While planning your itinerary, using sites like TripAdvisor (or the much better japan-guide.com) will be fine for the big attractions. But for restaurants, coffee shops, bars and such, there are no reliable and up-to-date English resources. Other than first-hand recommendations and recent blog posts (like the ones you can find here), learning how to use Tabelog will be the best gourmet lifehack for your trip in Japan.
So what is Tabelog? In short, it’s the most popular restaurant review website in Japan, aggregating reviews from thousands of trusted users. Think of it as the Japanese Yelp.
There is an English version (using machine translation) of the site, but it’s quite limited. We are going to use the original Japanese version instead, with help from Chrome’s automatic translation function:
1. Using Google Chrome, open tabelog.com.
2. Use the translation function and translate the page to English (or your preferred language).
3. Under the search bar, click on the “current location” button. Allow the site to use your location, and it should give you a list of places close to you (use the filtering and sorting functions to narrow things down once you get the hang of it).
4. Tabelog ratings skew lower than Google Reviews, Yelp or TripAdvisor ratings. 3 stars are average, 3.5 really good and 4+ stars reserved to the best of the best, which will require either waiting in line for a good bit or having a reservation. In my experience, any place with a 3.2+ rating is worth going.
5. Under the rating, you will see the average prices for a meal for one adult, indicated by moon (dinner) and sun (lunch) icons. In Japan, it’s common for even the fanciest restaurants to offer lunch menus at very reasonable prices, so keep that in mind. Dinner tends to be reserved for more expensive, full-course meals that might require a reservation.
6. Once you find a place that looks interesting, click on it to check the reviews, photos, and menu. This will go from easiest (picture menu or ticket machine, possibly with an English translation) to the hardest (handwritten menu hanging on the walls).
7. Now it’s up to you and your adventurousness and Japanese level. If you can handle just a few basic Japanese phrases and don’t mind the extra attention you might get from the staff and regulars, even the places with the handwritten menu on the walls are doable. Just ask for the recommendation: “osusume wa nan desu ka?”. For a safer bet, if they have a picture menu, or something you can point and order, you should be fine.
As a final addendum, Tabelog has a bit of a monopoly (like Yelp in the US) and like its American counterpart had its fair share of controversies. There have been claims of paid ratings and the like, but it’s still a very useful benchmark. It’s not going to beat having a local guiding you, but is still miles ahead any other big review website.