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
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,…
Booking & Access
Japan Restaurant Booking Sites Compared (2026): TableCheck vs OMAKASE vs Ikyu vs Tableall vs Pocket Concierge
The site you use is decided by the restaurant, not by you: each house takes bookings on one or two systems, and many of the hardest take none. TableCheck is the restaurant's own booking page and costs nothing to use (some houses add a fee from ¥390, as of September 2026). OMAKASE runs timed releases for top counters and charges ¥390 a seat (September 2026). Ikyu sells set plans in Japanese only. Tableall charges…
Lineage & History
Aoyagi Family Tree: The Tokushima Kitchen Behind RyuGin, Kojyu and Kanda (2026)
Aoyagi, Hirohisa Koyama's ryotei in Tokushima, is where the chefs of three well-known Tokyo kaiseki houses trained, Seiji Yamamoto of RyuGin, Toru Okuda of Ginza Kojyu and Hiroyuki Kanda of Kanda. Their own kitchens have since trained the chefs of Ensui, Hakuun, Tanryu, Waki Shun, Kutan, Sorahana and Towa. Tanryu in Himeji is in our collection and can be requested at ¥6,000 per seat; Ginza Kojyu, Toranomon Sorahana…
Lineage & History
Bird Land Family Tree: The Ginza Yakitori Counter and the Cooks It Trained (2026)
Toshihiro Wada opened Bird Land in Asagaya in 1987 and moved it to Ginza in 2001. His cooks opened Bird Court in Kita-Senju, Yakitori Imai in Gaienmae and Asagaya Bird Land, and a Bird Court cook opened Yakitori Kato in Mita. In Osaka, the owner's son at Ayamuya trained at Bird Land. Bird Land books online, which is the direct route; Bird Land, Yakitori Imai, Bird Court, Yakitori Kato, Asagaya Bird Land and Ayamuya…
Booking & Access
How to Use Tabelog in English (2026): Booking and Fees
Tabelog works in English on the web and in a multilingual app (iOS and Android). Online booking needs an email-verified account and a registered payment method, and Tabelog charges a ¥440-per-person system fee when the booking is confirmed, refunded only if the restaurant cancels (as of October 2026). Only restaurants marked "Online reservation" can be booked this way. In our release calendar of 1,241 hard-to-book…
Lineage & History
Kagurazaka Ishikawa Family Tree: Kohaku, Ren Mishina and the Group's Counters (2026)
Kagurazaka Ishikawa holds Three MICHELIN Stars (MICHELIN Guide Japan 2026) and its counter seats go on release day, three months ahead. Hideki Ishikawa is known for handing kitchens to the cooks he trained, and the result is a group of houses across Kagurazaka and beyond, from Kohaku to Ren Mishina, NK and Guchokuni, plus alumni who left to open their own rooms, such as Mushitsu and Arakicho Tatsuya. Of these,…
Booking & Access
New Year in Japan 2026–27: Which Counters Close, When to Book
Many small Japanese counters close for several days between about 29 December and 4 January, and often announce the exact days only in November or December. Tokyo's Toyosu fish market is closed from 31 December to 4 January 2027 and reopens on Tuesday 5 January. Book the nights you care about before 28 December or after 5 January, and treat any date in between as provisional until the house confirms it.
Lineage & History
Sukiyabashi Jiro Alternatives: The Jiro School Family Tree (2026)
Sukiyabashi Jiro in Ginza takes bookings by phone only, refuses proxies and accepts overseas visitors only through their hotel concierge. The chefs it trained are easier to reach. Apprentices who spent nine to seventeen years at the counter now run Sushi Harutaka (鮨 青空), Sushi Nakazawa in New York, Sushi Masuda, Sushi Mizukami, Sushi Ao and Nihonbashi Kawaguchi, and a second generation trained under them and under…
Lineage & History
Sushi Kanesaka Family Tree: The Chefs It Trained (2026)
Sushi Kanesaka in Ginza, opened in December 2000 by Shinji Kanesaka after about ten years at Ginza Kyubey, takes bookings by phone and online with no release day; guests must be 30 or older. Sushi Saito began as its Akasaka counter. Chefs who trained at Kanesaka also run Sushi Ishiyama, Kagurazaka Sushi Rin, Sushi Kojima, Ginza Iwa and Daikanyama Sushi Takeuchi, and a second generation has grown under Ginza Iwa,…
Lineage & History
Kikunoi Family Tree: Where Kikunoi-Trained Chefs Cook Now (2026)
Kikunoi, the Kyoto kaiseki house founded in 1912 and led by third-generation chef Yoshihiro Murata, has trained the chefs of Tenoshima, Yakumo Uezu, Towa, Nihonryori Kenya, Yo, Nihonryori Su and Omura. Akasaka Kikunoi, the house's own Tokyo restaurant, is in our collection and can be requested at ¥6,000 per seat. Tenoshima, Towa, Omura, Su, Yo, Yakumo Uezu and Kenya can be requested at ¥12,000. Kikunoi Honten in…
Lineage & History
Kyoto Kitcho Alternatives: The Kitcho Family Tree (2026)
Kitcho, founded by Teiichi Yuki in Osaka in 1930, is less a single restaurant than a school of kaiseki. Cooks who spent ten to thirty-one years in its kitchens now run Mizai, Tsukumo, Toraya Kochuan, Tomura, Zenji Suikoan, Zeniya and Ogawa, and two more came through Aji Kitcho. Three of them, Zeniya in Kanazawa, Toraya Kochuan in Tokushima and Tsukumo in Nara, are in our collection and can be requested at ¥6,000 per…
Lineage & History
Kyoaji Alternatives: The Kyoaji Family Tree (2026)
Kyoaji, Kenichiro Nishi's restaurant in Shinbashi, closed in 2019 and can no longer be booked. The cooks it trained, some of them for ten to sixteen years, now run Mitaka, Shinbashi Hoshino, Shinbashi Sasada, Iyuki, Ajihiro, Kurogi, Koguma and other restaurants, and a second generation has opened Isoda, Kawada, Ajiyuki and Moto-Azabu Kushima. Many of these houses are introduction-only or held by regulars. Shinbashi…