Booking calendar

Kanto: when hard-to-book restaurants open reservations

Release days, booking channels and phone-line hours for 59 hard-to-book restaurants in Kanto — checked monthly by a Tokyo reservation desk.

13 by phone · 6 open monthly

Tokyo now  

TokyoKantoChubu & HokurikuKansaiChugoku & ShikokuKyushu & OkinawaHokkaido & Tohoku
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.

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Opening this week

  1. TueOct 20—
  2. WedOct 21—
  3. ThuOct 22—
  4. FriOct 23—
  5. SatOct 24—
  6. SunOct 252 housesgoffo · Iida Shoten
  7. MonOct 26—

Opening on Sunday, October 25

Your dates in Japan
HouseChannelHow the book opensNext opening
Iida Shoten飯田商店
Yugawara, Kanagawa
RamenLunch only
Platform

Every Sunday, 16:00

Sun, Oct 25 at 16:00 JST → books Oct 28, 2026
goffo
Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa
ItalianDinner only
Platform

25th of each month · 1 month ahead

Sun, Oct 25 → books November 2026Source last confirmed Feb 2025; treat the date as an estimate
All 59 houses in Kanto
About this region

Kanto has 59 houses in this calendar. 13 of them (22%) take reservations only by telephone, in Japanese, and 0 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 9, TableCheck 8, Ikyu 8), and 5 take no reservations at all.

The release pattern: 6 houses open their books on a fixed day each month, and 4 of those on the 1st — Sushiei, YODA, Sushi Obana among them. 5 houses release seats on a rolling basis a fixed number of days ahead, and 16 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.

Sushiei 12:00 · YODA 11:00 · Sushi Obana

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 verified against official notices and platform listings and 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.

Kanto: when hard-to-book restaurants open reservations — SHOKU NOREN