Booking calendar

Chugoku & Shikoku: when hard-to-book restaurants open reservations

Release days, booking channels and phone-line hours for 68 hard-to-book restaurants in Chugoku & Shikoku — checked monthly by a Tokyo reservation desk.

18 by phone · 7 open monthly

Tokyo now  

How to read it
Phone onlyThe line only a Japanese speaker can work — our desk can make this call for you (¥6,000 per seat in our collection, ¥12,000 elsewhere); the few houses we can't request say so on their page.
PlatformA Japanese booking platform (OMAKASE, TableCheck, Pocket Concierge, Ikyu).
OnlineThe house's own web form or major sites.
No reservationsQueue or name list on the day.
Introduction onlyRegulars and their guests only; no public book.

OMAKASE, TableCheck, Pocket Concierge and Ikyu are Japanese booking apps; most need a Japanese phone number or card. "More info" points to Tabelog, Japan's restaurant listing site — hours, menus and photos, not a booking channel. "In our collection" marks houses with a full profile on this site.

JST (UTC+9) and your time. tap for a reminder

Opening this week

No fixed release days in the next seven days.

All houses

Your dates in Japan
HouseChannelHow the book opensNext opening
Sunday, November 1
Ryobo両忘
Imashinmachi, Takamatsu
ItalianLunch & dinner
Platform

1st of each month, 00:00 · 2 months ahead

Sun, Nov 1 at 00:00 JST → books January 2027
Soushi壮士
Naka-ku, Hiroshima
SushiDinner only
Platform

1st of each month, 12:00 · 1 month ahead

Sun, Nov 1 at 12:00 JST → books December 2026
Kurumasushiくるますし
Matsuyama, Ehime
SushiDinner onlyCollection
Platform

1st of each month, 14:00 · 2 months ahead

Sun, Nov 1 at 14:00 JST → books January 2027
Akakichi赤吉
Hakata Island, Imabari, Ehime
SushiLunch & dinner
Platform

1st of each month, 16:00 · 2 months ahead

Sun, Nov 1 at 16:00 JST → books January 2027
Mikadoya美加登家
Nichihara, Tsuwano, Shimane
KaisekiLunch & dinner
Platform

1st business day of each month · 7 months ahead

Sun, Nov 1 → books June 2027
Open now: each date opens a set number of days ahead
Sushi Dokoro Hitoshi鮨処ひと志
Komachi, Hiroshima
SushiLunch & dinner
Platform

Each date opens 1 month ahead

Open now for visits through Nov 21, 2026
Uosho Yamamoto Jun魚正 山本淳
Chuocho, Okayama
SushiLunch & dinner
Platform

Each date opens 3 months ahead

Open now for visits through Jan 21, 2027
Bookable any time
Eizan永山
Nobori-cho, Hiroshima
KaisekiLunch & dinnerCollection
Phone onlyWe can call →
☎ 070-4352-4891

Any time, no release day

No release day — book any time
Kappo Takotsubo割烹 たこつぼ
Horikawa-cho, Hiroshima
KappōLunch & dinner
Phone onlyWe can call →
☎ 082-247-0101

Any time, no release day

No release day — book any time
Kisetsu Ryori Nakashima季節料理 なかしま
Hiroshima
KaisekiDinner onlyCollection
Phone onlyWe can call →
☎ 082-225-3977

Any time, no release day

No release day — book any time
Kogushiya古串屋
Chofu, Shimonoseki
FuguLunch & dinnerCollection
Phone onlyWe can call →
☎ Business hours

Any time, no release day

No release day — book any time
Obanzai Kimuraおばんざい木むら
Fukuyama, Hiroshima
ObanzaiLunch & dinner
Phone onlyWe can call →
☎ 084-927-0808

Any time, no release day

No release day — book any time
Shima Katsu島活
Tonosho, Shodoshima
JapaneseLunch & dinner
Phone onlyWe can call →
☎ 0879-62-3323

Any time, no release day

No release day — book any time
AKAI
Miyajimaguchi, Hatsukaichi, Hiroshima
InnovativeLunch & dinner
Platform

Any time, no release day

No release day — book any time
Chiso Sottakuito馳走 啐啄一十
Fujimi-cho, Hiroshima
KaisekiDinner only
Platform

Any time, no release day

No release day — book any time
All 68 houses in Chugoku & Shikoku
About this region

Chugoku & Shikoku has 68 houses in this calendar. 18 of them (26%) take reservations only by telephone, in Japanese, and 1 seat guests only through an introduction — together the part of the map that no booking platform can open for you. 40 houses use an online platform (Tabelog 14, OMAKASE 8, TableCheck 6), and 8 take no reservations at all.

The release pattern: 7 houses open their books on a fixed day each month, and 5 of those on the 1st — Kurumasushi, Ryobo, Akakichi among them. 2 houses release seats on a rolling basis a fixed number of days ahead, and 21 simply take bookings as they come. On release mornings the phone-only houses fill within the first hour, so the day and the minute matter more than the month.

Kurumasushi 14:00 · Ryobo 00:00 · Akakichi 16:00

What does 'release day' mean for a Japanese restaurant?

Most hard-to-book houses in Japan do not take reservations continuously. They open their book on a fixed trigger — for example the 1st of the month for dates two months ahead, or exactly ninety days before each date — and the month often fills within the first hour.

Why are phone-only restaurants highlighted?

Because they are the seats overseas guests cannot reach: the line is answered in Japanese, during Japanese business hours, and often only for a short window on release day. A Tokyo desk that speaks Japanese and dials at the opening minute changes those odds materially.

Does being in the calendar mean you can book it for me?

It means we know exactly when and how the book opens. You can ask our desk to request any restaurant in Japan: ¥6,000 per seat at a house in our collection, ¥12,000 elsewhere, charged only if we secure the table and you approve it. A few houses accept bookings only in the guest's own name or only by introduction; for those, the page says so plainly and shows how to book yourself, and a free release alert tells you when to act.

← All 1,544 houses in the booking calendar

Rules are based on what we confirm by calling the restaurants ourselves, along with official notices and booking-platform listings, and are re-checked monthly. Houses change their systems without warning; treat the calendar as a planning tool. For restaurants in our collection, our desk confirms the specifics for your dates when you request.

Chugoku & Shikoku: when hard-to-book restaurants open reservations — SHOKU NOREN