Michelin Star Restaurants in Tokyo/Kyoto/Osaka for an Asian American couple
 

I'm trying to use hotel concierge service to book Michelin star restaurants in Japan but I keep running into reviews on Tripadvisor and other blogs about how certain restaurants dislike serving foreigners. It is what it is. We're not trying to rock the boat here. Given that I'm expecting to spend $100-200+ USD, I rather enjoy a nice atmosphere with amazing food with my wife without feeling like we were ripped off. If it helps, I'm Taiwanese American and my wife is Korean American so we both looked Asian. We both are fairly fluent in our motherland tongue but English language and culture is our primary identification as we both grew up in California for all of our adolescence.

The hotels we'll be staying at are: Andaz Tokyo, Ritz Carlton Kyoto, St. Regis Osaka and I will be reaching out to them for suggestions.

One difficulty is that most reviewers don't compare restaurants to each other. Second, most reviews focus within one city so there's no way for us to tell if for example sushi restaurant in Toyko will be superior to Keiseki in Osaka. We prefer to try Japanese food (since we are going to be in Japan after all) but we are food lover in general. We've tried Quince (3 star) in SF and N/Naka in LA. Jiro is on our list but we understand if enough people here convince us to avoid it as non-Japanese tourists.

So what do people recommend?
I've come across Fujiya 1938, Koryu, etc for Osaka
Joël Robuchon, Kanda, Jiro in Tokyo
It would appear that Kyoto restaurants don't have the same clout as the other cities. But I'd love to hear some opinions here.

I'm speaking as a white gaijin who dined in a 2 star Michelin restaurant in Tokyo - I think you're overthinking it. We were treated well, as was everyone else in the restaurant. There are hundreds of Michelin starred restaurants in the cities you're going to. You may need a few more parameters identified to determine what might fit your interests.

There is a specific thread for Michelin restaurants on FlyerTalk if you want foodie recommendations.

Consolidated Michelin Restaurants thread

Japanese are one of the most polite people around, not sure what you are trying to infer, especially if you plan to eat at the international level of restaurants.

What I have heard from other Asian-Americans is that Japanese people will automatically assume that anyone with an East Asian face is Japanese and will address them in Japanese. A Cantonese speaker from Singapore once told me that when that happened, he just answered in Cantonese. This always convinced the Japanese person to try communicating in English.

But really, you shouldn't have a problem in a high-end restaurant, especially if your hotel concierge makes the reservations.

If anyone outside the high-end restaurants gives you grief (because you don't understand spoken instructions, so the speaker assumes you're stubborn or stupid) remember, just resort to your heritage language.

In Kyoto I can recommend Hana Kitcho, a one Michelin starred sister restaurant to Kitcho in Arashiyama. Getting reservations is usually quite OK. The food is a bit more modern style kaiseki, though still with a traditional touch.

In Tokyo I can recommend Adachi Naoto. Fairly traditionally styled kaiseki. Also fairly OK to get a reservation.

​I would recommend browsing the website below and get inspired for your selection.


http://gm.gnavi.co.jp/restaurant/list/tokyo/

That's weird. As if the Japanese couldn't tell (usually) whether the Asian-looking person in front of them was or wasn't Japanese. Besides facial features, there are tons of "tells" that, well, tell them apart. Even I can tell them apart with relative accuracy. They likely address them in Japanese because that's their default, and barring somebody obviously not Japanese, they'll go for Japanese. It's not because they can't tell them apart. And to be complete, many non-Japanese Asians do speak Japanese, far more (per capita) than non-Asians. Japanese universities and schools are quite loaded with Asians studying there.

Is OP's assumption that they will be treated better since they are of East Asian descent versus Caucasian/African-American/Latinx? As someone from Hong Kong, I haven't experienced this myself but I have read before that with someone who is visibly non-Japanese, the native speaker can mentally prepare themselves for the fact that the other person most likely doesn't speak Japanese, whereas it's worse to think you may be able to speak Japanese with someone, only to be met with a "Sorry, I don't know Japanese" response and be caught off-guard/surprised.

That's absolutely ridiculous. People will address you in Japanese here in Japan because that's the language spoken here, and it makes more sense than assuming that someone speaks English just because they're not Japanese. And, as has been noted above, foreign tourists are very easy to recognize, not to mention the factor that in Michelin-starred restaurants they've presumably already made a reservation using their name.

What a bizarre suggestion - why not resort to your native language? Would you recommend that German-Americans or Italian-Americans start speaking their "heritage" languages of German or Italian?

Back to the OP:
I'd suggest specifically avoiding those restaurants then. There are 100,000 restaurants in Tokyo to choose from, but certain foreign tourists seem to be obsessed with getting reservations at a limited group of tiny, eight-seat counters that they think are the only ones worth going to, and when they get there they discover that the only other customers are international tourists.

You should probably cross Jiro off your list then. I think most restaurants will probably treat you well, and most places your concierge arranges will be able to cope with non-Japanese speakers.

As an Asian-American, I'd echo what ksandness has been told. If I didn't speak first, everyone I met started by default in Japanese. I believe this has to do more with "looking like you belong." Same thing happens whenever I go to Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan or any large Koreatown/Chinatown in North America. If you can pass off as a local, then people will assume as such. People in Japan had no problem trying to address my blonde, blue-eyed friend in English.


I'd give this a pass. The suggestion was specific to OP's assertion that both he and his wife can speak in their mother tongues. Also I've heard this sort of advice before. My relatives do this when they go to certain places in Quebec. Whenever someone is stubborn about not trying to speak in English, they revert to speaking one of the dialects they know. Almost always the other person will start speaking in English. One of my South African professors had the same strategy with Afrikaans when he visited France.


I totally agree.

OP, try not to get caught up with comparing restaurants between cities. You will find very good restaurants in each. Also comparing between kaiseki and sushi restaurants is sort of like comparing between apples and oranges. The concierge at your hotels are more than able to suggest restaurants suitable with non-Japanese speakers.

Japan isn't Quebec. I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest that tourists who speak English are somewhat more popular, on average, than tourists who speak Korean or Chinese. YMMV of course. (Also if someone here insists on speaking Japanese instead of English it's probably because they don't speak English very well - I don't see how switching to Korean is going to help, unless you happen to be in a yakiniku restaurant.)

I'll go further and make the claim that Tripadvisor is pathologically bad as a source of restaurant guidance for structural reasons.

If you can deal with the fact that all the comments are in Japanese, then tabelog is a great resource. Since you're specifically focusing on Michelin star places, you could check the tabelogs of specifically those restaurants.

I'm not a huge fan of sushi, but I have researched on behalf of people that are. General consensus among Tokyoites, _and_ hardcore sushi hunters is that while very good, Jiro is not at the absolute top of Tokyo.

I think that's the key. There are cues. My cues scream "American"! My aunt, having lived most of her life in Asia, and I think worked with Japanese for a significant amount of time as she can speak Japanese, most definitely passes as a local (haircut, clothes, etc). The times I've been in Asia, I've never been mistaken as a local. My sister can. It's in the cues.

Facial features can help too to a certain degree.

But still, if you're in Japan, I think it's reasonable that they start off speaking in Japanese as it's the native language. I think it would also be reasonable for them to see an Asian, assume they know about politeness and giving "face", and then assume the person would attempt to have learned a few phrases in Japanese. Well, some Asians...

My (Japanese) wife, who looks and dresses Japanese, often gets addressed in English when out with me - I guess people just see me and assume she is a foreigner, but she a few times she has rather quickly taught them (in a very non-Japanese way) they need to speak Japanese.

For michelin star places in Japan, I only go to those that serve non-Japanese (French). I (Asian) was treated like most other Japanese guests. I often travel with a caucasian.

Some restaurant people and even strangers who were on the same airline maintenance tours would greet me in Japanese. When I told them I don't speak Japanese (much) they seemed shocked, and were curious to find out what my background is, etc. I don't look Japanese, and my Japanese friends also agree.

When I went back to my Asian home town where I grew up , on a few occasions people greeted me in English.

my wife and i are caucasian(and a handsome pair at that.)

1. get the latest michelin guide you can afford.

1.1 get a japanese phrase book.

2. make a list of about 6 restaurants you would like to visit TOMORROW.

3. have the concierge attempt to book you in one of them.

4. get written instructions for restaurant location from concierge.

5. give instructions to service at taxi stand.

5.1 take off your shoes if everybody else does.

6. tell wait staff you are from the sheraton, or wherever

7. ask them politely to feed you.

forget JIRO. only 8 or so seats, and a wait list of 6 or12 months.

three of the best meals we had were french, italian, and chinese.
we have only been to japan twice. each time for about 3 weeks. both times in november. we have eaten in about 50 or so 1* and 2* restaurants in tyoko, kirawasa, nara, kyoto