Originally Posted by saaveraward

I posted on this a while back. I would highly recommend a credit card concierge request (if you have access to one) before you leave town where they are focused on your specific request and have contacts in Japan. I've found the Hilton concierge to be bombarded, and with constant turnover, your request may be lost in the shuffle. Others upthread have reported success with the local desk. I'm also booking 30-90 days in advance to ensure I have a reservation where I want.

Originally Posted by Gradfly

I have before and currently in touch with their concierge for my upcoming trip. Success will probably depend on the type of restaurant, popularity, reservation time (lunch vs. dinner), and reservation policies. In my previous trip, Hilton concierge was able to get me into a 1-star sushi restaurant roughly 3 weeks before my desired date. For the same restaurant, Conrad concierge couldn't get me into the same restaurant for dinner 4 weeks+ prior to my dates. I will have to say though that my dinner dates were after New Year's holiday, so that may have influenced availability.

For my up coming trip, they were able to get me into a 1-star Japanese-French restaurant in January. My sushi restaurant requests are still in a work in progress. I gave them a list of places, with order of preference, and was informed all my choices were taking reservations only a month ahead. Since my dates are again close to New Year's holiday, the concierge then explained each restaurant's anticipated opening dates and potential availability. Response time has been within 24hrs.