Tokyo restaurants around New Year’s Eve

Hi,

I'm travelling to Japan with my girlfriend towards the end of December and we will spend the first 5 nights, including New Years Eve, in Tokyo. When looking up restaurants in Tokyo, many of the good mid-range alternatives seem to be closed during this period.

Apart from the very top restaurants which require a from booking months in advance, does anyone have any restaurant recommendations for the days around and including NYE?

Use this first.
https://gurunavi.com/

NYE is one of food Wholesale Market closed day.
fish/meat market closed fr 30 Dec to 4 Jan 2017
vegetable/fruits market closed on 31 Dec to 4 Jan 2017
So open or not depends on food stocks(refrigerator size).

Restaurants in entertainment districts like Shinjuku and Shibuya will be more likely to be open on December 31 than in office-oriented areas like Shimbashi and Otemachi. There are plenty of places located in restaurant-shopping complexes though, and those will be open, although they may close an hour or two earlier than usual. Here are some listings for Shibuya: http://bento.com/ra-shib.html Most of them will be open, and you can just stroll around looking for someplace that you like.

There will be tens of thousands of restaurants to choose from on December 31, but you'll have better luck if you avoid office-building neighborhoods.

Does it have to be a restaurant?

New Year's Eve is the one night that the Japanese stay out all night long. Trains run all night long, crowds gather at temples all night long, and for this reason there will be more affordable food stalls and bars open all night long. Some music venues do countdown live shows all night. Meanwhile, families get together to book rooms in restaurants.

So I suggest you either go out to enjoy the prayers and standing-up-eating places, or to look for restaurants suitable for families that can still accept reservations. Or, of course, you can rely on your hotel.

What part of Tokyo are you staying in anyway?

Back in 2010-2011, my friends and I went to Nabezo in Shibuya for NYE, and walked from there to the Meiji Shrine to bring in the new year. From what I can remember, it wasn't super packed and no reservation needed.

Thank you all for your responses!

We're staying near Shinjuku Station, but we were thinking of maybe travelling to Tokyo Tower after dinner to watch the illumination at midnight. Not sure though, as it may be crazy crowded..

http://www.sunnypages.jp/travel_guide/tokyo_restaurants