My husband and I honeymooned in Japan for 30 days in April 2023. We planned to spend the first 5 days in Tokyo and the last 5 days. The trip was mostly centred around food and I had a few bucket list places I wanted to go to, Den being my #1.
From my research, I learned they only take reservations between 12pm-5pm Tokyo time, precisely two months before the date you wish to book. I figured we have two windows and ten days to try to book, so it shouldn’t be that difficult. I was wrong.
I called maybe close to 100 times for the first few days I was trying to book and never got through. I missed the first window, so I sent an email stating that my husband and I work in restaurants and were celebrating our honeymoon, hoping to appeal to their sentiment. They promptly responded the next day and added us to a waitlist. I had read that some people had gotten in from the waitlist but it was rare.
Fast forward nearly a month when I could start calling for our second window (what would be the last five days of our trip). I downloaded a redial app and called close to 800 times in two days, but never got through. Finally, at around 4:50pm Tokyo time, on my last day to try, they answered the phone. I was in shock and I’m pretty sure I asked if she was real…
What I hadn’t realized was the restaurant had been closed for three days for a Japanese holiday. Which made my relentless calling pointless, however it worked in my favour because on the day I got through, they were booking for three days, rather than one. I told her I would take any day, any time. She had one spot left on our final night in Japan. It was meant to be.
WAS IT WORTH IT?
Oh my god, yes. I am a career server and my husband is a chef. This was a master class in service. She had asked me several questions on the phone, where are we from (Canada), why were we coming to Japan (honeymoon), what did we do for work, our ages, etc. I remember telling my husband “no wonder why no one can get through on the phone! We just chatted for twenty minutes!” What I didn’t realize is they made notes of all that information and clearly debriefed all staff before service. We were greeted by a Canadian who was staging in the kitchen, who spoke specifically to my husband about cooking. And we were surprised by a handwritten happy honeymoon card that brought me to tears. We shared special sake with a gentleman celebrating his birthday. They ran down the street after us when we left to gift us some beautiful “napkins”. It was like dining in their living room with some of the most incredible, unpretentious but perfect service.
And the food, of course, was delicious. I honestly felt like the salad was the best part and how dare that be true! It still makes me mad to this day. Everything was so fresh, seasonal, local… special.
One interesting thing to note was that I had made a joke about how difficult it was to make reservations. And they assured me that now we had been and were in the system it would be easier for future reservations. I guess you just have to prove yourself first 🤷🏻♀️
Tips for making a reservation:
– download a redial app and set an alarm to start calling at noon Tokyo time, exactly two months before your desired date
– they are closed on Sundays and major holidays, if the date you’re hoping to book falls on a Sunday two months before, call on the Monday.
– last resort: email to be put on a waitlist
Edit: spelling
by Odd_Pea_104