Outdoor Insurance In Japan

Last year, when we went on an overnight hike to Karamatsu, there was a female hiker who fell and hit her head during the descent. It happened near the hut, so the staff at Karamatsu-dake Chojo-sanso were the ones who called emergency services to request a helicopter transport.

Do you know how much search and rescue or helicopter transport actually costs in Japan? The average cost of helicopter rescue is around ¥398,000, and it can go even higher if they can’t locate you immediately.

If the person is not found, on top of the search costs, the family will have to bear an enormous financial burden — ranging from tens to even hundreds of millions of yen — for up to seven years, including things like loss of income, dismissal from work, and ongoing mortgage payments.

That is an unbelievable amount to pay out of pocket, especially since Japan’s National Health Insurance does not cover helicopter rescue. This is why I strongly advocate for getting mountain or outdoor insurance. For me, this is also a way of practicing safe alpinism.

A lot of people go hiking/trekking without insurance and you might think that accidents won’t happen, but the reality is that they do. You want to be prepared in case it happens to you.

I think it’s a good idea to enroll in outdoor insurance on top of your life insurance because some plans have limits on their outdoor activity coverage — especially if you do a lot of outdoor activities. Most insurance policies also don’t cover search and rescue or helicopter transport.

Basic Insurance Types

1. Insurance Type / 保険型 (Hoken-gata)
   – You pay a fixed premium to the insurance company.
   
   Example : Montbell’s Yamaken Insurance, YAMAP Outdoor Insurance, ABC Small Amount and Short Term Insurance, Magokoro Small Amount and Short Term Insurance, PAYPAY Chokotto Insurance, Rakuten Outdoor Insurance, etc.
   
   
2. Mutual Aid Association Type / 共済組合型 (Kyousai kumiai-gata)
   -Form a union and pay membership fees etc.
   
   Example: Yamakifu Mutual Aid Association, Hizan Kyozango Mutual Aid Association
   
   
3. Service Agreement type / 役務提供型 (Ekimu Teikyō-gata)
   -The compensation for insurance is not money but services such as distress rescue.
   
   Example: Current Cocoheli, JRO
   

Things to consider when choosing a plan:

• Activity Type
  It can be overwhelming to choose which insurance company to go with, but the most important thing to consider is the kind of activities you usually do and making sure those are covered in the policy you choose.

• Insurance coverage amount.
  -Personal Compensation
  (My YAMAP insurance covers rescue expenses up to 3 million yen and I think that is enough in case I need helicopter transport, hospitalization or surgery)
  
  -I didn’t think about this before, but you should also consider Liability Insurance for damage to other people — including if you accidentally injure someone during a hike.
  
• Gear Insurance
  -In case something gets lost, stolen, or damaged.
  

My personal choice for insurance:

I currently use YAMAP insurance called 外あそびレジャー保険 / Soto Asobi Rejā, which covers injuries sustained not only during outdoor activities but also in everyday life. Even for injuries that do not require hospitalization or surgery, a flat-rate compensation is paid based on the affected area and symptoms, so you can receive insurance money promptly once you get a doctor’s diagnosis.

You can enroll in the short-term plan for as little as ¥580 for 7 days, or choose the long-term plan like me for ¥5,840 per year. (Please do check their website for the latest pricing.) I chose the long-term one because I know I’ll be doing a lot of outdoor activities, even during winter. They also cover snowboarding and most outdoor activities, so I think the yearly coverage is a really good deal.

You can easily sign up from their app (It’s in Japanese) or use your browser from phone or laptop and sign up on YAMAP website then translate the whole page to English, really easy and quick.

I love that I’m able to sign up my whole group from my account, so every time we go on a major hike, I enroll those who don’t have it yet. This is also why I always turn on my YAMAP activity recording — it helps the search and rescue team locate you in case you go missing.

It works similarly to the hike plans/forms you fill out and submit at trailhead post boxes. With the YAMAP app, you can do all of that directly from your phone, which makes everything super convenient!

I read and watch a lot of Japanese blogs and vlogs about hiking in Japan, and I’ve learned so much from them. So now I’m also starting to explore and research other insurance companies as well, especially since I’ll eventually need to renew my one-year plan next year.

Insurance Companies I’m considering..

• COCOHELI
  -I am considering this one because KOUJITSU SANSO (my favorite outdoor shop) is recommending them in their shops. They will send you a GPS transmitter device and that makes it easier for rescuers to find you.
  **If I understood correctly, incase they have to do search and rescue, you don’t have to pre-pay and claim afterwards unless they have to use a third-party private rescuer?
  -They also have an outdoor equipment coverage which comes in handy because outdoor gears are not cheap.
  -They also have Permanent Disability Benefit if you suffer a permanent disability within 180 days from the date of the accident.
  -I am also interested in their Cocoheli Safe Mountaineering School that is exclusive for COCOHELI members.
  
  
• YAMAKIFU
  – They have 3 types of coverage and the most expensive one for ¥10,000 looks like a complete coverage for everything including domestic and overseas. It also includes a clause for natural disasters. They have death due to injury coverage but the hospitalization coverage is only ¥2,000/day only so I’m not sure if that’s good enough.
  
  
• MONTBELL
  

UPDATE NOV 2025:
After asking fellow hikers in the hiking group, it looks like the safest setup is getting a Garmin inReach for SOS and location tracking, or a COCOHELI device — and pairing it with a full-coverage insurance like Montbell or YAMAP.

Click HERE for the forum link to read everyone’s comments and insights. You might need to join the hiking group first before you can access all the posts.

For Tourists who wants to enroll in Outdoor Insurance..

Sometimes there are tourists who joins our group for hiking and I wonder if how many people traveling to Japan knows how to call for emergency services? If you don’t know yet, now is the time to know this helpful informations. Go to Japan Travel Hotline and save the numbers.

I read a mixed articles about TOKIO OMOTENASHI POLICY , it does not explicitly state that it covers helicopter rescue; while it may include search and rescue costs for certain situations, the specific details regarding helicopter evacuation are not clearly outlined on the policy details, so it is best to confirm with the insurance company directly before relying on it for such scenarios. 

I enrolled in World Nomads Travel insurance before and it’s another option.

Insurance companies revises their policies sometimes so read yours again and again before finalizing it so you know what kind of accidents are you covered for. If you have any comments and suggestions please leave a comment:)

EAT, SLEEP, HIKE, REPEAT =)
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