The Journal
Michelin, lineage, and how Japan's restaurants take bookings
Field notes from our Tokyo desk — who is actually reachable and how, the histories behind the counters, and the realistic way in. Written by the people who make these calls every day.
189 articles
Ingredients & Seasons
Koji and the Fermented Backbone of Japanese Food
Nearly everything that makes Japanese food taste Japanese passes through fermentation, most of it through koji, the mold Aspergillus oryzae, named Japan's national fungus by the Brewing Society of Japan in 2006. Koji drives sake, miso, soy sauce and mirin; natto, pickles, katsuobushi and funazushi complete the picture. Breweries, miso houses and a few restaurants serve it at the source.
Booking & Access
How to Book Sushi Sanshin in Osaka (2026)
Book Sushi Sanshin on OMAKASE at 08:00 JST on the 1st of each month, when the whole following month opens; one booking per quarter, card required. Japanese-language phone seats open exactly one week ahead at 17:00, and the house points overseas guests to TableAll. Whoever books must sit at the counter.
Definitions & Glossary
Izakaya vs Omakase: Which Is Right for Your Night
Choose omakase when you want one chef's judgment at a fixed time and price, booked weeks ahead for one to three people. Choose an izakaya for a group, an open-ended evening, ordering what you like and a flexible budget. Most trips need both: book the counter first, then build izakaya nights around it.
Definitions & Glossary
Ryokan Dining: How Kaiseki at a Japanese Inn Works
At a serious ryokan, the meals are not an amenity — they are the reason to stay. The standard plan includes dinner and breakfast (ippaku-nishoku): a seasonal kaiseki procession at night, often served in your room or a private dining room, and an elaborate traditional breakfast. Dinner starts early (typically 18:00–19:00), the menu is fixed and seasonal, and dietary needs must be declared at booking. Choose the inn…
Etiquette & Culture
What to Say at the Sushi Counter: Phrases and Counter Talk
Sit down, and one sentence carries the night: omakase de onegaishimasu — I leave it to you. From there the useful kit is small: oishii desu (delicious) and umai! (the casual superlative) for compliments, kore wa nan desu ka? to ask what a piece is, sabi nuki de for no wasabi, and gochisousama deshita as the closing bow. Knowing a little counter vocabulary — neta (topping), shari (rice), agari (finishing tea),…
Lineage & History
Edo Food Culture: How a Samurai City Invented Japanese Fast Food
Edo — Tokyo before 1868 — was among the world's largest cities by the 1700s — by many estimates the largest — with over a million people, disproportionately single working men. Feeding them created the world's first great fast-food culture: sushi, soba, tempura and unagi kabayaki all crystallized as street-stall food in the same city in roughly the same century. The 'Edo big four' were cheap, fast and standing-room;…
Etiquette & Culture
Pregnant in Japan: Sushi, Raw Fish and What to Ask
Japan's health ministry advises pregnant women to limit some large fish, including bluefin and bigeye tuna, to about 80 g once a week, and its food-safety guidance names foods such as smoked salmon, cured ham and unpasteurized cheese, and undercooked meat. A sushi or kaiseki meal can be adjusted if you ask when you book — which pieces are bluefin, and which dishes can be cooked.
Etiquette & Culture
The Japanese Breakfast: Rice, Fish and the Morning Set
The traditional Japanese breakfast is a complete savory meal — rice, miso soup, grilled fish, egg, pickles, nori and often natto — built on the one-soup-three-dishes logic of formal dining. Travelers meet it at ryokan, market counters and teishoku shops; its rival is the kissaten morning set, at its most generous in Nagoya. Most service runs roughly 7:00 to 10:00.
Etiquette & Culture
Shellfish and Crustacean Allergy at Sushi and Kaiseki in Japan
Japan's labeling rules cover shrimp and crab, but mantis shrimp, krill and most shellfish — scallops, clams, oysters — are outside the lists. Whitebait can carry small shrimp and crab caught in the same nets. At a sushi or kaiseki counter, shellfish and crustaceans also turn up in the stock, the frying oil and on shared boards, so a serious allergy has to be declared when you book.
Lineage & History
The History of Tempura: From Portuguese Missionaries to Edo Street Food
Tempura is Japan's most successful culinary import before ramen: a frying technique brought by Portuguese missionaries and traders in the mid-1500s, named — by most accounts — from Latin tempora, the ember-day fasts when Catholics ate battered fish. Edo turned it into street food, frying the bay's catch in sesame oil at riverside stalls; the modern counter form, fried piece by piece before the guest, emerged in the…
Etiquette & Culture
Dining with Children at Japan's Top Counters: Age Limits, Private Rooms and Better Choices
Often not at the counter. Many top sushi counters and kaiseki houses set a minimum age — commonly primary school, sometimes eleven or twelve — and children who are admitted usually eat the full adult course at full price. For families, book a ryotei private room or a historic house that publishes a children's menu, and declare every child.
Etiquette & Culture
Food Allergies in Japan: A Restaurant Insider's Guide
Japan requires allergen labels on packaged food — nine ingredients since April 2026, with twenty more recommended — but not on restaurant dishes. In Japanese cooking, allergens hide in the stock, the frying oil, the fish cakes and the soy sauce. A serious allergy has to be declared when you book, because set courses are prepared before you arrive.