Best time to call a restaurant in Japan, in your time zone
Restaurants don't answer during service. See the current time in Japan and the next quiet windows to call, converted to your local time.
Why timing matters more than language
Most restaurants in Japan are small, and the person who answers the phone is also cooking or serving. During service the phone rings out or is picked up just long enough to say they're busy. The same restaurant will happily take your booking at 3pm.
The quiet windows
- 10:00 to 11:30: prep time for places that serve lunch.
- 13:45 to 17:30: the afternoon lull. The best window for most restaurants.
- 20:30 to 21:30: after the dinner rush, for places that stay open late. Hit and miss.
Also check the restaurant's closed day (定休日) before calling. Dinner-only places often don't pick up before mid-afternoon.
For travelers in Europe, the afternoon window in Japan falls early in your morning. On the US East Coast it is the middle of the night. That gap is a big part of why phone-only restaurants are so hard to book from abroad. When you book with Moshicall, we place the call in the next quiet window, whatever time it is where you are.
Questions
What time zone is Japan in?
Japan Standard Time, UTC+9, all year. Japan has no daylight saving time, so the gap to Europe and North America changes by an hour when your clocks change.
When is the best time to call a restaurant in Japan?
Between about 2pm and 5pm Japan time, after lunch and before dinner prep. Mid-morning from 10am also works for places that open for lunch. Avoid 11:30am to 1:45pm and 5:30pm to 8:30pm.
Are restaurants in Japan closed on Mondays?
Many are, but not all. The closed day (teikyūbi, 定休日) varies by restaurant and is listed on Tabelog and Google Maps. Sunday and Monday are the most common.
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