Last order: Dinner

Many restaurants have their last order rather early, at 8pm. If we would like to eat later, could we make a reservation, order and pay in advance but arrive say at 8:30 or 9 pm? Thanks.

Not really.
Usually restaurants come with closing time signs like glast order 9:30, closes at 10.h So as soon as they get their last orders in (maybe for desserts, the final bits), they want to cook it, serve it, and start closing the kitchenc

Definitely no. But thatfs not specific to Japan. Itfs when they close the kitchen and then clean so that they can close the restaurant when they want.
Not it gets dark early in Japan even in summer, so you might want to eat a bit earlier anyway (and this comes from a person who doesnft manage to have dinner on most evenings before 21:00 (at home).

Ther are many restaurants that are open later in big cities. But not so likely in small ones. Also ryokans normally serve dinner around 18:00.

Short answer - no.

Longer answer - no. Restaurants close and the staff go home. They have their hours posted and they stick to that.

Thank you AK, LikeBike and JCT. I was hoping that someone would say that the restaurant might say that only a limited selection of things could be ordered ( dishes that could be aside) and that I'd have to leave at closing time regardless. But I guess that's not how it works in Japan.

I have been to restaurants near closing time in other countries and sometimes the chaps offer to whip something up for you.

Eating times can get a little tricky when you arrive from a different time zone.

But the food in Japan is still usually very good. And often very creative.

Thank you again,

Places that focus on eating tend to close around 8pm. But places that focus on drinking would set their last order hours later.

If you don't mind a drinking atmosphere (like pubs and izakaya), there are a variety of establishments that can start making your stomach full at 10pm.

By the way, I (resident) have been to many restaurants in Japan near closing time and often the chaps offer to whip something up for you, but those are places that don't have a "last order" policy to begin with.

Note that eateries have been closing earlier since the pandemic. I wonder if you have a specific town in mind?

Uco, ah that's the other thing. We're old and boring creaky folk. Cramped, smoky, noisy places are not the sort of stuff we enjoy. What we like best are quiet casual places. Nothing famous but often most enjoyable.

Before the pandemic, I remember going to a restaurant In an office building in Marunouchi and telling them that I would be coming straight from the theatre at Ueno Park but could be late. They most earnestly said they would wait for me. I can't remember if it went past last order time.

We will be in Kyoto and Nagoya.

Thanks for feedback.

Actually, not all places focusing on drinking are cramped and/or noisy, and the majority of eateries in Greater Tokyo are non-smoking. For the record, I'm 62.

Here is a list I found by Googling "Ueno last order quiet" in Japanese language.
https://tabelog.com/keywords/%E9%9D%99%E3%81%8B/tokyo/A1311/kwdLst/?sk...

Bon appetite wherever you end up at!

Thank you Uco. The Tabelog site is a very useful webpage indeed. Especially as some listing also have pictures of the tables and chairs.

One problem when you're old AND creaky is that we can't sit on the floor and stools or counter seating is a problem too. My 80 year old husband needs a chair with a full back.

That rules out quite a number of restaurants.

We have found suitable restaurants but we end up going back to the same ones. I'm hoping to find others.

Thank you again.

I added "comfy seating" to my Google search.

https://www.google.com/search?q=%E4%B8%8A%E9%87%8E+%E3%83%A9%E3%82%B9%...

The top restaurant literally means "comfy seating"!
https://www.hotpepper.jp/strJ001275313/appearance/

This one looks nice too.
https://www.hotpepper.jp/strJ000659028/

But, good point. I do feel that fewer Japanese cuisine restaurants have chairs with comfy backs (and view!).

Thank you Uco. Very kind of you to go to all this bother.

That's another very useful website. Google Translate automatically puts it into English as well.

Going back to the same restaurant is not necessarily a bad thing. I have a selection around the country that I head to often, but trying something new is also a bonus. For larger cities, late dining is more common, in some smaller places I go last order at 8 or 8:30 is not uncommon.
Fortunately moany places have theor hours posted on various internet sites - quicker than walking somewhere and finding they close early or simply closed that day.