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.
24 articles
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),…
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.
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.
Etiquette & Culture
Explaining Allergies and Dietary Needs in Japanese
The key sentence pattern is X arerugii ga arimasu — I have an X allergy — and X wa tabemasen / taberaremasen — I don't / can't eat X. Learn your ingredient words (ebi shrimp, kani crab, rakkasei peanuts, komugi wheat, tamago egg, gyuunyuu dairy), say them at booking time, not at the table, and carry a written allergy card in Japanese — the single most effective tool. Beware the hidden layer: dashi contains fish,…
Etiquette & Culture
Gluten-Free and Celiac in Japan: Where the Wheat Hides
In Japan, wheat is less a dish than a seasoning — it is in most soy sauce, much of the miso, tempura batter, fu and most soba. Tamari is not automatically wheat-free under Japan's own standard, and barley turns up in barley tea and barley miso. For celiac disease, tell the restaurant when you book, and choose meals where the seasoning can be changed.
Etiquette & Culture
Halal and Muslim-Friendly Dining in Japan: What Happens in the Kitchen
Few restaurants in Japan are halal-certified, and there is no central certifying body. The harder part is not pork but what seasons the food — mirin, cooking sake, lard, gelatin and meat stock. Say exactly what you avoid when you book, not at the table, and choose formats where the kitchen can change the seasoning.
Etiquette & Culture
Vegetarian and Vegan in Japan: The Honest Survival Guide
Japan looks vegetable-friendly and is quietly difficult, because fish-based dashi seasons most dishes that appear meatless. The honest strategy has three layers: eat shojin ryori, the Zen temple cuisine perfected over centuries; use the reliably safe formats; and state exclusions rather than labels, with dashi mo dame desu as the sentence that matters. Planned, a plant-based trip is exceptional.
Etiquette & Culture
How to Read a Japanese Menu: The Kanji That Feed You
Japanese menus become readable through a small set of kanji: cooking methods — 焼 (grilled), 揚 (fried), 煮 (simmered), 蒸 (steamed), 刺 (raw/sashimi) — combine with proteins — 鶏 (chicken), 豚 (pork), 牛 (beef), 魚 (fish), 海老 (shrimp) — to describe most dishes. Add the structural words (定食 set meal, 丼 rice bowl, 盛り合わせ assortment, 旬 seasonal) and the price-list conventions, and even a handwritten izakaya board yields its…
Etiquette & Culture
Depachika: Japan's Department-Store Food Halls, Explained
The depachika — 'department store basement' — is one of Japan's great food institutions: one or two underground floors of prepared foods, patisserie, wagashi, sake and gift fruit, executed at restaurant grade. Use it three ways: as the source of a superb bento dinner (with legendary evening discounts from around 7 p.m.), as the country's best souvenir shop, and as a free museum of Japanese food culture. The great…