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
Regions & Itineraries
Takayama and Gifu: Beyond Hida Beef
Most visitors come to Takayama for Hida beef, and Kitchen Hida, the old-town steakhouse that started the genre in 1964, is still the place to eat it. The deeper table is mountain food — Ryotei Susaki's tea-ceremony banquet cuisine served since 1794, and Hida Kisetsu Ryori Sakana, where the chef forages the menu himself. Down in the Gifu lowlands, Takada Hassho serves Gujo river ayu in private rooms and Katatsumuri…
Etiquette & Culture
Tempura Counter Etiquette: Salt, Tentsuyu and the Twenty-Second Rule
Tempura is served one piece at a time and is at its best for about twenty seconds, so eat each piece as it arrives. The chef tells you whether a piece takes salt, tentsuyu dipping sauce or lemon; follow that and do not use both. Grated daikon goes into the tentsuyu to lighten it. Near the end you will be asked to choose the finishing rice — tendon, tencha or kakiage over rice — and that is the one decision that is…
Regions & Itineraries
Yatsugatake to Matsumoto: Japan's Highland Table
The Chuo Line from Shinjuku climbs through the Kofu wine basin to the Yatsugatake foothills and on to Matsumoto, and the small kitchens along it cook buckwheat, river eel, wild mushrooms and game. Sadoya Restaurant Real d'Or in Kofu and Izutsuya Kobuchizawa are easy online books; Pause, Soba Hajime and Restaurant Ashihana are Japanese phone calls to rooms of six to thirteen seats; Caenne above Chino is a wood-fired…
Booking & Access
TableCheck Japan: Is It Legit, and Does It Charge a Fee? (2026)
TableCheck is the reservation system restaurants install on their own websites. Diners book in English with no Japanese phone number, guarantee the seat with a card hold or prepayment, and owe cancellation fees only under the restaurant's own policy. It runs the book at Florilège, Ginza Ukai-tei, Daiwa Sushi, monk, cenci and Crony, but not at phone-only counters.
Booking & Access
How to Book Restaurants in Kyoto: Release Days, Web Calendars and Walk-ins (2026)
Kyoto splits cleanly. Small counters — Gion Sasaki, Nakahigashi, Hitomi — release a whole month by phone at the start of each month and sell out within hours. The large ryotei (Kikunoi, Hyotei, Kitcho) have rooms and no release day, so weeks suffice outside peak seasons. monk and Torisaki open online at a published time; Izuu takes no reservations, and Matsuba's soba is walk-in (only its bento and set meals book, by…
Booking & Access
How to Book Restaurants in Tokyo: Phone Lines, Platforms and Queues (2026)
Tokyo has no single booking system. Phone houses such as Torishiki and Sushisho open a month of seats on a set day; Hakkoku, Florilège and Quintessence release online — on Ikyu, TableCheck or OMAKASE — at a published clock time; Amamoto drops a whole quarter at once; the market counters take no bookings. Know your house's door, then work it on Japan time.
Booking & Access
Japan Restaurant Concierge Comparison 2026: Tableall vs JPNEAZY vs Pocket Concierge vs Hotel Desk vs Direct vs SHOKU NOREN
Booking direct costs nothing beyond any platform fee where a restaurant takes web bookings. For other routes, as of October 3, 2026, Tableall charges ¥8,000 a seat with the course prepaid, JPNEAZY charges 10–15% of the course for course reservations or a per-restaurant amount for table reservations, and Pocket Concierge's terms provide for a usage fee set separately by the company. Hotel desks vary. SHOKU NOREN…
Ingredients & Seasons
Sake for Beginners: How to Read the Label and Order Well
Sake labels encode two questions: how far the rice was polished, and whether brewer's alcohol was added. Ginjo means 60 percent or less of the grain remains, daiginjo 50 percent; junmai means rice, water, koji and yeast only. Temperature is a tool, not a rank. In a restaurant, state a preference, ask for the local bottle, and trust the counter.
Michelin & Rankings
Best Tempura in Japan You Can Actually Book
The best tempura in Japan is not the most bookable. Naruse in Shizuoka topped Tabelog's national tempura ranking in September 2026 with eight seats that open on OMAKASE on the 1st of each month and go within minutes, while Nakasei in Asakusa and Gion Yasaka Tempura Endo in Kyoto take reservations openly. Ranking and access are separate axes. Both Naruse and Endo take bookings only from the guest, never through an…
Booking & Access
How the OMAKASE Reservation Platform Works (2026)
OMAKASE is the Japanese reservation platform behind a concentrated group of top counters. You register with an SMS-capable mobile number and a credit card, pay a non-refundable ¥390 per seat when a booking completes, and compete in timed release drops — often preceded by a raffle that gives winners a head start. Cancellation fees follow each restaurant's policy.
Booking & Access
How to Book Takamura — Akita's Members-Only Kaiseki Counter
Takamura takes reservations only from members and their introductions, by Japanese telephone, in two short windows a day. There is no online release, no auction, no walk-in. Thirteen seats, one seating a night. Treat it as a long-shot request rather than the anchor of an Akita itinerary, and hold an alternative.
Ingredients & Seasons
Japan's Regional Hot Pots: Anko, Boar, Loach and Horse
Tokyo's oldest restaurants are hot pot houses, not sushi counters. Anglerfish in Kanda since 1830, wild boar at Ryogoku since 1718, loach in Asakusa, horse at the old Yoshiwara gate, beef in Yokohama since 1868. Most run November to March, and most of them book by Japanese telephone.