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
Solo Dining in Japan: The Best Country on Earth to Eat Alone
Japan is the world's best country for solo dining — not tolerant of it but built for it. Counter seating dominates every format from ramen to elite sushi; solo diners are prized guests at omakase counters; ramen chains offer literal solo booths; and hitori-meshi (eating alone) is a celebrated cultural habit, not a social failure. A single seat is also the easiest booking in Japan — cancellation seats at impossible…
Regions & Itineraries
The Genkai Sea, and Why Fukuoka Sushi Tastes Different
What the Genkai Sea actually is, why its fish come up firmer and deeper in flavor, and how Fukuoka's "Hakata-mae" school — black-vinegar rice, citrus, sweet soy — grew out of it.
Booking & Access
How to Book Akasaka Kikunoi — Kyoto's Grand Kaiseki House in Tokyo
Akasaka Kikunoi is the Tokyo house of Yoshihiro Murata's Kyoto ryotei — Two MICHELIN Stars (MICHELIN Guide Japan 2026), a bamboo-garden counter, and a book that genuinely opens to visitors. It is in our collection, so you can also ask us. Phone, routes, prices and the rules.
Booking & Access
How to Book Crony — Tokyo's French Table You Can Actually Confirm
Crony's book sits on TableCheck with instant confirmation. The exact rules, the fine print that catches visitors, and how to land a table from overseas.
Booking & Access
How to Book Hatou — Kagurazaka's Ishikawa-Family Sushi Counter
Hatou is the Ishikawa group's eight-seat sushi counter — Tabelog Award silver, and a book that opens on the 1st of every month. The rhythm, the rules, and what actually works from abroad.
Booking & Access
How to Book Kikunoi in Kyoto (2026)
Kikunoi Honten — Yoshihiro Murata's Higashiyama ryotei, with Three MICHELIN Stars (MICHELIN Guide Japan 2026) — is that rare summit restaurant a visitor can actually book: by phone, through the house's official English-language online booking, or via booking platforms. Courses run roughly ¥22,000–77,000 depending on season and room. The house has two siblings — Roan Kikunoi, the intimate Kiyamachi counter, and…
Regions & Itineraries
Asakusa Food Guide: Eating in Tokyo's Old Town
Asakusa is Tokyo's living old town, where houses measured in centuries still cook Edo-period food. Eat one temple-town snack, then leave the main drag: the great tables sit on the quieter streets around Senso-ji, many bookable the same week.
Booking & Access
How to Book Hakkoku — Ginza's Bookable Top Tier
Hakkoku is the rare top-tier Ginza sushi counter with a real online door. Ikyu opens on the 1st of each month for dates two months ahead, with instant confirmation, and OMAKASE and Tabelog also take online bookings. Friday and Saturday dinners go within hours; midweek lasts longer. Cards only.
Booking & Access
How to Book Harutaka — Ginza's Jiro-Trained Counter
The real reservation system at Harutaka (Aozora) in Ginza — when the book opens, how the online and phone routes work, and what your actual odds are from abroad.
Booking & Access
How to Book Higashi-Azabu Amamoto — The Quarterly Race
Amamoto sells every seat through the Japanese OMAKASE platform in quarterly drops — 12:00 JST on 1 January, 1 April, 1 July and 1 October — each opening the quarter three to six months ahead. Two seatings a night, eight seats each, gone within minutes, and bookings cannot be transferred. No introduction is needed, which makes it more open than Saito — but only for whoever is fastest at the drop.
Definitions & Glossary
What Is an Izakaya? Japan's Pub-Dining Culture Explained
An izakaya is a drinking house with serious food — Japan's fusion of pub, tapas bar and family dinner, where dishes come as they're ready and orders accumulate all night. Know the rituals: the otoshi starter is a small compulsory cover charge, not a mistake; the first order is traditionally a draft beer (toriaezu nama); dishes are shared and ordered in waves. Spot the good ones by short handwritten menus, seasonal…
Lineage & History
The History of Sushi: From Fermented Fish to Edomae
Sushi's history runs backward from what most visitors assume. It began as narezushi — fish fermented in rice for months, the rice discarded — arrived in Japan from continental Asia over a millennium ago, sped up century by century, and became recognizably modern in 1820s Edo, when Hanaya Yohei's stalls served hand-pressed nigiri as instant street food. Refrigeration, the postwar counter, and the omakase format…