Cancellation fees and no-shows at restaurants in Japan

Cancellation policies at restaurants in Japan surprise a lot of visitors. A small sushi counter might charge the full price of the course if you don't show up, and some restaurants have stopped taking bookings from overseas guests altogether. Here is why, what to expect, and how to cancel without causing trouble.

Why no-shows hit Japanese restaurants so hard

Many restaurants in Japan are very small. A counter with eight seats and a set course buys its ingredients for exactly the guests who booked, and it turns away everyone else. When two guests don't show, a quarter of the night's revenue is gone and the fish is wasted.

No-shows (無断キャンセル, mudan kyanseru, "cancelling without notice") have become a public issue in Japan, and bookings made from abroad have a reputation for being riskier. It is why some restaurants now:

• take bookings only from people who can give a Japanese phone number,
• ask for a card guarantee through a booking platform,
• or refuse bookings through channels where they've been burned.

When a restaurant hesitates about your booking, this is almost always the reason. It isn't about you personally.

What cancellation fees usually look like

Policies vary by restaurant, and the restaurant tells you when you book. You'll most often see fees at sushi and omakase counters, kaiseki, and anywhere that is course only (コースのみ). Casual izakaya and ramen shops rarely have them.

A typical pattern at a small counter looks something like this:

Treat that as a pattern, not a rule. The only policy that counts is the one the restaurant tells you. Write it down when they do. If you book with Moshicall, we pass on any conditions the restaurant mentions in your recap, as they were told to us.

How to cancel properly

1. Do it as early as you can. A cancellation a week out lets them resell the seats. On the day, it usually can't.
2. Use the same channel you booked through. If you booked on a platform, cancel there. If it was by phone, call.
3. Call in a quiet window. Check the call-time checker. A cancellation left during dinner service may never reach the chef.
4. Keep it short. Your name, the date, the time and the number of people is all they need.

The phrases guide has more, including how to change a booking instead of cancelling it.

Running late

Being on time matters in Japan, especially at counters where everyone starts the course together. If you're going to be more than ten minutes late, call ahead. Restaurants are much more forgiving of a warning than of silence. Some will give your seats away after a set time without one.

How Moshicall fits in

When we book for you, the restaurant's number is on your booking card, so you can cancel or change the booking directly. We charge only when the restaurant confirms a table that matches what you asked for. Any cancellation or no-show fee the restaurant charges is between you and the restaurant, which is how it would be if you'd called them yourself.

Keeping your booking, or cancelling early, is the best thing any traveler can do to keep these restaurants open to overseas guests.