Getting into exclusive Japanese restaurants

I've recently learned that many high-end restaurants in Japan, such as Sushi Saito or Matsukawa, are basically private clubs where to get a reservation you either already have to a regular or be invited by a regular or by the the proprietor. How would I, as a non-Japanese person, get into one of these establishments? Should I be eating at less exclusive restaurants whose chefs are prominent in the Japanese culinary scene and trying to get them to vouch for me? Should I be trying to become friends with people who are already regulars and seeing if they'll invite me to go with them? Evidently, 外国人 are somehow getting in to these places, because you can see their reviews on Instagram, so don't tell me it's impossible. If anyone has any firsthand experience, I would be interested to hear about how they did it.

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  1. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    Doesnt matter, try getting into the country first, worry about the restaurants later.

  2. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    https://omakase.in/en/

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      >https://omakase.in/en/
      Yes, there are a few services that allow foreigners to make reservations at high-end Japanese restaurants that generally require an established personal relationship to get a reservation. But the restaurants I'm talking about are too exclusive even for this.

      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        Those places are hardly worth the effort it takes to go eat there, unless you're some foodgay who just wants to take photos for social media and to flex to your foodgay friends. Michelin star inflation in Japan is likely even worse than in France due to the Guide weebing out over autistic Japanese cookery. You ever heard someone say one star in Italy is worth two in France? It's the same for Japan.
        If you have zero connections maybe you can try to swing it by the concierge at some fancy hotel like the Aman or Hoshinoya...I don't think any Marriott properties can pull it off these days.

        • 2 years ago
          Anonymous

          The restaurants I'm talking about actually have no Michelin stars because they're so exclusive Michelin doesn't bother putting them on the list, but I take your point.

          • 2 years ago
            Anonymous

            The thing is, good sushi is incredibly easy to find in Japan and some of the restaurants that have become famous for truly excellent sushi, have offerings that are the same as places which are more foreigner friendly. That place in the subway from Jiro Dreams of Sushi- the guy actually has like 2 other restaurants which are basically the same but nowhere near as exclusive.

            Based. I like sushi but frick expensive sushi. Tastes literally exactly the same as the run of the mill average sushi from anywhere near an ocean. Fresh, plain raw fish is fresh, plain raw fish, its not like the chef can cook it or season it differently than any other chef. Simple as.

            I love Japanese food though, but its the comfort Japanese diner sort of food. Okomiyaki, Yakisoba, Udon noodles, Ramen, karage chicken, gyoza. Sushi is only worshipped by dumb people too stupid to know that sushi is actually an expensive delicacy in Japan that is seldom eaten except for special occasions.

            idk if that's true everywhere but here (California) there's clearly a difference. Cheap places have fish that smells and try to cover it up with a lot of spicy mayo and shit.

          • 2 years ago
            Anonymous

            Sushi Saito had 3 stars before they stopped taking outside reservations and went full private dining... but my point is more of an opinion, that I believe ultra-high end Jap kaiseki or omakase restaurants are pretty overrated. You get better value staying at a ryokan with an in-room private onsen, where half board kaiseki dinner and breakfast is included in your room rate...

  3. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    Hotel and/or Credit Card concierge services can help.

    Can't speak for Japan, or the degree of exclusive restaurants

  4. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    frick them and their food if they don't want you. don't be a simp.

  5. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    I'm from Italy and Japan and French cuisine can suck my wiener, I don't get why people would pay $$$ just to eat nouvelle cousine bullshit or slices of fish on chewy rice just for shitting them afterwards.
    That's why italian cuisine and Thai cuisine (and maybe Chinese because it's huge but I don't really have experience with it) are the best in the world: they are affordable, even poorer people can eat healthy and tasty meals without paying an arm and a leg.
    just one more thing though: nips are so moronic with these whole idea of "exclusivity": soaplands are exclusively for japanese people, no travel for whito piggu because virus and now you have secret sushi restaurants nobody knows because they are exclusive? Frick em

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      >That's why italian cuisine and Thai cuisine (and maybe Chinese because it's huge but I don't really have experience with it) are the best in the world: they are affordable, even poorer people can eat healthy and tasty meals without paying an arm and a leg.
      dude there are also high end exclusive thai and chinese restaurants
      italian too, probably

      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        absolutely but they are not exclusive, you pay the fair price and that's it. for example I saw a fancy restaurant in BKk and was like 100€ or in Italy it's usually 100 to 150 max per person and they definitely don't have these veiled racist rules of "exclusively for japanese people".

        Based. I like sushi but frick expensive sushi. Tastes literally exactly the same as the run of the mill average sushi from anywhere near an ocean. Fresh, plain raw fish is fresh, plain raw fish, its not like the chef can cook it or season it differently than any other chef. Simple as.

        I love Japanese food though, but its the comfort Japanese diner sort of food. Okomiyaki, Yakisoba, Udon noodles, Ramen, karage chicken, gyoza. Sushi is only worshipped by dumb people too stupid to know that sushi is actually an expensive delicacy in Japan that is seldom eaten except for special occasions.

        Ikr, it's just rice and fish after all. japanese comfort food is good but again because it's not for elite but you can enjoy a good bowl of ramen or tonkatsu for a fair price.

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      Based. I like sushi but frick expensive sushi. Tastes literally exactly the same as the run of the mill average sushi from anywhere near an ocean. Fresh, plain raw fish is fresh, plain raw fish, its not like the chef can cook it or season it differently than any other chef. Simple as.

      I love Japanese food though, but its the comfort Japanese diner sort of food. Okomiyaki, Yakisoba, Udon noodles, Ramen, karage chicken, gyoza. Sushi is only worshipped by dumb people too stupid to know that sushi is actually an expensive delicacy in Japan that is seldom eaten except for special occasions.

      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        >Japanese diner sort of food. Okomiyaki, Yakisoba, Udon noodles, Ramen, karage chicken, gyoza.
        Those are mostly Chinese-Japanese food. Real Japanese food are heavy on slimy textures, plain flavours, and vegetables so Americans don't actually like it.

      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        >sushi is actually an expensive delicacy in Japan that is seldom eaten except for special occasions.
        No it's not. Japan has plenty of budget sushi restaurants where sushi is very cheap

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      So true

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      I'm Italian too and this guy hit the nail on the head. French cuisine can eat dick 9 times out of 10, the only thing in which the french have an advantage over us is desserts.
      I would say meats (not cured), but neither the french nor the italians know how to fricking work with meat. The bastards in this country keep adding olive oil and rosemary to my fricking steaks, it pisses me off.
      Tuscans know their way around a t-bone though.

      >That's why italian cuisine and Thai cuisine (and maybe Chinese because it's huge but I don't really have experience with it) are the best in the world: they are affordable, even poorer people can eat healthy and tasty meals without paying an arm and a leg.
      dude there are also high end exclusive thai and chinese restaurants
      italian too, probably

      an exclusive italian restaurant means you place a reservation then just go and eat.
      I go to 1/2 star restaurants and pay 120 bucks for two with wine and some liquor at the end. There's a restaurant that makes extremely complex seafood dishes where i live, they're some of the best meals i've ever had, and i pay 140 bucks for a two people dinner with KINO wine. I don't even place reservations. Beat that. Japanese seafood is good but not the best. Anything more than that is not worth it, italian cuisine is 90% dishes that came from poor people that have been perfected to autistic levels of detail, but they still don't command frick you prices. Even the biggest meme food we have here, truffle, is accessible as hell if you aren't going to some homosexual place that simply dumps chunks of mushroom on something, because truffle is very much similar to saffron in how it is used. It's a CONDIMENT. The aroma is so god damn pungent that you either dilute it in oil or use a few very thin slices on a dish to achieve the desired effect, which is smell and taste. You can go to turin and have the best white truffle-based meal in your life and spend not more than 70 bucks a person with wine included. Frick that meme exclusivity, i've been to japan and had bomb meals for nothing at hidden ass ramen places or yakitoris where i had to order crap at random since i can't into 日本語.
      I need to go back there, have some ramen, and get myself an authentic japanese threesome. It'll still be cheaper and better than some meme restaurant anyway.

  6. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    Why do you want to eat in these? Is it for the prestige? It can't certainly be for Japanese food since that's garbage.
    Go to a Michelin 3* in Southern Europe instead

  7. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    >hai, fish on laisu, that wirr be 500 dorrar and no tip, gaijin
    Don't see the value, just get the convenience store sushi.

  8. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    I think the point of keeping you out is to prevent your asking questions in English about the menu or take your camera out and start snapping photos of the food or the employees.

    I've stayed in hotels where there was a signed contract at check-in not to take pictures of guests or meals. No posting of reviews allowed. Some people just want privacy, and the ability to go back in time and relax without their phone usage or other stupidity of these generation.

  9. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    Not possible unless you're a very fluent Japanese speaker OP. And I'm talking comfortably high-school tier functional vocabulary.

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      I'm literally joozu. People think i'm a local wearing whiteface.

  10. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    Do exclusive 1 week in advance restaurants even exist in the West anymore?
    You can pretty much casually walk into any Gordon Ramsay restaurant.

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      Gordon Ramsay is trash, so yeah.

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      >Gordon Ramsay restaurant
      The McDonalds of fine dining

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      >Do exclusive 1 week in advance restaurants even exist in the West anymore?
      Is the US "The West"?
      I only find that I need reservations 2-3 days out in a heavily touristed area unless remote, but if it's an anniversary kind of fancy restaurant or large group, best to be 2 weeks out, or longer if a holiday weekend.

      There will be places it's really hard to get in the door, like Inn at Little Washington, which people plan vacations around, esp if the Chef has a small amount of tables.

      A new restaurant might be slammed the first few months, of course.

      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        >is the US the West?
        Yes you idiot. It’s a geopolitical term meaning the US, Canada, Western European nations, and Australia/NZ.

        • 2 years ago
          Anonymous

          Back off incel I have room temperature iq

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      Yeah, I live in DC and there is an evolving rotation of places you need to plan well in advance for. Basically, the new hot restaurant will have a month-long lede time and then six months later something else will take its place. For a while, it was Oyster Oyster, and before that it was L'Ardente, and so on and so forth. Right now I'm not sure which one it is. Of course, you also have Inn at Little Washington which is always great.

      This isn't even counting bigger food cities like New York, LA, London, etc.

      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        >bigger food cities

  11. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    cant

  12. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    Imagine thirsting for prestige instead of marching to the beat of your own drum.

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      Outside of prestige, I have no guidance as to what restaurants are good, at least until I've tried them myself.

  13. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    Japs are very racist. You're not allowed into loads of businesses just by being white.

  14. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    did you check if they let gaijins in there ?

  15. 2 years ago
    Anonymous

    One of my pet peeves is when someone asks how to do something and instead of telling them how to do it people just rant about why it's a bad idea. You can do it OP, and you don't need to know any Japanese or bullshit like that. I lived in Japan for 8 years, never spoke any Japanese, and I got to go to all kinds of places. Here's a trick:
    >wear "american" clothes like a hockey jersey or baseball camp
    >walk right into the place
    >act like you are out of breath
    >if someone approaches you to tell you to leave immediately motion to your mouth and say "WATER" very loud
    >if they try to talk over you just talk over them loudly and repeat "WATER" again
    >keep doing this over and over again until they leave to get you water
    >scout out a table with an empty chair
    >walk right up to it and pat one of the people at the table on the back
    >say "SORRY IM LATE" and sit down at the table
    >spot the dish that you think looks best
    >point at it and look at the waiter and just say "THIS THIS THIS, OK?"

    You will get your meal and all that, just act like you are the guest of the Japanese people and don't back down, act like you are SUPPOSED to be there. Japan is a non confrontation culture. They will just shit their pants at how awkward it is but they will begrudgingly accept you and let you eat there. I used to pull this shit all the time, you got to have balls to do it though because if you waiver just a little bit you are fricked and they will possibly call the cops or something.

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      >why are japanese people so racist towards gaijin??

      • 2 years ago
        Anonymous

        I have 0 issue doing this to people that are already racist against me without even knowing me. Maybe you should have a word with my grandfather that went there by necessity and not by choice if you know what I mean.

        Even if I had no shame, I don't think this tactic would work at the likes of Sushi Saito. But yes, I would like some actual advice instead of a bunch of Redditors telling me why shouldn't do what I've already said I want to do.

        You need some Japanese friends that have a little brainpower and some tact then. They can usually call ahead and explain the situation, if they know how to explain it then they might get you a seat. Just don't bring cameras and do what you are told if they do. How to make those friends really comes down to you and your social skills. If you already get taken to a few places and can demonstrate you won't botch every interaction and humiliate the host over time you get access to places like this. I wouldn't say it's hard, it just takes time.

        • 2 years ago
          Anonymous

          The Japs should be so thankful that we didn't turn them into a vassal state and take all their resources and force their population into prostitution/slavery like the USSR wanted to do to Germany.

    • 2 years ago
      Anonymous

      Even if I had no shame, I don't think this tactic would work at the likes of Sushi Saito. But yes, I would like some actual advice instead of a bunch of Redditors telling me why shouldn't do what I've already said I want to do.

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