How far ahead should you book omakase in Tokyo?
Book a Tokyo omakase dinner one to three months ahead, on the day the counter opens its calendar. Counters release seats on their own schedule, usually one or two months out, and TABLEALL says the restaurants it books open anywhere from one to three months ahead. A counter with eight or ten seats and two seatings a night has very few places to give, so the hardest ones fill soon after release.
For a trip in late December, that means booking now. On October 25, 2026, the SUSHI at Andaz Tokyo takes reservations through the end of December, because its calendar runs to the end of the month two months ahead. For a famous counter with no public calendar, plan on a hotel concierge or a booking service and still start two to three months out.
Two weeks ahead is enough for a good hotel counter or a lunch seating on a weekday. It is not enough for the counters people fly in for.
When do Tokyo sushi counters open reservations, and what do they charge to cancel?
| Counter or channel | How far ahead | Cancellation | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| the SUSHI, Andaz Tokyo (Toranomon Hills) | To the end of the month, two months ahead | Full course fee within 3 days | From ¥20,900, plus 15% service. Two seatings; no 7pm booking. Age 12 and up. |
| Musashi by Aman (Aman Tokyo, Otemachi) | Not published; card needed to book | 100% within 24 hours | Omakase course ¥51,040, service and tax included. Closed Sunday and Monday. Age 13 and up. |
| Sushi Kanesaka, Palace Hotel Tokyo (Marunouchi) | Not published; book by phone, +81 3 3211 5323 | After 10pm the day before: ¥11,000 a person at dinner, ¥5,500 at lunch. 30 minutes late counts as a cancellation. | Menus on the hotel page, plus 15% service. Smart casual. Closed November 11, 2026. |
| Aoyama Sushi Kanesaka (The Aoyama Grand Hotel) | Not published; card needed to book | 100% of the course within 24 hours for 1 to 5 people | Omakase ¥16,500 or ¥27,500 |
| Ginza Sushiyoshi Hanare | Up to the day itself | Changes until 10pm three days before; 100% within 48 hours | Dinner omakase ¥20,000 plus service |
| SUSHI TOKYO TEN Roppongi | Not published; card needed to book | Full charge on the day | Evening omakase ¥9,900; 90 minutes |
| TABLEALL (booking service) | Request any time; restaurants open 1 to 3 months ahead, and it emails you when they do | Tokyo dinner, 3 or fewer: 50% from 14 to 8 days, 70% from 7 to 3 days, 100% within 48 hours | Course prepaid, plus a ¥8,000 booking fee a seat that is never refunded |
Prices and seatings change by season. Check the counter's own page for your date before you plan the evening around it.
What is the difference between a one-month and a two-month release?
A rolling window opens one new day each day; a monthly release opens a whole month at once. With a rolling one-month window, a Friday seat six weeks out simply is not bookable yet, and you set a reminder for the morning it opens. With a monthly release, such as the Andaz counter's rule of booking to the end of the month two months ahead, every date in the new month appears together, and the weekends go first.
Japan time is the clock that matters. A calendar that opens at midnight or 10am in Tokyo opens in the afternoon or evening of the day before in the United States. I'd set the reminder in Tokyo time, have a card ready and pick a second date before the page opens, so you are not deciding while the seats go.
Where a counter publishes no window at all, as Musashi by Aman and Sushi Kanesaka do on the pages above, ask the hotel or the restaurant how far out its calendar runs and book on that day.
What do cancellation fees look like at Tokyo omakase counters?
Expect to pay the full course if you cancel inside a day or two, and sometimes much earlier. The fish is bought for the number of seats, so the counter loses the whole meal when a seat goes empty. The rules above run from 100% within 24 hours to the full fee within three days, and TABLEALL starts charging 50% two weeks out.
Two rules catch travelers. Lateness: at Sushi Kanesaka and Aoyama Sushi Kanesaka, 30 minutes late counts as a cancellation, because the courses start together. Flights: TABLEALL charges whatever the reason, including a delayed flight or illness, so travel insurance is the only cover. Don't book a counter on the night you land.
Should you book through a hotel concierge?
Yes for a counter that takes phone bookings in Japanese or only regulars, and no for one with an open booking page. A concierge at a hotel like the Palace or the Aman can call a counter in Japanese, pass on allergies precisely and stand behind the booking, which is what some small counters want before they seat a first-time guest. Ask as soon as your room is confirmed, not the week you arrive, because the concierge works to the same release dates you do.
For a counter with its own booking page, book it yourself on release day. The concierge has no earlier access to a public calendar, and a direct booking keeps the cancellation terms in your own inbox.
Either way, tell the restaurant about allergies when you book. Musashi by Aman, for one, says it cannot seat guests who do not eat raw seafood or rice.
What if the counter you want is sold out?
Join the waitlist, then book a lunch seating or a hotel counter as the backup.
- Waitlist. TableCheck offers one when a time is full, as the Andaz page did on October 25. Check again in the days before the counter's cancellation deadline, when anyone who can't come has the most reason to give the seat back.
- Lunch. Many counters serve a shorter lunch at a lower price. Aoyama Sushi Kanesaka serves the same Omakase Fuji at lunch and dinner, and Ginza Sushiyoshi Hanare lists a lunch omakase at ¥11,000 against ¥20,000 at dinner.
- A hotel counter. The counters in hotels publish rules in English and take cards, so they are the most realistic booking when your dates are close.
- Fewer nights to choose from. Any night works better than one fixed night. Offer the counter three dates.
Where does an omakase dinner fit in a Tokyo trip?
Put it on your second or third night, never the first. Jet lag and a late flight are the two most common reasons to lose a prepaid seat. Keep the day light: a morning at Tsukiji and an afternoon in Ginza ends near most of the counters above.
The Tokyo food guide builds two days around markets and meals, and the Japan booking order puts the omakase dinner in line with flights, hotels and the other seats that sell out. For the base, the where to stay in Tokyo guide picks an area, and Marunouchi or Ginza keeps you a short ride from the sushi counters in this guide. The three-day and five-day Tokyo itineraries show where the dinner sits in the week.