3 1/2 weeks in Japan. Do I need dinner reservations anywhere?
 

I posted earlier and got invaluable advice on my itinerary and now need guidance on whether or not it pays to make dinner reservations anywhere. And if so, suggestions for where and when. We LOVE food and are open to anything and everything. Normally I would have made reservations days and months ago but for some reason it just hasn't happened this trip.

Just to reiterate this is my itinerary:

10/19 - Arrive in Japan, Overnight in Tokyo
10/20 - Tokyo
10/21 - Tokyo
10/22 - Tokyo

10/23 - Kamakura
10/24 - Kamakura

10/25 - Matsumoto, dinner with local host via nagomi visit
10/26 - Matsumoto

10/27 - Kamikochi, kaiseki dinner at ryokan

10/28 - Hirayu Onsen, kaiseki dinner at ryokan

10/29 - Takayama
10/30 - Takayama

10/31 - Shirakawago/Kanazawa
11/1 - Kanazawa

11/2 - Koya-San, dinner at the temple

11/3 - Kyoto
11/4 - Kyoto
11/5 - Kyoto
11/6 - Kyoto

11/7 - Miyajima Island, dinner at ryokan
11/8 - Miyajima Island, dinner at ryokan

11/9 - Yufuin Onsen, dinner at ryokan

11/10 - Fukuoka
11/11 - Fukuoka, Sumo tournament

11/12 - Travel to the airport, Overnight next to the airport

11/13 - Depart Japan

we had several reservations for our japan fall trip last year.. I think largely it depends on the popularity of the restaurant: if it is a top trip advisor or guide book suggestion, or a well known place, the earlier you can make a res the better.

plus I do think a res gets you a better table..

rhkkmk, any suggestions for places?

sushi bars-- all over

My French Kaiseki dinner at Misoguigawa in Kyoto is among the most wonderful meals of my life. If that appeals to you, I would recommend a reservation.
http://www.misogui.jp/eng/index.html
Enjoy!

The dinner we ate at Sumiyoshi Ryokan in Takayama was one of the best meals we ate in Japan.

kja, your recommendation in Kyoto looks amazing. Do you remember which one you ordered?

Chikae in Fukuoka.

A specialty in Fukuoka is mentaiko and some people actually like it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mentaiko

mrsunrfi, my background is swedish and I like lutefisk so I might be one of those who like it.

We'll be in Tokyo in March and I'm going to start working on getting a reservation at Sukiyabashi Jiro pretty soon.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukiyabashi_Jiro

Sorry, ceezee, too many years ago now! I know I didn't order the most expensive meal; but don't remember beyond that. Bot whichever one it was, OMG, it was excellent! And unlike most Japanese restaurants, there was actually a very decent selection of wines by the glass. :-)

Dear Ceezee

I'm a bit of a food obsessive but actually, the more I investigated, the more I came down against making reservations ahead of our visit.

The exceptions were our overnight stays in ryokans, where the kaiseki ryori (traditional multi-course meals) were included and very much part of the reason we chose the various ryokans.

I spent a fair bit of time on food site chowhound, which has an active Japan board. And there you'll find a lot of people who absolutely make a whole load of reservations in advance.

These tend to be almost exclusively for the very high end (and extraordinarily expensive) restaurants, most of which seem to be in Tokyo. I'm talking Jiro, Ryugin, Sawada, Robuchon and so on...

What I found most useful instead was to think about what kinds of food we wanted to try. For example, I knew I wanted to go to restaurants specialising in sushi, tempura, tofu, ramen, soba, katsu, gyuudon and so on. Most of those are just so easy to find all over that I didn't bother identifying individual places, we just picked the ones that we found as we were out and about.

For some, however, I did make notes on recommended places that particularly appealed to me so that when we were looking for food in that area, we could visit those places.

Examples include Maisen for Katsu (Butagami has been on list for both trips but we didn't make it yet) and Tempura Tsunahachi Honten for tempura: http://www.kaveyeats.com/2012/11/tem...uku-tokyo.html

In Kyoto, a recommendation from a Japan-based friend lead me to Katsukura which ended up being our favourite katsu place. On the first trip we visited the Kyoto Station branch, on the second trip, we went to the original at Shijo-Teramachi in Sanjo area. Loved!

We love yakiniku so often went for that, again, we'd pick based on what we fancied from the outside, but we have visited the Gyu-kaku chain a few times. Here's more on yakiniku: http://www.kaveyeats.com/2014/03/enj...-in-japan.html

I had a much longer list of specialities I wanted to seek out, which I know is saved somewhere on my hard drive, as I printed it and took it with me, can't find it now but chase me and I'll do my best to find it.

Kavey, thank you so much! I also spend much time looking at Chowhound and came to the same conclusion. Because of the kaiseki meals we've decided to not go to one of the high end places in either Tokyo or Kyoto. I love your approach of concentrating on a specific food depending on region.

Please, please try to find that list! That would be a huge help.

You are SO welcome. Gosh, I'm so going to have to persuade husband that it's time for our third trip to Japan soon!!!

I'll see if I can find it but if not, I'll try and list all the extra things I can think of to try.

Amazake
- A low alcohol drink made with the lees of sake, can be served hot or cold

Basashi
- horse sashimi

Bakeries
- Japanese renditions of French patisseries usually superb, good breakfast option

Beer
- Baird Beer Taprooms, Goodbeer Faucets, Crafthead bar (Tokyo)
- Hoppy, a beer flavour soft drink

Burgers
- Mos Burger
- A lot of negative feedback on Burger King's black burgers but we tried the kuro ninja and liked it, then again we like BK

Coffee
- the Japanese adore good coffee and if you're a coffee aficionado you'll be well catered for, look/ ask for recommendations for old kissaten (the old school coffee places) and new hipster coffee places, Tokyo and Kyoto in particular have many

Ekiben
- means ekibento aka train station bento, the bento boxes on sale for train journeys have become their own thing, with regional/ station specialities. Incredibly good deals, and if you're staying near a station and want a picnic lunch or dinner, these are a good option

Cha-tsuke
- Rice, toppings and then tea or hot water poured over

Izakaya
- pubs with small dish food menus

Miracle Fruit
- Is a cafe in Tokyo specialising in these

Monjayaki
- Tokyo version of okonomiyaki, a speciality of the Kanto region, but made with a more liquid dough. Many to be found in Tsukishima district, there's a street lined with them

Nabe
- Hot pot, one pot meal

Oden
- A variety of items (seafood, meat, tofu, vegetables) stewed in a light dashi broth

Okonomiyaki
- Sometimes described as a pancake, sometimes as a pizza. A flat fritter-like meal cooked on a hot plate, often in front of the diners, shredded cabbage mixed into a batter. Other ingredients such as noodles, pork and shrimp can be added in. Once done, topped with bonito flakes and lots of mayo and sauce. Varies regionally.

Omuraisu
- Omelette and rice, there are restaurants specialising in nothing but variations of this, different fillings, different sauces etc

Pickles
- Often a course of the meal/ collectively referred to as tsukemono
- Misozuke, produce pickled in miso, a little sweeter than some types
- Narazuke, pickles from nara
- Shiozuke, salt pickles
- Nukazuke, rice bran pickles
- Umeboshi, pickled plums

Ramen
- Different regional styles, different broths (tonkotsu pork bone broth, shoyu soy sauce broth, shio salt broth etc)

Rice Crackers
- Look at recos on FoodSakeTokyo blog

Sake
- Can visit sake kura (sake breweries) in Kyoto, Kobe, Takayama and elsewhere

Shichimi
- Seven spice powder, usually includes chilli, a nice gift and there are shops specialising, plus often in markets there's a stall specialising

Soba
- buckwheat noodles, many restaurants specialising

Sushi
- Look for recommendations, outer market at Tsukiji, inexpensive chains like Zanmai, go to a kaiten sushi (conveyor belt) place

Sukiyaki/ Shabu Shabu
- Meat and vegetables cooked in a broth, different types of broths available, usually you cook the items yourself, adding and removing them from broth during the meal

Takoyaki
- Batter balls with octopus, available in many places but Osaka is famous for them

Tempura
- look for restaurant specialising, a whole menu of tempura sounds a lot but the chefs cook so lightly and expertly, is not a grease fest

Tonkatsu
- Take care not to confuse with tonkotsu (pork bone broth, style of ramen)
- Breaded pork, deep fried, usually served with shredded cabbage and sauces
- My favourite chain is katsukura, in Kyoto (I think now expanded to Tokyo), also well known is Maisen but it's much more pricey, and there's Butagami which I've not tried yet. Also many many cheaper chains, perfectly fine for quick meal
- Several restaurants/ chains specialise in curry katsu, and other curry rice options

Tsukemen
- Dipping noodles, instead of noodles in a broth (ramen), or stirfried (yaki), noodles are served in a bowl or on a plate, with a dipping sauce alongside

Tofu
- Restaurants specialising in tofu, with multi-course menus available

Udon
- Noodles, look for places specialising

Wagashi
- Japanese confectionery, many many different types, some places have sit-in cafe areas to enjoy wagashi with tea, most sell for taking away

Wagyu
- Wa gyu translates as Japanese beef, is the famous marbled beef, everyone outside of Japan associates only with kobe beef but that's because they've done the best international marketing job, there are several brands of prized wagyu in Japan, such as Hida.

Yakiniku
- Meat, cooked yourself on an indoor barbecue at the table

Yakitori
- Although the translation is usually grilled chicken, many yakitori restaurants serve other meats and items. Everything on sticks, often popular with rowdy salarymen

Yudofu
- Tofu simmered in dashi stock, like oden but only tofu, often found near temples

Yuba
- Tofu skin, skimmed off the liquid during creation of tofu, like a custard skin, and either sold fresh or dried


There are lots of posts on my blog for Japan, all of them can be found here http://www.kaveyeats.com/tag/japan but below I've pulled out the ones for food/ drink.

http://www.kaveyeats.com/2013/05/jap...suke-jaya.html
http://www.kaveyeats.com/2013/04/yub...e-delight.html
http://www.kaveyeats.com/2014/03/enj...-in-japan.html
http://www.kaveyeats.com/2014/03/kyo...fast-sets.html
http://www.kaveyeats.com/2013/01/kai...o-in-nara.html
http://www.kaveyeats.com/2013/03/her...n-me-into.html
http://www.kaveyeats.com/2013/03/a-m...ki-market.html
http://www.kaveyeats.com/2013/01/mitarashi-dango.html
http://www.kaveyeats.com/2012/12/miy...-takayama.html
http://www.kaveyeats.com/2014/02/kai...he-corner.html
http://www.kaveyeats.com/2012/12/hid...ama-japan.html
http://www.kaveyeats.com/2012/12/owa...-takayama.html
http://www.kaveyeats.com/2012/11/kit...ley-tokyo.html
http://www.kaveyeats.com/2012/11/tem...uku-tokyo.html
http://www.kaveyeats.com/2012/11/ven...-in-japan.html
http://www.kaveyeats.com/2014/01/zen...ori-tokyo.html
http://www.kaveyeats.com/2014/01/tokyo-bento.html
http://www.kaveyeats.com/2014/02/bur...uro-ninja.html
http://www.kaveyeats.com/2014/02/sui...-kumamoto.html

(Couldn't find, rewrote)

I can not thank you enough!!!! Wow!

And I found your fabulous blog on eatyourbooks.com! So far I've only gotten a couple hundred of my cookbooks entered. This service is a godsend.

Wow! is right

Kavey, so, so attentive to our needs. I will print this out an one day carry it to Japan and feast of simple, and elegant, food. thanks.

You are most welcome. And of course, if anyone notices any errors, do jump in and correct me as I'm definitely not an expert by any stretch.

And thank you for your kind comments about my blog. I love eatyourbooks, so it's lovely to know you found me via them.

Jobin :-)

Hi Kavey,

Have you been to Sukiyabashi Jiro, the subject of the documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiro_Dreams_of_Sushi

Do you think it's worth the hype? We will be in Tokyo for three nights for my husband's work and will probably only have one free night for dinner.

I crossed it off my list when I found out it's $300 per person for a 15-20 minute 20 piece meal. My Minnesota Midwestern upbringing simply won't let me do it. Not saying I didn't think about it though. Just not for very long.

Haha. Seems to be $286 pp for 40 minutes, which doesn't seem quite as extreme...We're from LA/NYC so doesn't seem as outrageous to us, especially because we'll be on an expense account and it's supposedly a once in a lifetime event for sushi lovers. But we're wondering if Jiro's (now age 88) should be our destination for our one night out on our own. Has anyone been? Worth the hype?

Crosscheck, nope, didn't go to any of the multi-hundred dollar places. I know a few friends who've been to some of the top places and had wonderful experiences, but I decided our meal splurges would be kaiseki ryori in the few ryokan we booked. For the rest of our eating, we mostly went for ordinary places.

I'd probably not make a decision until I knew what kind of restaurants you'd be visiting the other two nights, but of course if you want to visit one of these top places, you'd need the advance reservation I guess.

This is an article from 2012 that I had happened upon this morning right before I saw your query. Could be out of date or just inaccurate. http://www.newyorker.com/culture/cul.../perfect-sushi

Thanks, ceezee. Somehow, although I'm a long time New Yorker subscriber, I somehow missed that piece. I did see the film, which made me interested in the restaurant, but the anti-feminist angle is troublesome. If you look at recent tripadvisor reviews, people say dinner lasted 40 minutes. And 30,000 yen is now worth $273 - a bargain!

Looking forward to your report. Lots of pressure choosing just one restaurant for our upcoming trip. The last time I was in Tokyo (in 2007) we went to Seryna for our splurge, then highly rated for shabu shabu. Now reviews say it's old fashioned. Also went to Gonpachi, which became touristy after being featured in Kill Bill (also opened in Beverly Hills). Somehow I got into Sushi Dai at the Fish Market without waiting for hours...to dai for. We also ate at two of the ramen places in this slide show, Nagi (incredible) and the ramen stand in the Fish Market.

http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/201..._index-10.html

This thread is the best! I'm still researching my trip and was not even close to food, but this thread got me started on research. Was reading the NY Times and came across this Ramen blog. I thought it was a great lesson and resource for all things Ramen in Tokyo. Enjoy!

http://www.ramenadventures.com/p/tokyo-ramen-map.html.

It was crosscheck's link that got me started! And Kavey, your blog and links are awesome too! Thank you!

Thank you, very kind. I love sharing food and travel experiences! It's my other hobby (besides travel). :-)

Just took a look at your blog. Those sweet potato dumplings looks amazing.

Crosscheck, no fair to make me think of those. It's just coming up to 7 am in the morning and now I want sweet potato dumplings! :-D

Just starting to research a possible trip to Japan. We normally would not consider pre-reserving restaurants for a trip. We tend not to seek out extremely high-end places, prefer local places, so maybe that's why. Is there some reason in general why you should do this in Japan? Love Japanese food of various kinds, and would look forward to trying almost anything, excepting horse sashimi!

WWanderer, see my reply above, my husband and I didn't reserve restaurants before we left.

Rarely, we'd reserve when we got there -- on our last trip I was looking up restaurants for Osaka and found one I liked the look of, we meandered over during the late morning, popped our heads in and reserved for that evening. Just as well, as it was tiny and we realised during our meal that anyone without reservations was being turned away.

Our friends that we met in Kumamoto also made reservations a few days ahead for the horse specialist restaurant we went to with them there, though we could probably have risked making them on arrival to be honest.

But we didn't reserve any of the famous pricy ones in Tokyo or Kyoto...

Interesting thread!

Tentatively planning return trip to Japan, one that will have lots of focus on food...so setting this aside to read all links and ponder!!