Restaurant bookings for travelers in Japan
Eat where tourists can't get a table.
The eight-seat sushi counter. The yakitori spot with no English menu. The izakaya your hotel has never heard of. They only take bookings by phone, in Japanese. Paste their number. We make the call.
No Japanese needed
Our AI speaks it, politely
No +81 number needed
We call, you get an email
No table, no charge
¥1,000 per guest, only if they say yes
The problem
Why you haven't eaten there yet.
There's no booking button.
The places worth the flight aren't on OpenTable or Google. Tabelog says one thing: call us.
You don't speak Japanese.
Translate on speakerphone won't get you through keigo during a lunch rush. They hang up. You eat at the chain next to your hotel.
You don't have a Japanese number.
Roaming calls cost a fortune, and when the restaurant wants to call back there is no local number to call. We make the call and send the answer to your inbox.
The fix
One number in. One table out.
Copy the number from Google Maps or Tabelog. Our AI calls the restaurant in natural, polite Japanese, handles the back and forth, and tells you in plain English how it went.
The call
7pm is full? It takes 7:30.
Tell us how flexible you are and the AI negotiates inside that window, like a local would. Allergies, birthdays and counter seats get passed on in the Japanese a restaurant expects to hear.
When the call ends you get the answer, the conditions (course only, cancellation rules) and a card in Japanese to show at the door.
Example conversation
Sushi Kiyoka
お電話ありがとうございます、鮨 清香でございます。
Thank you for calling, Sushi Kiyoka.
Pay for the table, not the call
¥1,000per guest
Minimum ¥2,000. Less than the first round of highballs.
- Held on your card. Charged only when the table is confirmed.
- No answer? We try again in the next quiet window, free.
- Full or refused? The hold is released. You pay nothing.
Questions
Is it really an AI making the call?+
Yes, and it says so in the first sentence. It never pretends to be a person. Staff are used to agents calling for guests from overseas, and a clear, polite request gets a clear answer.
What if my time is full?+
Tell us how flexible you are. If they offer a slot inside your window, we take it. Anything else, like another day, we don't book. We bring it back to you so you can decide.
When do you call?+
Restaurants don't pick up during service. We call in the quiet windows, Japan time: late morning, mid afternoon and after dinner. Book whenever you like. The result lands in your inbox.
What does it cost?+
¥1,000 per guest, minimum ¥2,000. A table for two is ¥2,000, a table for four is ¥4,000. We hold it on your card and charge only if the restaurant confirms. Full, closed or no answer after two tries: the hold is released.
Can you call any number?+
Any restaurant landline or 050 number, yes. We don't call mobiles (070, 080, 090), to protect people's privacy, and 0120, 0800 and 0570 numbers can't be reached from abroad. We also handle one booking per guest at a time: once that call is done, you can book the next.
Can you book places that don't take foreigners?+
Some restaurants turn down overseas bookings, usually because of no-shows. We ask politely, once. If they say no, we respect it and you pay nothing.
What if my plans change?+
Call the restaurant as early as you can. Their number is on your booking card. No-shows are why many places stopped taking tourists, so every kept booking helps the next traveler.
Guides
Before you book
Guide
How to book a restaurant in Japan as a tourist
Every way to get a table in Japan, from online platforms to hotel concierges to calling in Japanese, and which one to use for which kind of restaurant.
8 min read →
Tokyo
Booking restaurants in Tokyo: a neighbourhood guide
Where to eat in Tokyo beyond the tourist strips, which neighbourhoods need a booking, and how to get into the small places that only take calls.
8 min read →
Kyoto
Booking restaurants in Kyoto: kaiseki, early closings and introductions
Kyoto eats early and books ahead. How to get a kaiseki table, what 'no first-timers' means, and how to book the small places around Pontocho and Gion.
7 min read →
Guide
Japanese phrases for booking a restaurant by phone
The exact Japanese you need to book a table: the opening line, numbers of people, times, and the words the restaurant will say back to you.
7 min read →