Booking calendar

Hokkaido & Tohoku: when hard-to-book restaurants open reservations

Release days, booking channels and phone-line hours for 118 hard-to-book restaurants in Hokkaido & Tohoku — checked monthly by a Tokyo reservation desk.

37 by phone · 17 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
Open now: each date opens a set number of days ahead
Sushi Choすし兆
Nakadori, Akita
SushiLunch & dinner
Online

Each date opens 2 months ahead

Open now for visits through Dec 21, 2026
Bookable any time
Aji Tasuke Honten味太助 本店
Ichibancho, Sendai
GyutanLunch & dinner
Phone onlyWe can call →
☎ 022-225-4641

Any time, no release day

No release day — book any time
Dewaya山菜料理 出羽屋
Nishikawa, Yamagata
KaisekiLunch & dinner
Phone onlyWe can call →
☎ 09:00–20:00

Any time, no release day

No release day — book any time
Fukurou-teiふくろう亭
Sapporo, Hokkaido
JingisukanDinner onlyCollection
Phone onlyWe can call →
☎ 011-512-6598

Any time, no release day

No release day — book any time
Hirozushi弘寿司
Taihaku, Sendai
SushiDinner only
Phone onlyWe can call →
☎ 022-213-8255

Any time, no release day

No release day — book any time
Ippachi Sushi一八寿し
Shinmachi, Aomori
SushiLunch & dinnerCollection
Phone onlyWe can call →
☎ 017-722-2639

Any time, no release day

No release day — book any time
Kobanzushi Tanagura小判寿司 棚倉
Tanagura, Fukushima
SushiLunch & dinner
Phone onlyWe can call →
☎ 0247-33-7337

Any time, no release day

No release day — book any time
Koiseこい勢
Aioi-cho, Sakata
SushiLunch & dinner
Phone onlyWe can call →
☎ 0234-24-1741

Any time, no release day

No release day — book any time
Pyonpyonsya Morioka Ekimaeぴょんぴょん舎 盛岡駅前店
Morioka Station, Morioka
ReimenLunch & dinner
Phone onlyWe can call →
☎ +81-19-606-1067

Any time, no release day

No release day — book any time
Robata炉ばた
Kushiro, Hokkaido
RobataDinner onlyCollection
Phone onlyWe can call →
☎ 0154-22-6636

Any time, no release day

No release day — book any time
Shiogama Sushitetsu S-PAL Sendai塩竈 すし哲 S-PAL仙台店
Chuo, Sendai
SushiLunch & dinner
Phone onlyWe can call →
☎ 022-716-1075

Any time, no release day

No release day — book any time
Sushi Arata鮨 あら田
Araya, Akita
SushiLunch & dinner
Phone onlyWe can call →
☎ 018-828-1030

Any time, no release day

No release day — book any time
Sushi Kappo Gyomon寿司割烹 魚紋
Ekimae, Koriyama
SushiLunch & dinner
Phone onlyWe can call →
☎ 024-938-3343

Any time, no release day

No release day — book any time
Sushi Kojima鮨 小じま
Sanno, Akita
SushiLunch & dinner
Phone onlyWe can call →
☎ 018-853-1378

Any time, no release day

No release day — book any time
Sushi Minato鮨みなと
Asahikawa, Hokkaido
SushiDinner only
Phone onlyWe can call →
☎ 0166-22-7722

Any time, up to 6 months ahead

No release day — book any time
All 118 houses in Hokkaido & Tohoku
About this region

Hokkaido & Tohoku has 118 houses in this calendar. 37 of them (31%) take reservations only by telephone, in Japanese, and 2 seat guests only through an introduction — together the part of the map that no booking platform can open for you. 65 houses use an online platform (TableCheck 18, Tabelog 11, Pocket Concierge 9), and 9 take no reservations at all.

The release pattern: 17 houses open their books on a fixed day each month, and 14 of those on the 1st — Restaurant Moliere, Ajidocoro, Kesennuma KUROMORI among them. 14 houses release seats on a rolling basis a fixed number of days ahead, and 34 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.

Restaurant Moliere · Ajidocoro 09:00 · Kesennuma KUROMORI 12:00

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.

Hokkaido & Tohoku: when hard-to-book restaurants open reservations (3) — SHOKU NOREN