Why hotels won’t book restaurant for me?

Hi everyone,
I've contacted 3 hotels in Shinjuku and all of them said they're not able to make restaurant reservations in advance. Is it a common practice?
How can I book a sushi restaurant if the hotel won't do it?

So 3 hotels that you are not a guest of won't make a dinner reservation for you? Correct?

What about booking directly with the restaurant?

PS: regarding asking the hotel to book for you. In good hotels with a concierge service they will do that if you have a reservation with them. But I know that the concierges are totally overworked due to reduction in staff during the pandemic and now influx again of tourists. So it might take some time for them to do it.

don't be lazy and just book the hotel yourself lol

Try using these if you really think the restaurants are worth visiting.
Ifm sure there are other service providers if you search online

https://pocket-concierge.jp/en

https://www.tableall.com/

I obviously contacted the hotels I wanted to make a reservation with. It's not like I'm asking random hotels to book my restaurants.
I cannot make the reservation on my own because I heard the high end sushi restaurants want an hotel to guarantee for you.

Well, you first need to make a reservation with a hotel then. And only the more expensive ones have concierge service.

Yeah I know that, I asked different Hotels if they offered this service, I'm not trying to book the restaurant before the Hotel. I think the main problem is most of the hotels on Booking.com do not offer this service because you can cancel whenever you want, and they can't guarantee for an host who may cancel

Do you mind if I ask if you are traveling alone? If you are, then some restaurants don't accept bookings for one person in some cases. This is especially true for people from overseas who are booking months in advance.

Honestly, you probably need to book an actual bonafide 5 star hotel as well, which for Shinjuku would be the Park Hyatt, and maybe the Hyatt Regency and the Hilton. I honestly can't think of any other truly 5 star hotels, who are going to do this in Shinjuku. I'm also not quite sure why you are looking in Shinjuku, as the Park Hyatt is the only really big 5 star hotel I can think of there vs. the areas around Tokyo Station which have a lot more 5 star hotels.

Japanese hotel websites catering to Japanese tourists often let you cancel day of reservation which is even more flexible than Booking, so I am not sure that is the true issue.

In my very limited experience, the hotels want to see that you have a reservation first, before they will try to help with anything, not have you ask about services first, unless said services are listed on their websites, though again, I can't imagine the Park Hyatt refusing to help guests book a high end sushi place. That just seems like something de rigeur for a hotel like that.

@mfedley we are 4 people.
@rkold For the last 6 days of our trip in japan we chose Shinjuku because it has everything, it's easy to move around from there, and we can stay at night, without having to hurry for the last train or catch a taxi. I must say it's very expensive. Asakusa/Ueno it's much cheaper
In the end, Hundred Stay Shinjuku it's the only residence who accepted to help us. I didn't try the 5 stars hotels, they were to expensive.

Edit: Hundred Stay also refused to help before we check in.
Now I need find a way to book Ginza Kyubey without a concierge, or choose another restaurant

Did you try calling / emailing Kyubey directly? They have enough foreign guests to be able to speak English.

There is also a Kyubey in Shinjuku. I think in the Keio hotel.

I reserved at both in the past. In Ginza I just went there a few days before and reserved in person (but I was living in Japan then, so had a local phone number , but no hotel to guarantee for me).
And in Shinjuku I reserved for a friend who wanted to invite other friends on their honeymoon. That was a specially curious reservation. I went there in person reserved and paid the dinner in cash and just got their word that on day X they would serve this preset course to 2 people with this and that name. I didnft get any receipt or anything. But it all worked out perfectly. They got their nice honeymoon dinner.

Well if youfre a guest at Keio Plaza in Shinjuku, the hotel concierge can make your reservation at the restaurant located there.
As a matter of fact therefs several locations to choose from.

http://www.kyubey.jp/en/en_shoplist_keiou

Hi Margu,

Please don't take this the wrong way, but it's not because you are using Booking that you can't get a hotel to make your reservation for you.

There is nothing wrong with picking budget hotels in the Asakusa area and there is nothing wrong with staying in the Shinjuku area either. But, my point was if you're not staying at a 5 or some 4 star hotels, you can't expect them to have a concierge willing to make the reservation for you. It has nothing to do with how you book the room, but about the level of service offered at the hotel and just because a hotel costs more than you normally pay doesn't mean it is going to offer more services. The Hundred Stay looks like a nice place, but they don't talk about having a concierge to help you book anything on their website, and instead talk more about how their units are ideal for longer stays.

If there is a branch of the sushi place you want to eat in the Keio Plaza, I would see what their room rates are like, because generally a hotel will help you book in house restaurants. If the Keio Plaza Hotel is too expensive, perhaps maybe just stay there for 1 night and make it the first or the last night you planned to stay in Shinjuku since it is less disruptive that way.

@LikeBike I thought we needed to book months in advance, heard high end Sushi restaurants are reserved 2 to 6 months before visiting. At this point we can go there the during our first stay in on our arrival in Tokyo. Thank you for the tip

@rkold I'm sure it's like you said, 5 stars hotels sure have a concierge who can book in advance, but usually even 4 to 3 stars hotels can do such things. I talked with Hundred Stays and they confirmed what I thought. People booking online with free cancellation usually made them reserve the restaurants and then cancelled the hotel booking with the "free cancellation" policy. This way the hotel had to pay the penalty for the guest. I think, sooner or later, this happened to every hotel booking online, and they decided to stop reserving for guests before check-in.
Maybe we can arrange something sending them the penalty as a deposit to guarantee for us.

Thank you everyone for all the infos

Different spin on this...

I can understand wanting the experience of a higher end sushi restaurant, but you don't necessarily need to go to a Jiro or spend $$$$ to get a great experience.

Two examples...

Sushi-say in Tsukiji is an internationally famous sushi restaurant, they have branches globally including NYC where I would say (after eating at maybe 50 Japanese restaurants NYC over the years) they are in the top 5% in NYC, many of the Japanese embassy staff eat there daily. In Tsukiji you can "walk-in" or wait for a bar or table to be available and you will have a great experience at a very moderate price. When I went in October 2022, the Omakase was about Y4000 or $28 at the time (versus $125 in NYC).

Sushi Onedera in Ginza is also an internationally famous sushi restaurant and they too have branches globally. Their Omakase is Y25,000 or about $190 for dinner but lunch is Y5000-Y20000. You can go to their English language website and make online reservations and see their restaurant here... www.onodera-group.com/sushi-ginza/

In both cases the fish quality was comparable and while Onedera is certainly more elegant in atmosphere, Sushi-say had more couples dining versus business men on corporate expense accounts.

At both of these places you will get a great experience at different price levels but a similar level of attentiveness to you.

I would venture to say that an "average" sushi restaurant in Japan is generally going to be in the top ten percent of sushi restaurants in your or any other country outside of Japan. Outside of the cheap sushi joints around Japan, most every other sushi restaurant will be on par or superior to most sushi restaurants outside of Japan -- strictly my opinion.

So, don't feel like you need to have one of the YouTube or Instagram famous sushi restaurants to have a great experience, there are many other choices out in Tokyo and throughout Japan

My two cents.

Thanks.

Stan

It also depends on which restaurant it is. Some very high-end sushi restaurants take reservations for new patrons only through introduction of their current patrons. Or maybe the hotel knows that the one you are asking about is extremely difficult to book. Who knows.

Also if a restaurant takes a reservation from guests through a hotel, but just in case you cancel at the last moment, neither the hotel nor the restaurant would be able to charge you any cancellation fee, which would be a real disappointment for everyone (and real damage to the restaurant).

If it is a restaurant that you can book either through a restaurant booking website or directly with the restaurant, i would recommend going that way. If neither can be done, and if you book your stay at a good hotel with concierge service, you should be able to enjoy their service, so you can ask their concierge. And what the hotel told you must be their honest view on the recent situation with the availability of last minute cancellationc Hotels have their own official websites, so that might be an easier way.

The restaurant you selected is Kyubey and I would say that it really is an experience. Yes, you can eat sushi in many other places, but a place like Kyubey will remain in your memory for years to come.

You said youfll be in Tokyo at the beginning of your trip. My advise would be to go to Kyubey at the beginning and make a reservation by your self in person. If they want a hotel to make that reservation for you, just propose to pay the full course at the time of reservation. It worked for me and then the restaurants risk is 0 if you donft show up. And for you, you are certain to have your reservation and can enjoy your trip knowing that when youfll be back in Tokyo youfll have your Kyubey experience. It also allows you to book whatever hotel you want. No need to go for a 5 star hotel.