Compare ways to book a restaurant

Walk in, call, book online or get help? It depends on the place. Answer one question.

Where do you want to eat?

Four ways compared

Walk in, or join the line

Rough price
Free. You pay for your meal at the restaurant.
How to use it
Go and ask for a table. If there’s a list by the door, write your name and the number of people, then wait to be called.
Good for
Ramen shops, family restaurants and other casual places, on days without a fixed plan.
Watch out for
A table isn’t certain, so it suits days with some time to spare.
JNTO — Making reservations

Call, or ask your hotel

Rough price
No booking fee. If your hotel helps, ask whether there’s a charge.
How to use it
Call the restaurant in Japanese, or ask your hotel’s front desk or concierge to call for you. JNTO says a phone call is sometimes the only way to book.
Good for
Small or traditional restaurants that don’t take bookings online.
Watch out for
If you can’t make it, call as early as you can: many restaurants buy ingredients for each booking.
JNTO — Making reservations

Restaurant sites and apps (Tabelog, TableCheck, SAVOR JAPAN, OMAKASE, AutoReserve)

Rough price
Many are free to book, but some charge: Tabelog ¥440 per person, OMAKASE ¥390 per seat on the restaurant page we read, and AutoReserve a fee for bookings from overseas that varies (its example: ¥500 per person). TableCheck’s optional priority booking starts at ¥390. SAVOR JAPAN charges nothing. Tabelog’s and AutoReserve’s fees aren’t refunded if you cancel.
How to use it
Choose the restaurant, date, time and number of people. Many ask you to sign up and give a card. Google Maps also shows a Reserve button for some restaurants (you need a Google account).
Good for
Popular restaurants and set courses, booked days or weeks ahead in your language.
Watch out for
The card covers a cancellation fee if you cancel late or don’t come. The restaurant sets the fee: on one restaurant’s OMAKASE page we read, it was 50% a week before, 75% three days before and 100% the day before. AutoReserve adds 10% to the restaurant’s fee.
JNTO — Restaurant search websites · Tabelog — Help · TableCheck — “Credit Card Required to Reserve” · TableCheck — Payment methods · SAVOR JAPAN — FAQ · OMAKASE — A restaurant page (an example) · AutoReserve — Bookings from overseas · AutoReserve — The extra 10% on cancellation fees · Google Maps Help — Reserve with Google

Booking-help services (byFood, Klook, KKday)

Rough price
byFood: ¥2,000, which doesn’t go toward your meal (refunded in full if the restaurant cancels). Klook’s booking-help request: US$0, the meal is extra. KKday: ¥440 per person on the seat booking we read.
How to use it
Tell them the restaurant, the date and the number of people; they book it and confirm. Klook asks for at least 48 hours and confirms within 48 hours.
Good for
Restaurants that only take bookings by phone, in Japanese, when your hotel can’t help.
Watch out for
Cancelling late still costs: on the KKday seat booking we read, cancelling on the day or not coming was ¥3,000 per person. On KKday, the booking is a contract between you and the restaurant.
byFood — How byFood works · Klook — All Japan restaurant booking · KKday — A seat reservation (an example)

If you can’t make it

Tell the restaurant as soon as you know, even on the day. In Japan, restaurants can charge a cancellation fee when someone doesn’t come, and a deposit can be kept. Many buy ingredients for each booking: no-shows are estimated to cost restaurants about ¥200 billion a year (METI, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, 2018).

METI — No-show report (2018, Japanese) · JNTO — Making reservations
Prices and rules change and differ by restaurant. The fees here were read on each company’s page on the date below. Before you book, check the latest on that page and the restaurant’s own cancellation policy.
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Sources (checked 2026-10-17)