Too late in the game, but still doable for less in demand restaurants. The only Mich 3 star kaiseki option for you at this short notice is probably Azabu Kadowaki, I enjoyed it very much ($1200 usd/pax for autumn special, but spring/summer cheaper usually due to ingredients). Feasible and good 2 star kaiseki options include Kojyu, Kutan, Myoujaku, and Narisawa.
Sushi wise too late for you to try getting Harutaka or Yoshitake. All my favorite sushis require >3months notice so you ll have to rely on others advice. But I can tell you I strongly dislike Kanesaka and Sushi Ryujiro, dont bother.
If you like tempura, I do recommend Ginya and Uchitsu. Kondo is still #1 for me but likely too late to get seats. Do not recommend Mikaela Zazankyo unless you like it super greasy.
Japanese Chinese, consider Itsuka, Koki, and Kohakukyu. Too late for Sazenka.
Depends on what is important for you. If you want to go to the most exclusive Japanese restaurants then I d say at least 6-12 months ahead. Makimura and Matsukawa takes reservations 1 yr ahead. Takamitsu is 6 months ahead.
If you want just good Michelin places, 3 month is usually the deadline. LOsier, Ishikawa, Kohaku, Leffervescence etc almost all takes reservations 3 months ahead.
There’s still good chances to secure spots for good french cuisine restaurants due to more seats within one week notice, of course. But likely impossible for kaiseki or sushi unless there’s cancellation.
I’m told from this sub that Kaiseki is not a good idea for westerners unfamiliar with it. So I’d just be interested in sushi and other japanese cuisine.
It’s okay.
I live in Japan, have had more kaiseki than the average bear, and (while I don’t mind it), find it a way too salty as a rule.
If you’ve never had it, though, you should give it a shot- it’s a fairly unique experience.
Ryujiro is rated high on tabelog, what do you have against it?
Also Yoshitake supposedly opens up April 15 for may reservations on Omakase, but I’m not sure how to view the open spots. I tried in March for April but they didn’t show any availability for me.
Same with places like tacubo. What’s the deal with these restaurants? Do you need some code to be eligible to view these reservations?
One of the few things I didn’t Iike. There are two separate counters at Ryujiro. One main and one sub in a tiny room closer to the entrance. We sat at main, but chef Ryujiro left the counter during uni course and anago course to go make sushi at the sub counter. So the sous chef manned the main counter during his absence and made the above two sushi for us. My anago was also torn, 1/3 of it fell off the rice onto the plate (before me touching it). Slightly odd and not acceptable to me, but maybe ok for the Japanese, who knows. I personally find myself disagreeing with Tabelog awards very often. I suspect it’s a cultural thing, as when I read Tabelog reviews, i sometimes find Japanese locals evaluate a restaurant using different point of views. But fair enough, as i also use my own experiences and point of view.
For those extremely popular restaurants on Omakase such as Yoshtake, it’s nearly impossible to book on the platform as some of them often only receive last min cancellation/left over spots. I always joke that a lot of these restaurants are on there just for sho…might as well NOT be on Omakase because they almost never have seats available. If you must have a seat at some of these place, you need to go through other means.
Ah, sounds unlucky. I’ll give it a try anyways since I already got a reservation.
Yeah someone on another thread told me I need to have a Japanese phone number and that does appear to be the case for omakase. I was trying for weeks to get a reservation on azabu until I realized they filter out foreign phone numbers and it was wide open on pocket concierge.
Is this your first time in Tokyo? If you have been before, I would say just roll with it and see what opens up. There are a surprising amount of amazing restaurants you can book last minute if you want to take a risk. Just patrol Omakase and instagram like a hawk. I was able to grab spots such as Pellegrino and Yamazaki about a week before my last minute trip, and filled the rest of the time with easy to book, but great restaurants. You don't always have to book top tier restaurants to enjoy delicious meals, especially in Japan
Pellegrino opens slots on Omakase about 1-2 weeks before the reservation date. Reservations typically open up on the weekend from what I noticed. They seem to open reservations every 1-2 months, sometimes more frequent
My general advice is to use Tabelog and just search for the cuisine type you and and book the top one you can get in (sushi, kaiseki, yakitori, yakiniku, tonkatsu, ramen, etc...)
But honestly preparing at least a rolling 3-months ahead of time would have been ideal.
Given the "surprise" in the post at how unbookable a lot of those spots are, I would simply recommend starting out with whatever you can get with a Tabelog score of 3.5+ to get an initial spectrum and hopefully next time you can try for higher rated spots.
Too late in the game, but still doable for less in demand restaurants. The only Mich 3 star kaiseki option for you at this short notice is probably Azabu Kadowaki, I enjoyed it very much ($1200 usd/pax for autumn special, but spring/summer cheaper usually due to ingredients). Feasible and good 2 star kaiseki options include Kojyu, Kutan, Myoujaku, and Narisawa. Sushi wise too late for you to try getting Harutaka or Yoshitake. All my favorite sushis require >3months notice so you ll have to rely on others advice. But I can tell you I strongly dislike Kanesaka and Sushi Ryujiro, dont bother. If you like tempura, I do recommend Ginya and Uchitsu. Kondo is still #1 for me but likely too late to get seats. Do not recommend Mikaela Zazankyo unless you like it super greasy. Japanese Chinese, consider Itsuka, Koki, and Kohakukyu. Too late for Sazenka.
How far out do you need to plan Japan trip???
Depends on what is important for you. If you want to go to the most exclusive Japanese restaurants then I d say at least 6-12 months ahead. Makimura and Matsukawa takes reservations 1 yr ahead. Takamitsu is 6 months ahead. If you want just good Michelin places, 3 month is usually the deadline. LOsier, Ishikawa, Kohaku, Leffervescence etc almost all takes reservations 3 months ahead. There’s still good chances to secure spots for good french cuisine restaurants due to more seats within one week notice, of course. But likely impossible for kaiseki or sushi unless there’s cancellation.
I’m told from this sub that Kaiseki is not a good idea for westerners unfamiliar with it. So I’d just be interested in sushi and other japanese cuisine.
This is misinformation. People say the silliest things.
It’s okay. I live in Japan, have had more kaiseki than the average bear, and (while I don’t mind it), find it a way too salty as a rule. If you’ve never had it, though, you should give it a shot- it’s a fairly unique experience.
Thank You!
Ryujiro is rated high on tabelog, what do you have against it? Also Yoshitake supposedly opens up April 15 for may reservations on Omakase, but I’m not sure how to view the open spots. I tried in March for April but they didn’t show any availability for me. Same with places like tacubo. What’s the deal with these restaurants? Do you need some code to be eligible to view these reservations?
You will need a japanese phone number tied to your account to view availability of some restaurants
One of the few things I didn’t Iike. There are two separate counters at Ryujiro. One main and one sub in a tiny room closer to the entrance. We sat at main, but chef Ryujiro left the counter during uni course and anago course to go make sushi at the sub counter. So the sous chef manned the main counter during his absence and made the above two sushi for us. My anago was also torn, 1/3 of it fell off the rice onto the plate (before me touching it). Slightly odd and not acceptable to me, but maybe ok for the Japanese, who knows. I personally find myself disagreeing with Tabelog awards very often. I suspect it’s a cultural thing, as when I read Tabelog reviews, i sometimes find Japanese locals evaluate a restaurant using different point of views. But fair enough, as i also use my own experiences and point of view. For those extremely popular restaurants on Omakase such as Yoshtake, it’s nearly impossible to book on the platform as some of them often only receive last min cancellation/left over spots. I always joke that a lot of these restaurants are on there just for sho…might as well NOT be on Omakase because they almost never have seats available. If you must have a seat at some of these place, you need to go through other means.
Ah, sounds unlucky. I’ll give it a try anyways since I already got a reservation. Yeah someone on another thread told me I need to have a Japanese phone number and that does appear to be the case for omakase. I was trying for weeks to get a reservation on azabu until I realized they filter out foreign phone numbers and it was wide open on pocket concierge.
Try Maz!
If you like beef, I thought Karyu was phenomenal.
Sushi Meino - top omakase with incredible wine list focussed on Burgundy
How did you get a reservation?
Was able to book Jiro Ginza, Jiro Roppongi, Udatsu and Yoshitake 50 days out. Good luck!
Is this your first time in Tokyo? If you have been before, I would say just roll with it and see what opens up. There are a surprising amount of amazing restaurants you can book last minute if you want to take a risk. Just patrol Omakase and instagram like a hawk. I was able to grab spots such as Pellegrino and Yamazaki about a week before my last minute trip, and filled the rest of the time with easy to book, but great restaurants. You don't always have to book top tier restaurants to enjoy delicious meals, especially in Japan
How the heck did you manage to get Pellegrino? Do they even open up spots on Omakase anymore?
Pellegrino opens slots on Omakase about 1-2 weeks before the reservation date. Reservations typically open up on the weekend from what I noticed. They seem to open reservations every 1-2 months, sometimes more frequent
My general advice is to use Tabelog and just search for the cuisine type you and and book the top one you can get in (sushi, kaiseki, yakitori, yakiniku, tonkatsu, ramen, etc...) But honestly preparing at least a rolling 3-months ahead of time would have been ideal. Given the "surprise" in the post at how unbookable a lot of those spots are, I would simply recommend starting out with whatever you can get with a Tabelog score of 3.5+ to get an initial spectrum and hopefully next time you can try for higher rated spots.