Do I need to book air tickets and hotels through a travel agency for a free travel visa in Japan?

You see what you are doing freely. There are three kinds of free travel now. The first one is pure free travel. You have nothing to do with the travel agency. Just find an agent and you can handle the rest yourself. The second type of group tour is to apply for group signing in the name of free travel. Generally, the travel agency will help you get the machine wine (you can choose airlines and hotels, but there are not many choices), join and leave the group. To put it bluntly, customs have been assembled at domestic airports and Japanese airports have entered the customs. When you come back, you can do the rest yourself. The third kind, free travel with travel agencies, is actually no different from the second kind, just to sign, you need to book hotels and air tickets through travel agencies. At present, there is no travel agency that can sign for you, but you can choose at will or book hotel tickets yourself.