Should I make a deposit with a tour group in Japan?

You need to check with the travel agency for this. When applying for a Japan tour group visa, the embassy will not charge any fees other than the visa fee. All requests for deposits are made by the travel agency itself. This cannot be said to be a problem of the travel agency, because the travel agency usually guarantees the group visa to the embassy, ??so it is easy to issue the visa. Once a problem occurs, such as someone in the group staying illegally, the travel agency will be held responsible, so some travel agencies charge a deposit.