Restaurant reservation and public holiday

Hello everyone - I am trying to make some reservations with some restaurants for my upcoming trip during Dec 26 to Jan 3. I have two questions:

1) When I look online a lot of the restaurant said " close late Dec - early Jan". what does that mean? Does that mean they will close from xmas to new year entirely?

2) Some of the places I am interested only take phone reservations so any suggestion as to how I can do that? any services out there will help you make reservation?

Thanks in advance!!!!

When I look online a lot of the restaurant said " close late Dec - early Jan". what does that mean?

Specific dates depend on the individual establishment. If no specific dates are mentioned on the internet, you should phone and ask directly.

Does that mean they will close from xmas to new year entirely?

Not necessarily. It could be just a couple days. Or it could be more than a week. It depends on the individual establishment.

Some of the places I am interested only take phone reservations so any suggestion as to how I can do that? any services out there will help you make reservation?

Opentable has an English version for a limited number of restaurants in the Greater Tokyo area:
http://www.opentable.jp/en-gb/rest_list.aspx?m=201

a lot of the restaurant said " close late Dec - early Jan". what does that mean? Does that mean they will close from xmas to new year entirely?

It never means Xmas through New Year's Day. Typically restaurants might close starting anytime from December 29 to January 1, and reopen anytime from January 4 to January 8.

Some of the places I am interested only take phone reservations so any suggestion as to how I can do that? any services out there will help you make reservation?

Hotel concierges provide that service. Also I've heard that American Express may provide some services like that. Of course you could try calling on your own, but a lot of places might not have an English-speaking person answering the phone.

All banks are closed from 31 Dec. to 3 Jan. Official sevices from the government and cities are not available, because most of offices are closed at that period. A central fish and vegetable markets are closed.

Not a good time to travel to Japan.

Umami Dearest writes the best answer here. I also would assume that many places have yet to decide their specific vacation dates for the Year End/New Year period.

And I wouldn't say that it's not a good time to travel to Japan, because this is the time when Japan shows its unique cultures best. Besides, there are plenty of restaurants and shops open throughout the year, many in which you require no reservations.

But if you have specific renowned restaurants in mind that you need to visit, that's another story.

Thank you for the advice! I may now change the travel time since ticket is cheaper during NOv compared to DEc/Jan. I still have so many questions tho. I am a rookie in Japan Travel!!! =)