing and rental: A morning dressing appointment and an evening return, booked by visitors who are only in the city for two days. (https://marubox.jp/for/beauty-and-grooming#kimono-dressing)
- Kimono photo studios: Dressing, shooting and changing back is a three-hour block sold as one booking, almost entirely to overseas visitors. (https://marubox.jp/for/beauty-and-grooming#kimono-photo-studios)

### Gyms, studios and coaching — https://marubox.jp/for/fitness-and-movement

- Yoga studios: A timetable of classes at fixed times rather than a rolling calendar, plus private sessions that are genuinely one to one. (https://marubox.jp/for/yoga-studios)
- Private yoga instructors: You travel to the client or teach online, so the diary is shaped by journeys between addresses rather than by a studio timetable. (https://marubox.jp/for/fitness-and-movement#private-yoga-instructors)
- Personal trainers: The same clients in the same slots every week, either side of the working day, with a free consultation at the front of the funnel. (https://marubox.jp/for/personal-trainers)
- Pilates and reformer studios: The reformer is the constraint, not the room: three machines means three people, whatever the floor space says. (https://marubox.jp/for/pilates-studios)
- Barre studios: Timetabled classes with a hard capacity, mostly booked the same day. (https://marubox.jp/for/fitness-and-movement#barre-studios)
- Dance studios: Two businesses in one diary: classes by level on a weekly timetable, and studio hire by the hour when no class is running. (https://marubox.jp/for/dance-studios)
- Ballet schools: Children in graded classes by age, booked by a parent for a whole term rather than a session. (https://marubox.jp/for/fitness-and-movement#ballet-schools)
- Street and hip hop dance: Evening and weekend classes almost exclusively, with drop-ins booked on the day. (https://marubox.jp/for/fitness-and-movement#street-dance)
- Salsa, tango and ballroom: Private lessons are booked by couples, so two diaries have to agree and evenings carry everything. (https://marubox.jp/for/fitness-and-movement#social-dance)
- Pole and aerial fitness: Equipment-limited like reformer Pilates, with a compulsory beginners’ session before anyone joins a general class. (https://marubox.jp/for/fitness-and-movement#pole-aerial)
- Martial arts dojos: Members train on a fixed weekly timetable, but the booking that matters commercially is the free trial class that turns a visitor into a member. (https://marubox.jp/for/martial-arts-dojos)
- BJJ and MMA gyms: Open mat and structured classes at set times, with trial sessions and a waiver that has to be signed before anyone steps on. (https://marubox.jp/for/fitness-and-movement#bjj-mma-gyms)
- Boxing and kickboxing gyms: Personal pad work sold by the half hour alongside group classes, with the trainer as the bottleneck. (https://marubox.jp/for/fitness-and-movement#boxing-gyms)
- Muay Thai gyms: Twice-daily training, morning and evening, with a long empty stretch in the middle of the day. (https://marubox.jp/for/fitness-and-movement#muay-thai)
- CrossFit boxes: Hourly classes on the hour all day, capped by the equipment and by how many the coach can watch at once. (https://marubox.jp/for/fitness-and-movement#crossfit-boxes)
- Climbing and bouldering coaching: Coaching sold on top of a gym entry fee, so the customer is paying two people for one visit. (https://marubox.jp/for/fitness-and-movement#climbing-coaching)
- Swimming instructors: Pool lane time dictates the diary entirely — you can only teach when the lane is yours. (https://marubox.jp/for/fitness-and-movement#swim-instructors)
- Tennis coaches: Court-dependent and weather-dependent, with a rain policy that the cancellation terms have to reflect. (https://marubox.jp/for/fitness-and-movement#tennis-coaches)
- Golf coaches and simulator bays: Bay time and coaching time are the same booking, and evenings after work are the only hours that genuinely sell. (https://marubox.jp/for/fitness-and-movement#golf-coaches)
- Ski and snowboard instructors: A four-month season, booked months ahead from other countries and other time zones, sold in half-days and full days rather than hours. (https://marubox.jp/for/ski-instructors)
- Surf instructors: Conditions decide the day, so a booking is a promise to teach if the sea allows and a promise to refund if it does not. (https://marubox.jp/for/fitness-and-movement#surf-instructors)
- Scuba instructors and dive shops: Certification courses run over consecutive days, so the booking is really a block of mornings rather than a single slot. (https://marubox.jp/for/fitness-and-movement#scuba-instructors)
- Running and triathlon coaches: Mostly remote programme reviews with occasional track sessions, so two location types in one diary. (https://marubox.jp/for/fitness-and-movement#running-coaches)
- Cycling coaches and bike fitting: A bike fit is a three-hour appointment with the customer’s own bike, which is a different product from coaching. (https://marubox.jp/for/fitness-and-movement#cycling-coaches)
- Kids’ sports classes: Parents book, children attend, and the form has to collect a child’s details and an emergency contact that are not the booker’s. (https://marubox.jp/for/fitness-and-movement#kids-sports-classes)
- Gymnastics coaching: Apparatus and spotting ratios cap the class long before the floor does. (https://marubox.jp/for/fitness-and-movement#gymnastics-coaching)

### Teaching, tutoring and classes — https://marubox.jp/for/education-and-tutoring

- English teachers and private tutors: The same student in the same slot every week, booked around a Japanese school or work day, which means everything happens after 16:00 and at weekends. (https://marubox.jp/for/english-teachers)
- Eikaiwa and language schools: Several teachers, a timetable, and trial lessons that have to land with whoever is actually free. (https://marubox.jp/for/education-and-tutoring#eikaiwa-schools)
- Japanese language teachers: Students are foreign residents and overseas learners, so lessons are booked across time zones and almost always online. (https://marubox.jp/for/japanese-language-teachers)
- Academic tutors: Weekly slots booked by a parent for a child, concentrated in the hours between school and dinner, and rising sharply before exams. (https://marubox.jp/for/private-tutors)
- Juku and cram schools: The commercial booking is the parent consultation and the placement test, not the classes themselves. (https://marubox.jp/for/education-and-tutoring#juku-cram-schools)
- IELTS, TOEFL and TOEIC preparation: Demand is driven by a test date, so students book intensively for six weeks and then disappear. (https://marubox.jp/for/education-and-tutoring#ielts-toefl-prep)
- Eiken preparation: Tied to three fixed national test dates a year, with the interview stage needing its own short mock-exam booking. (https://marubox.jp/for/education-and-tutoring#eiken-prep)
- University entrance and admissions prep: Long sessions on essays and interviews, booked to a hard external deadline that nobody can move. (https://marubox.jp/for/education-and-tutoring#university-entrance-prep)
- Business English coaching: Booked in the gaps of a working day — 08:00, lunchtime, 19:00 — and often paid for by the company rather than the student. (https://marubox.jp/for/education-and-tutoring#business-english-coaching)
- Corporate language training: Sold to a company, delivered to its staff, with the invoice and the attendee being different people entirely. (https://marubox.jp/for/education-and-tutoring#corporate-language-training)
- Maths and science tutors: Weekly sessions that double in frequency for a month before exams, and drop to nothing over the summer. (https://marubox.jp/for/education-and-tutoring#maths-science-tutors)
- Coding tutors and bootcamps: A free discovery call, then long paid sessions, with students in several countries at once. (https://marubox.jp/for/education-and-tutoring#coding-tutors)
- Music teachers: Thirty and sixty minute lessons on a fixed weekly slot, mostly after school and at weekends, with a recital season that upends the timetable twice a year. (https://marubox.jp/for/music-teachers)
- Music schools: Rooms and teachers are both finite, and the booking that matters is the trial lesson. (https://marubox.jp/for/education-and-tutoring#music-schools)
- Art classes and workshops: Materials are bought per head, so a no-show costs more than an empty seat. (https://marubox.jp/for/education-and-tutoring#art-classes)
- Pottery and ceramics classes: A wheel per person, and the piece has to be collected weeks later after firing — which is a second appointment. (https://marubox.jp/for/education-and-tutoring#pottery-classes)
- Calligraphy (書道) classes: A visitor experience and a long-term study class share a studio but have nothing else in common. (https://marubox.jp/for/education-and-tutoring#calligraphy-classes)
- Cooking classes: Ingredients are bought for the people who booked, so a late cancellation is a real cost, and most bookings come from visitors who pay before they arrive in the country. (https://marubox.jp/for/cooking-classes)
- Sushi-making classes: Fish is bought that morning for the exact number of seats booked, so the cut-off has to be real. (https://marubox.jp/for/education-and-tutoring#sushi-classes)
- Sake tasting and sommelier sessions: Small group sessions at fixed evening times, sold almost entirely to visitors. (https://marubox.jp/for/education-and-tutoring#sake-tasting)
- Tea ceremony experiences: Fixed session times through the day, each needing the room reset completely before the next. (https://marubox.jp/for/education-and-tutoring#tea-ceremony)
- Ikebana and flower arrangement: Flowers are ordered per student and do not keep, so the booking cut-off is set by the florist rather than by you. (https://marubox.jp/for/education-and-tutoring#ikebana-classes)
- Driving instructors: Lessons run in one and two hour blocks with pick-up and drop-off at the student’s address, so travel between lessons is part of the working day. (https://marubox.jp/for/driving-instructors)
- School admissions and study-abroad consultants: A free first conversation with a parent, then paid sessions to a deadline set by a university on the other side of the world. (https://marubox.jp/for/education-and-tutoring#admissions-consultants)

### Professional and advisory services — https://marubox.jp/for/professional-services

- Financial advisors: A free discovery call qualifies the client, and the paid work that follows is a small number of long, valuable meetings that must not be missed. (https://marubox.jp/for/financial-advisors)
- Wealth and investment advisors: Few clients, high value, and an annual review that gets booked twelve months ahead. (https://marubox.jp/for/professional-services#wealth-advisors)
- NISA, iDeCo and pension advisors: One well-defined question per client, answered in an hour, with strong seasonality around the tax year. (https://marubox.jp/for/professional-services#pension-advisors)
- Tax advisors (税理士): Nine quiet months and then a wall of work between mid-February and 15 March, when every client wants the same three weeks. (https://marubox.jp/for/tax-advisors)
- Accountants and bookkeepers: A monthly or quarterly rhythm with the same clients, punctuated by year-end, so the diary is predictable and then suddenly is not. (https://marubox.jp/for/professional-services#accountants)
- Lawyers: A paid initial consultation of a fixed length that both qualifies the matter and is itself a product, with clients who are often anxious and want to book without explaining themselves first. (https://marubox.jp/for/lawyers)
- Immigration and visa consultants (行政書士): Clients arrive with a hard deadline — a visa expiring, a job starting, a family arriving — and they are anxious, overseas, or both. (https://marubox.jp/for/immigration-consultants)
- Company incorporation consultants: A single consultation that turns into a project, often booked by someone who is not yet in the country. (https://marubox.jp/for/professional-services#company-incorporation)
- Labour and HR consultants (社労士): Retained clients with a monthly check-in, plus urgent one-off calls when something has gone wrong with an employee. (https://marubox.jp/for/professional-services#hr-consultants)
- Patent attorneys: Consultations driven by filing deadlines, with a confidentiality concern that makes people reluctant to describe the matter on a form. (https://marubox.jp/for/professional-services#patent-attorneys)
- Inheritance (相続) advisors: Clients come in the worst week of their year, often several family members at once, and the ten-month filing deadline is running. (https://marubox.jp/for/professional-services#inheritance-advisors)
- Insurance brokers: A fact-finding call and then a recommendation meeting, with nothing paid by the client at either. (https://marubox.jp/for/professional-services#insurance-brokers)
- Mortgage brokers: Time-critical around an offer on a property, so short notice matters more than a tidy calendar. (https://marubox.jp/for/professional-services#mortgage-brokers)
- Recruitment consultants and headhunters: Candidates can only talk outside working hours or in a lunch break, and a first call is short, exploratory and often confidential. (https://marubox.jp/for/recruitment-consultants)
- Career coaches: A free introductory call that converts into a paid package, with sessions squeezed into early mornings, lunch breaks and evenings. (https://marubox.jp/for/career-coaches)
- CV and resume consultants: A short review call plus written work afterwards, where the document has to arrive before the meeting is useful. (https://marubox.jp/for/professional-services#cv-consultants)
- Executive coaches: A standing fortnightly slot with a small number of senior clients, rearranged often and at short notice. (https://marubox.jp/for/professional-services#executive-coaches)
- Business and management consultants: A free scoping call decides whether there is a project, so the only thing that matters is that it is easy to book. (https://marubox.jp/for/professional-services#business-consultants)
- Marketing consultants: Discovery calls from a website, plus recurring reviews with retained clients — two different event types on one page. (https://marubox.jp/for/professional-services#marketing-consultants)
- SEO and web consultants: An audit call booked straight from a landing page, which means the booking widget needs to sit in the page rather than on another site. (https://marubox.jp/for/professional-services#seo-web-consultants)
- Freelance developers: A short call to decide whether the project is a fit, booked by people in several time zones. (https://marubox.jp/for/professional-services#freelance-developers)
- IT support and managed services: Remote sessions booked at short notice when something is broken, plus scheduled on-site visits. (https://marubox.jp/for/professional-services#it-support)
- Translators: The work is not booked by the hour, but the quoting conversation is, and it is the bottleneck. (https://marubox.jp/for/professional-services#translators)
- Interpreters: Booked by the half-day for a meeting whose time you do not control, with travel and preparation either side. (https://marubox.jp/for/professional-services#interpreters)
- Notary and apostille services: Short counter appointments where the document has to be right before the person arrives. (https://marubox.jp/for/professional-services#notary-apostille)
- Bilingual virtual assistants: A short onboarding call, then almost no meetings — which is exactly why the one call has to be easy to book. (https://marubox.jp/for/professional-services#virtual-assistants)

### Property, viewings and relocation — https://marubox.jp/for/property-and-home-advisory

- Real estate agents: Viewings are at properties across a city, so the diary is really a route, and an hour of travel between two appointments is normal. (https://marubox.jp/for/real-estate-agents)
- Property managers: Inspections, handovers and contractor meetings at addresses, all of which need travel time and none of which are at your office. (https://marubox.jp/for/property-and-home-advisory#property-managers)
- Relocation consultants: The first conversation happens while the client is still in another country and another time zone, and the rest happens in an intense fortnight after they land. (https://marubox.jp/for/relocation-consultants)
- Serviced apartment viewings: Short viewings of a small number of units, booked by people arriving from overseas within days. (https://marubox.jp/for/property-and-home-advisory#serviced-apartments)
- Architects: A long first consultation that decides the project, and site visits that eat a half-day each. (https://marubox.jp/for/property-and-home-advisory#architects)
- Interior designers: A paid design consultation at the client’s home, with photographs and measurements needed beforehand. (https://marubox.jp/for/property-and-home-advisory#interior-designers)
- Home inspectors: A half-day per property, booked urgently because a purchase deadline is running. (https://marubox.jp/for/property-and-home-advisory#home-inspectors)
- Land surveyors: Site work that depends on weather and daylight, booked well ahead against a registration deadline. (https://marubox.jp/for/property-and-home-advisory#land-surveyors)
- Home staging: A walkthrough and quote, then a full staging day scheduled around the photographer and the listing date. (https://marubox.jp/for/property-and-home-advisory#home-staging)

### Photography, creative and events — https://marubox.jp/for/creative-and-events

- Photographers: A shoot is two hours on site plus travel, and the editing afterwards is invisible in the diary but very real in the week. (https://marubox.jp/for/photographers)
- Family and portrait photographers: Small children set the hours, so mid-morning and late afternoon are the only slots that work. (https://marubox.jp/for/creative-and-events#family-photographers)
- Wedding photographers: One date, one couple, booked a year ahead — and an enquiry call is what wins it, not the booking page. (https://marubox.jp/for/wedding-photographers)
- Pre-wedding and engagement shoots: Overseas couples pick a date before they book flights, so the calendar has to be open a year out and paid in advance. (https://marubox.jp/for/creative-and-events#prewedding-shoots)
- Maternity and newborn photographers: Newborn sessions are booked against a due date rather than a fixed day, and run long because the baby decides. (https://marubox.jp/for/creative-and-events#newborn-photographers)
- Product photographers: Studio half-days booked by businesses, with the products needing to arrive beforehand. (https://marubox.jp/for/creative-and-events#product-photographers)
- Videographers: Shoot days plus a separate paid pre-production call, which is the booking that actually needs a calendar. (https://marubox.jp/for/creative-and-events#videographers)
- Drone operators: Weather and airspace permission decide the day, so a booking is provisional until both are confirmed. (https://marubox.jp/for/creative-and-events#drone-operators)
- Podcast studios: Hourly studio hire with an engineer, booked back to back, where the reset between sessions is fifteen minutes. (https://marubox.jp/for/creative-and-events#podcast-studios)
- Recording studios: Half-day and full-day blocks, where setting up and tearing down is part of the booked time. (https://marubox.jp/for/creative-and-events#recording-studios)
- Rehearsal rooms: Rooms hired by the hour, evenings and weekends, where the whole business is filling consecutive hours with no gaps. (https://marubox.jp/for/rehearsal-rooms)
- Mixing and mastering engineers: The work is asynchronous, but the revision call is not, and that is the thing clients struggle to arrange. (https://marubox.jp/for/creative-and-events#mixing-engineers)
- Voice-over artists: Short directed sessions booked by clients in other time zones, with the script needed in advance. (https://marubox.jp/for/creative-and-events#voice-over-artists)
- DJs: Enquiry calls during the day, work at night, with the date held by a deposit. (https://marubox.jp/for/creative-and-events#djs)
- Wedding planners: A long free consultation that wins the client, then a year of meetings with the same couple. (https://marubox.jp/for/creative-and-events#wedding-planners)
- Event planners: Corporate briefings and venue walkthroughs, with the walkthrough taking a half-day including travel. (https://marubox.jp/for/creative-and-events#event-planners)
- Celebrants and wedding officiants: One ceremony per date, booked a year ahead, with a rehearsal meeting close to the day. (https://marubox.jp/for/creative-and-events#wedding-celebrants)
- Florists: Wedding and event consultations booked in the quiet part of the week, because the mornings belong to the market and the shop. (https://marubox.jp/for/creative-and-events#florists)
- Cake designers and tastings: Tastings have to be baked for the people who booked, so the cut-off is set by the oven. (https://marubox.jp/for/creative-and-events#cake-designers)
- Caterers and tastings: A consultation and a tasting are two different bookings weeks apart, and the second costs you money to hold. (https://marubox.jp/for/creative-and-events#caterers)
- Costume and kimono rental fittings: A fitting appointment weeks before the event and a collection appointment the day before — two bookings for one customer. (https://marubox.jp/for/creative-and-events#costume-rental-fittings)

### Tours, guides and experiences — https://marubox.jp/for/travel-and-experiences

- Tour guides: Half-day and full-day tours booked weeks ahead by visitors in another country, who pay before they arrive and will never be repeat customers. (https://marubox.jp/for/tour-guides)
- Walking tours: Fixed departure times with a group, run rain or shine, where the meeting point is the whole logistical problem. (https://marubox.jp/for/travel-and-experiences#walking-tours)
- Food tours: Restaurants are reserved on the guest count, so numbers and dietary needs have to be right at the time of booking. (https://marubox.jp/for/travel-and-experiences#food-tours)
- Bar and izakaya crawls: Evening departures, booked the same day by people already in the city. (https://marubox.jp/for/travel-and-experiences#bar-crawls)
- Cycling tours: Bikes have to be sized to the riders, so heights and abilities are needed before the day, not on it. (https://marubox.jp/for/travel-and-experiences#cycling-tours)
- Hiking guides: Full days starting before dawn, weather-dependent, with a real duty of care that starts at the booking form. (https://marubox.jp/for/travel-and-experiences#hiking-guides)
- Mt Fuji climbing guides: A climbing season of about ten weeks, booked a year ahead, with huts reserved on the guest count. (https://marubox.jp/for/travel-and-experiences#fuji-guides)
- Ski and backcountry guides: Avalanche conditions decide the morning, so the cancellation policy has to be honest about it before anyone pays. (https://marubox.jp/for/travel-and-experiences#backcountry-guides)
- Fishing charters: The boat goes out or it does not, and the tide sets the departure time rather than the diary. (https://marubox.jp/for/travel-and-experiences#fishing-charters)
- Boat charters: The whole vessel is hired for a block, so one booking takes the day and there is nothing to share. (https://marubox.jp/for/travel-and-experiences#boat-charters)
- Private chefs: You cook at the client’s address, so the booking has to collect the kitchen’s limitations as well as the date. (https://marubox.jp/for/travel-and-experiences#private-chefs)
- Omakase and chef’s table: Fixed seatings with a fixed number of seats, where a no-show is a plated menu thrown away. (https://marubox.jp/for/travel-and-experiences#omakase-restaurants)
- Small restaurants: Table reservations in two sittings a night, where the cost of a no-show on a Saturday is the whole evening’s margin. (https://marubox.jp/for/travel-and-experiences#small-restaurants)
- Private dining rooms: One party per room per evening, with a minimum spend that has to be agreed before the booking is worth taking. (https://marubox.jp/for/travel-and-experiences#private-dining-rooms)
- Vacation rental check-ins: A guest lands at an unpredictable hour and needs a fifteen-minute meeting, which is the one appointment in the stay. (https://marubox.jp/for/travel-and-experiences#vacation-rental-checkins)
- Airport transfers and private drivers: The time is set by a flight, not by you, and a delayed arrival changes the booking after it was made. (https://marubox.jp/for/travel-and-experiences#airport-transfers)
- Chauffeur services: Hired by the half-day with an itinerary, mostly for corporate clients. (https://marubox.jp/for/travel-and-experiences#chauffeur-services)
- Campervan and car rental: The booking is a multi-day block, so a handover appointment at each end is what actually goes in the diary. (https://marubox.jp/for/travel-and-experiences#campervan-rental)
- Ski and snowboard rental fittings: Everyone wants to be fitted between 07:30 and 08:30 on the same morning, which is the entire operational problem. (https://marubox.jp/for/travel-and-experiences#ski-rental-fittings)
- Escape rooms and VR experiences: A room per group per slot, with a reset between sessions that cannot be skipped. (https://marubox.jp/for/travel-and-experiences#escape-rooms)

### Trades and home services — https://marubox.jp/for/home-services-and-trades

- House cleaners: Two or three jobs a day at addresses across a city, with the travel between them costing as much time as a short job itself. (https://marubox.jp/for/house-cleaners)
- Deep cleaning services: A full day in one property, often at a move-out deadline that cannot slip. (https://marubox.jp/for/home-services-and-trades#deep-cleaning)
- Air conditioner cleaning: Ninety minutes per unit, and a household with three units is a half-day booking rather than three appointments. (https://marubox.jp/for/home-services-and-trades#aircon-cleaning)
- Handyman services: Small jobs of unpredictable length, which is why a fixed hourly slot works better than trying to estimate each one. (https://marubox.jp/for/home-services-and-trades#handyman-services)
- Electricians: Scheduled work and emergencies in the same diary, needing two event types with completely different notice periods. (https://marubox.jp/for/home-services-and-trades#electricians)
- Plumbers: Most of the work is urgent, so the useful setting is a very short minimum notice rather than a well-organised week. (https://marubox.jp/for/home-services-and-trades#plumbers)
- Carpenters: A measuring visit, then a fitting day weeks later — two bookings for one job. (https://marubox.jp/for/home-services-and-trades#carpenters)
- Painters and decorators: A free quotation visit is the thing that needs booking; the work itself is scheduled by agreement afterwards. (https://marubox.jp/for/home-services-and-trades#painters-decorators)
- Locksmiths: Half the work is somebody standing outside their own door right now, and half is planned lock changes. (https://marubox.jp/for/home-services-and-trades#locksmiths)
- Pest control: An initial treatment and a follow-up two weeks later, which should be booked at the same time. (https://marubox.jp/for/home-services-and-trades#pest-control)
- Gardeners and landscapers: Seasonal and weather-dependent, with most customers on a quarterly cycle that should be booked a year at a time. (https://marubox.jp/for/home-services-and-trades#gardeners)
- Movers and removal estimates: The estimate visit is the sale, and it has to happen before the customer calls three competitors. (https://marubox.jp/for/home-services-and-trades#moving-companies)
- Furniture assembly: Short jobs where knowing what is in the box decides whether it is one hour or four. (https://marubox.jp/for/home-services-and-trades#furniture-assembly)
- Appliance repair: The part is ordered after the first visit, so a second appointment is the norm rather than the exception. (https://marubox.jp/for/home-services-and-trades#appliance-repair)
- Computer repair: A drop-off appointment, a diagnosis, and a collection — three touch points, of which two need a slot. (https://marubox.jp/for/home-services-and-trades#computer-repair)
- Phone repair: Walk-in length work, but booking it means the part is in stock when the customer arrives. (https://marubox.jp/for/home-services-and-trades#phone-repair)
- Bicycle servicing: Drop-off in the morning and collection in the evening, with spring being three months of everybody at once. (https://marubox.jp/for/home-services-and-trades#bicycle-servicing)
- Car mechanics: The car is with you all day, so the booking is really a drop-off slot and a bay for the day. (https://marubox.jp/for/home-services-and-trades#car-mechanics)
- Shaken (車検) inspection bookings: Every car has a legal deadline, so the booking is driven by a date the customer cannot move. (https://marubox.jp/for/home-services-and-trades#shaken-inspections)
- Car detailing: A half-day or full-day booking on one vehicle, where the size of the car changes the price and the time. (https://marubox.jp/for/home-services-and-trades#car-detailing)
- Motorcycle servicing: Seasonal, with everybody arriving in the same two weeks of spring. (https://marubox.jp/for/home-services-and-trades#motorcycle-servicing)
- Junk and 粗大ごみ removal: A collection window rather than a precise time, usually tied to a move-out date. (https://marubox.jp/for/home-services-and-trades#junk-removal)

### Repairs, alterations and drop-offs — https://marubox.jp/for/repairs-and-alterations

- Watch and jewellery repair: A short counter appointment to hand the piece over and agree a quote, and another to collect it. (https://marubox.jp/for/repairs-and-alterations#watch-jewellery-repair)
- Shoe repair: Mostly walk-in, but booking a consultation for an expensive resole avoids a long conversation at a busy counter. (https://marubox.jp/for/repairs-and-alterations#shoe-repair)
- Tailors and alterations: A fitting, then a collection, and for a made-to-measure suit several fittings weeks apart. (https://marubox.jp/for/repairs-and-alterations#tailors-alterations)
- Dry cleaning pickup: A collection window at a home address, run as a round rather than as individual appointments. (https://marubox.jp/for/repairs-and-alterations#dry-cleaning-pickup)

### Studios, rooms and facility hire — https://marubox.jp/for/space-and-facility-rental

- Coworking and meeting rooms: Rooms hired by the hour during the working day, where the only thing that matters is that two people cannot book the same room at once. (https://marubox.jp/for/coworking-meeting-rooms)
- Event space hire: A viewing appointment comes first, and the hire itself is a contract rather than a slot. (https://marubox.jp/for/space-and-facility-rental#event-spaces)
- Photo studio rental: Half-day blocks where setting up and clearing down is inside the booked time, not around it. (https://marubox.jp/for/space-and-facility-rental#photo-studio-rental)
- Dance studio hire: Hourly hire that fills evenings and weekends and empties on weekday mornings. (https://marubox.jp/for/space-and-facility-rental#dance-studio-rental)
- Kitchen and ghost-kitchen hire: Long blocks booked by food businesses on a recurring weekly pattern. (https://marubox.jp/for/space-and-facility-rental#kitchen-rental)
- Pop-up retail space: Booked in days and weeks rather than hours, always preceded by a viewing. (https://marubox.jp/for/space-and-facility-rental#popup-retail-space)
- Gallery space hire: Exhibitions run for weeks, so the only thing booked by the hour is the viewing and the hanging day. (https://marubox.jp/for/space-and-facility-rental#gallery-space)
- Futsal and tennis court booking: Hourly, floodlit into the evening, and completely dependent on the weather for outdoor courts. (https://marubox.jp/for/space-and-facility-rental#sports-court-booking)
- Golf simulator bays: Evenings sell out and daytime does not, on a fixed number of bays. (https://marubox.jp/for/space-and-facility-rental#golf-simulator-bays)
- Batting cages: Short slots in high volume, where booking exists mainly to guarantee a cage at the weekend. (https://marubox.jp/for/space-and-facility-rental#batting-cages)
- Karaoke rooms: Rooms by the hour with a hard reset between groups, and demand entirely in the evening. (https://marubox.jp/for/space-and-facility-rental#karaoke-rooms)
- Storage and parking viewings: A short viewing appointment that converts straight into a contract. (https://marubox.jp/for/space-and-facility-rental#storage-viewings)
- Gym day passes: Visitors and travellers buying a single entry, who need to pay before they arrive. (https://marubox.jp/for/space-and-facility-rental#gym-day-passes)
- Rehearsal and practice room hire: Consecutive hourly bookings on several rooms, priced differently by room size. (https://marubox.jp/for/space-and-facility-rental#studio-rehearsal-booking)

### Vets, grooming and pet services — https://marubox.jp/for/pets-and-veterinary

- Veterinarians: Consultations, vaccinations and surgery in the same diary, with emergencies arriving on top and needing to be fitted in. (https://marubox.jp/for/veterinarians)
- Pet grooming: Time depends entirely on breed and coat, so one booking length for every dog guarantees a day that runs late. (https://marubox.jp/for/pets-and-veterinary#pet-grooming)
- Dog training: One-to-one sessions at the owner’s home or a park, sold as a course of six, with travel between them. (https://marubox.jp/for/pets-and-veterinary#dog-training)
- Pet sitting and dog walking: Short visits several times a day on a route, booked as a block while the owner is away. (https://marubox.jp/for/pets-and-veterinary#pet-sitting)
- Pet hotels and boarding: Multi-night stays with a drop-off and a collection appointment either side, and holidays booked months ahead. (https://marubox.jp/for/pets-and-veterinary#pet-boarding)

### Coaching, styling and personal services — https://marubox.jp/for/personal-and-lifestyle

- Life coaches: A free chemistry call that decides everything, then a standing fortnightly slot for months. (https://marubox.jp/for/personal-and-lifestyle#life-coaches)
- Relationship coaches: Evening and weekend sessions, sometimes with two people who have to agree on a time. (https://marubox.jp/for/personal-and-lifestyle#relationship-coaches)
- Dating coaches: Clients book privately and would rather not explain themselves to a receptionist, which is the whole argument for a booking page. (https://marubox.jp/for/personal-and-lifestyle#dating-coaches)
- Matchmaking (婚活): A long, discreet first interview that is really an assessment, followed by regular check-ins. (https://marubox.jp/for/personal-and-lifestyle#matchmaking)
- Personal stylists and shoppers: A half-day of shopping with the client, which is one long booking rather than a series of short ones. (https://marubox.jp/for/personal-and-lifestyle#personal-stylists)
- Wardrobe consultants: A long appointment at the client’s home going through what they already own. (https://marubox.jp/for/personal-and-lifestyle#wardrobe-consultants)
- Declutterers and professional organisers: Sold in half-days across several weeks, always at the client’s home. (https://marubox.jp/for/personal-and-lifestyle#declutterers)
- Feng shui consultants: A home visit with a floor plan supplied beforehand, or a remote reading from the plan alone. (https://marubox.jp/for/personal-and-lifestyle#feng-shui-consultants)
- Astrologers and tarot readers: Short readings booked at short notice, many of them from other countries and other time zones. (https://marubox.jp/for/personal-and-lifestyle#astrologers-tarot)
- Doulas and birth coaches: Antenatal appointments booked against a due date, with the birth itself on call rather than in the diary. (https://marubox.jp/for/personal-and-lifestyle#doulas)
- Lactation consultants: Urgent, often within hours, and frequently at the client’s home in the first weeks after birth. (https://marubox.jp/for/personal-and-lifestyle#lactation-consultants)
- Nannies and babysitters: Evening blocks booked at short notice, with a meet-the-family appointment before the first one. (https://marubox.jp/for/personal-and-lifestyle#nannies-babysitters)
- Sleep consultants: An assessment call and then short follow-ups over a fortnight, almost all by video. (https://marubox.jp/for/personal-and-lifestyle#sleep-consultants)
- Elderly care coordinators: Family consultations, often with relatives in another country joining by video at an awkward hour. (https://marubox.jp/for/personal-and-lifestyle#elderly-care-coordinators)
- Funeral arrangements: Booked in the worst week of somebody’s life, at almost no notice, and it has to be simple. (https://marubox.jp/for/personal-and-lifestyle#funeral-arrangements)
- Voice and accent coaches: Short, frequent sessions, booked around a working day and often by employers. (https://marubox.jp/for/personal-and-lifestyle#voice-accent-coaches)
- Public speaking coaches: Booked to a fixed event date, intensively, and then not at all. (https://marubox.jp/for/personal-and-lifestyle#public-speaking-coaches)
- Personal branding consultants: A free strategy call that sells a package, with clients spread across time zones. (https://marubox.jp/for/personal-and-lifestyle#personal-branding-consultants)

## Common problems (35 pages)

### Why people start looking — https://marubox.jp/problems/#need

- How to stop no-shows: Why clients miss appointments, what each one actually costs, and the four changes that reduce no-shows most: taking payment up front, reminders, a written cancellation policy and easy rescheduling. (https://marubox.jp/problems/no-shows)
- Clients who cancel at the last minute: Why late cancellations happen, how to set a cancellation window you can actually resell inside, and how to fill the hole a cancellation leaves. (https://marubox.jp/problems/last-minute-cancellations)
- How to stop double bookings: Why double bookings happen even with a calendar, how conflict checking works, and what to do when the clash comes from a booking you took by phone. (https://marubox.jp/problems/double-bookings)
- The back-and-forth of agreeing a time: Why it takes six messages to agree one appointment, what that costs across a week, and how to replace it with a link that shows your real availability. (https://marubox.jp/problems/back-and-forth-scheduling)
- Taking a deposit for an appointment: How to require a deposit before an appointment is confirmed, how much to ask for, and what happens to it when somebody cancels. (https://marubox.jp/problems/taking-deposits)
- You cannot answer the phone while you are with a client: Why a phone-only booking process loses customers, especially in a second language, and what replaces it without forcing anyone to install an app. (https://marubox.jp/problems/missed-calls)
- Your customers want to book at eleven at night: Most booking decisions are made outside business hours, from a phone. Why a system that only accepts bookings when you are open loses most of them. (https://marubox.jp/problems/after-hours-bookings)
- Time zone mistakes: Why scheduling across time zones goes wrong, and how a booking page that converts automatically removes the arithmetic and the apology that follows it. (https://marubox.jp/problems/time-zone-mistakes)
- Sending reminders by hand: Manual appointment reminders are the first job to drop when you get busy, which is exactly when you need them. How automatic reminders work and when to send them. (https://marubox.jp/problems/manual-reminders)
- Running late by ten in the morning: Why back-to-back bookings guarantee a day that overruns, and how buffers, honest durations and a daily cap fix a diary that is set up to fail. (https://marubox.jp/problems/running-late)
- Chasing payment after the appointment: Why collecting money after the work is the hardest way to get paid, and how taking it at the point of booking removes the conversation entirely. (https://marubox.jp/problems/getting-paid)
- Taking bookings through DMs: Why running a diary out of Instagram and LINE messages stops working past a certain volume, and how to keep the discovery without keeping the chaos. (https://marubox.jp/problems/booking-by-dm)
- When the paper diary stops coping: The point at which an appointment book or a spreadsheet starts costing more than it saves, and what to move first. (https://marubox.jp/problems/paper-diary)
- Customers booking the wrong appointment: When a customer books a half-hour slot for two hours of work, the whole day slips. How to make the right choice the obvious one. (https://marubox.jp/problems/wrong-service-booked)

### What goes wrong with the tool you have — https://marubox.jp/problems/#existing

- When the booking software costs more than it saves: Why scheduling software gets expensive as you grow, what to check before committing, and how a flat monthly fee compares with per-seat and per-booking pricing. (https://marubox.jp/problems/booking-system-too-expensive)
- Paying a commission on every booking: Why a percentage of every booking costs far more than it looks, the difference between a marketplace and a booking tool, and what to check in the fee schedule. (https://marubox.jp/problems/commission-per-booking)
- When the booking system cannot charge in yen: Why scheduling tools built elsewhere mishandle Japanese yen, what a zero-decimal currency means in practice, and what to check before you trust a price field. (https://marubox.jp/problems/cant-charge-in-yen)
- When the platform holds your money: The difference between a platform that collects payments on your behalf and one where the customer pays you directly, and why it matters for cash flow and refunds. (https://marubox.jp/problems/payouts-held-by-platform)
- Calendar sync you cannot quite trust: Why most booking tools read your calendar but never reconsider a booking after it is made, what goes wrong when you move an appointment yourself, and what to test. (https://marubox.jp/problems/calendar-sync-unreliable)
- When the booking page is not really in Japanese: Machine-translated booking pages, English-only confirmation emails and date formats nobody here uses. What proper bilingual support actually requires. (https://marubox.jp/problems/no-japanese-language)
- A diary that stays open on 祝日: Why scheduling tools built elsewhere leave your calendar open on Japanese public holidays, and why blocking them with all-day calendar events does not work. (https://marubox.jp/problems/no-public-holidays)
- Software that takes a week to set up: Why scheduling tools built for large teams are hard for a one-person business, what a reasonable setup looks like, and the minimum you actually need on day one. (https://marubox.jp/problems/too-complicated)
- Making customers create an account to book: Why an account requirement loses bookings, what it is usually there for, and what a booking flow looks like without one. (https://marubox.jp/problems/clients-must-create-account)
- Somebody else’s logo on your booking page: Why free plans put the platform’s branding in front of your customers, what it costs you, and how much control you get over how the booking flow looks. (https://marubox.jp/problems/platform-branding)
- Annual contracts and getting out of them: Why annual billing is offered so insistently, what to check before accepting the discount, and what leaving should look like. (https://marubox.jp/problems/annual-billing-lock-in)
- A system that books you back to back: Why some booking tools cannot protect the time between appointments, what that does to a day of travel, and the settings that fix it. (https://marubox.jp/problems/no-buffers-in-my-system)

### What Business Box does not do — https://marubox.jp/problems/#gaps

- Group classes and multiple people per slot: Business Box takes one booking per time slot, so several customers cannot sign up for the same class. What that rules out, what it still does well, and what to use instead. (https://marubox.jp/problems/group-classes)
- Recurring and repeating bookings: Business Box has no repeating bookings: every appointment is booked individually. What that means for a weekly client, and the two workarounds that come closest. (https://marubox.jp/problems/recurring-bookings)
- Several staff in one booking system: One Business Box account is one person’s diary. What that means for a salon or clinic with several staff, what the account-per-person workaround costs, and when to use something else. (https://marubox.jp/problems/team-scheduling)
- Class passes, packages and memberships: Business Box charges per booking and cannot sell a ten-class pass or a membership. Two workarounds that hold up, and what each costs you. (https://marubox.jp/problems/class-passes)
- LINE and SMS reminders: Business Box sends confirmations and reminders by email only. In Japan, where LINE is the default channel, that is a real limitation — what it means and what to do about it. (https://marubox.jp/problems/line-and-sms-reminders)
- Waiting lists for cancelled slots: There is no waiting list in Business Box. What happens to a cancelled slot instead, and the practical ways hosts fill gaps at short notice. (https://marubox.jp/problems/waitlists)
- Convenience store and PayPay payments: Online payment in Business Box is by card only. What that excludes in Japan, and how to take the other methods alongside it. (https://marubox.jp/problems/konbini-and-paypay)
- Getting your data out: There is no booking export in Business Box. Where your data actually lives, what you can get out today, and what to do if you need a spreadsheet. (https://marubox.jp/problems/exporting-your-data)
- Apple and iCloud Calendar: Business Box connects to Google Calendar and Microsoft, not iCloud. What that means if you live in Apple Calendar, and the two ways round it. (https://marubox.jp/problems/apple-icloud-calendar)

### What Business Box cannot do, in one list

- Group classes: No. One booking takes one time slot. Sixteen students cannot each book the 19:00 class — the first booking takes it and the slot disappears. There is no per-class capacity and no headcount.
- Recurring bookings: No. There is no "repeat weekly" option. A client with a standing slot books each appointment individually, though they can book several at a time if you open the calendar far enough ahead.
- Teams and several staff: No, not properly. An account is one person. A team runs an account each, with separate booking pages and separate subscriptions — workable for two or three people, wrong for six.
- Class passes and memberships: No. Payment is per booking. There is no pass, no package, no credit balance and no recurring membership charge for your customers.
- LINE and SMS reminders: No. Confirmations, reminders, cancellations and everything else go by email. There is no LINE integration and no SMS.
- Waiting lists: No. There is no waiting list and no automatic notification when a slot frees up. A cancelled slot returns to your booking page immediately and is available to whoever looks next.
- Konbini and PayPay: No. Online payment is by card. Konbini payment, PayPay and bank transfer are not available through the booking flow.
- Exporting your data: Not directly. There is no CSV or spreadsheet export of bookings. Your appointments are in your own connected calendar and your payments are in your own Stripe dashboard, both of which export.
- Apple iCloud Calendar: No. Calendar connections are Google and Microsoft only. iCloud is not supported, and neither is CalDAV or an iCal subscription feed for conflict checking.

## For developers

A REST API with webhooks, on every plan including free. Bearer authentication
with a personal API key; OpenAPI 3.1 document at https://api.marubox.jp/v1/openapi.json.

- Business Box API: The Business Box REST API: bookings, event types, availability and webhooks. Bearer authentication with a personal API key, on every plan including free. (https://marubox.jp/developers/)
- Authentication: How to create a Business Box API key, what the read-only and read-write scopes allow, and how to send the bearer token. (https://marubox.jp/developers/authentication/)
- Quickstart: Create an API key, check it works, list what can be booked, find a free time and make a booking — with curl. (https://marubox.jp/developers/quickstart/)
- API reference: Every Business Box API operation: parameters, request bodies, responses and webhook payloads. Generated from the OpenAPI 3.1 document. (https://marubox.jp/developers/reference/)
- Webhooks: Subscribe to booking.created, booking.rescheduled, booking.cancelled and booking.no_show. Includes signature verification in Node and Python. (https://marubox.jp/developers/webhooks/)
- Errors: The Business Box API error envelope and every code it can return, with what each one means and whether retrying will help. (https://marubox.jp/developers/errors/)
- Rate limits: The Business Box API allows 120 requests a minute per API key, and reports the remaining budget on every response. (https://marubox.jp/developers/rate-limits/)
- AI assistants and MCP: How AI assistants such as Claude and ChatGPT will connect to Business Box over MCP, and what works today with an API key. (https://marubox.jp/developers/mcp/)
- Changelog: Changes to the Business Box API, and what the v1 version promise does and does not cover. (https://marubox.jp/developers/changelog/)

## Japanese public holidays (free data)

Every public holiday in Japan from 1955 to 2027, from the Cabinet Office list, with English and Japanese names and whether each day is a national, substitute, citizens' or special holiday. Free, no key, CORS enabled.

- [Japanese public holidays](https://marubox.jp/holidays/): the list, calendar subscription and data formats
- [Japanese public holidays in 2024](https://marubox.jp/holidays/2024): dates, long weekends and Golden Week
- [Japanese public holidays in 2025](https://marubox.jp/holidays/2025): dates, long weekends and Golden Week
- [Japanese public holidays in 2026](https://marubox.jp/holidays/2026): dates, long weekends and Golden Week
- [Japanese public holidays in 2027](https://marubox.jp/holidays/2027): dates, long weekends and Golden Week
- JSON, all years: https://marubox.jp/holidays/jp.json
- JSON, one year: https://marubox.jp/holidays/jp/{year}.json
- CSV (UTF-8): https://marubox.jp/holidays/jp.csv
- iCalendar (English names): https://marubox.jp/holidays/jp.ics
- iCalendar (Japanese names): https://marubox.jp/holidays/jp-ja.ics

## Other pages

- [Business Box](https://marubox.jp/): What the product does and what it costs.
- [A booking page that actually works in Japan](https://marubox.jp/calendly-alternative-japan): Why scheduling tools built elsewhere fall down in Japan: yen payments and public holidays.
- [Terms of Service](https://marubox.jp/terms): The agreement covering use of Business Box.
- [Privacy Policy](https://marubox.jp/privacy): What data is collected and how it is handled.
- [Press kit](https://marubox.jp/press): Facts, descriptions in English and Japanese, founder bio and logo.
- [Support](https://marubox.jp/support): How to get help, response times, and where each connected app is documented.